Characterization of the key odorants in fresh Amomum tsao-ko Crevost et Lemaire fruit by gas chromatography-olfactometry, quantitative analysis and aroma reconstitution

To decode key odorants (KOs) in fresh Amomum tsao-ko Crevost et Lemaire fruit (FAF) and investigate the effect of isolation methods on KOs and enantiomer ratios, volatiles were isolated using both direct solvent extraction combined with solvent-assisted flavor evaporation (DSE-SAFE) and hydrodistillation (HD) and analyzed by gas chromatography‒mass spectrometry/olfactometry. In total, 55 odor-active compounds with flavor dilution factors between 1 and 8192 were identified, of which 36 and 39 odorants were detected in the SAFE and HD isolates, respectively. By quantitative analysis and odor activity value calculation, 22 odorants in the SAFE isolate and 25 odorants in the HD isolate were determined to be FAF KOs. The differences in the concentrations and the number of KOs caused the two isolates to have different odor characteristics. The recombination experiment further confirmed the results. Among the three studied chiral odorants, including linalool, 4-terpenol, and α-terpineol, the (S)-(−)-enantiomer was dominant, and the (S)-(−)-enantiomer inverted into the (R)-(−)-enantiomer during HD.