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SPME followed by GC–MS: a powerful technique for qualitative analysis of honey volatiles

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Abstract

Volatile compounds from 40 honey samples of different botanic origin were analyzed by SPME followed by GC–MS. In order to obtain complementary data for an overall characterization of honey aroma, two different SPME fiber coatings (polyacrylate and carboxen/polydimethylsiloxane) were employed. The use of both fibers with a single chromatographic column afforded the identification or characterization, based on GC retention and mass spectral data, of a total of 193 volatile components. A total of 166 honey volatiles were characterized (146 identified) from CAR/PDMS data, this fiber being the most appropriate for isolation of low molecular weight compounds. Polyacrylate fiber was better for extraction of polar semivolatiles, allowing to identify 120 compounds and to characterize 132. Besides typical nectar components such as limonene, linalool, etc., different compounds from fermentation (ethanol and 2,3-butanediol), processing (furan derivatives), hive treatment (thymol), etc. were detected. Although many volatiles were common to most honey samples analyzed, other seemed to be characteristic of certain honey types.

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Acknowledgments

This work has been funded by projects CTQ2006-14993/BQU and ANALISYC-S-505/AGR-0312 supported by CYCIT and Comunidad de Madrid, respectively. A.C.S. also thanks CSIC and the EU for a postdoctoral I3P contract.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Instituto de Química Orgánica General (CSIC), Juan de la Cierva 3, 28006, Madrid, Spain

    Ana Cristina Soria, Jesús Sanz & Isabel Martínez-Castro

Authors
  1. Ana Cristina Soria
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  2. Jesús Sanz
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  3. Isabel Martínez-Castro
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Ana Cristina Soria.

Electronic supplementary material

Volatile compounds fractionated by SPME and identified or characterized by GC–MS in each of the honey samples under study appear listed in table 2 (for PA fiber) and table 3 (for CAR/PDMS), grouped by their honey type (rosemary, eucalyptus, citrus, thyme, acacia, rhododendron, chestnut, dandelion, lavender, heather, Teide broom, multiflower and honeydew). The characteristic presence of a volatile compound in a single source was indicated in these tables according to the following criterion: “xx” for a clear presence in most of the analyzed honey samples from the same source and “x” for compounds detected in trace amounts and/or only present in a few samples of that source. “x” was also used for volatiles detected in honey sources for which only one sample was available. This material is available free of charge via the Internet in the online version of this paper only.

217_2008_966_MOESM1_ESM.doc

Supplementary Table 2. Volatile compounds fractionated by SPME using a CAR/PDMS fiber coating in honeys from different source (DOC 504 kb)

217_2008_966_MOESM2_ESM.doc

Supplementary Table 3. Volatile compounds fractionated by SPME using a PA fiber coating in honeys from different source (DOC 401 kb)

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Soria, A.C., Sanz, J. & Martínez-Castro, I. SPME followed by GC–MS: a powerful technique for qualitative analysis of honey volatiles. Eur Food Res Technol 228, 579–590 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00217-008-0966-z

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00217-008-0966-z

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