The impact of seed size on volatile composition in roasted peanuts extracted by the Purge and Trap method

The present study investigated the effect of two peanut seed sizes on volatiles by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) performing an optimized Purge and Trap extraction method. Extracting temperature at 90 °C, purging flow at 400 mL/min, and extracting time for 120 min seemed to provide the best extraction for volatiles of roasted peanut. A total of thirty-seven volatile compounds were identified in roasted peanut samples. Although the total amount of volatiles for both sized seeds was close, the distribution of volatiles was changed significantly. All the pyrazine contents were higher in the small peanuts than in the larger ones. While 2,5-dimethylpyrazine was the predominant aroma compound following 2,3-dihydrobenzofuran, 2-ethyl-3,5-dimethylpyrazine yielded the highest OAV and it was found to be the most potent compound for influencing the flavor of roasted peanuts for both seeds. Hexanal and 1-methyl-1H-pyrrole showed OAV over 1 in small seeds while (E, E)-2,4-decadienal only in large seeds. Therefore, the P&T extraction method coupled to GC-MS analysis was found a quick and efficient method for the evaluation of roasted peanut volatiles.