Volatile compounds of acerola (Malpighia emarginata) obtained by HS-SPME at two ripening stages

Abstract

Flavor is one of the main characteristics of food identified as a combination of volatile molecules present in the matrix and is one of its most attractive attributes to the consumer. In this research have been identified volatile compounds present in two stages of acerola maturation. For the analysis, have been used the following techniques and equipment: Headspace (HS-SPME) Solid Phase Microextraction Technique associated with High-Resolution Gas Chromatography coupled to mass spectrometer (GC-MS). The influence of SPME fibers (CAR / PDMS and DVB / CAR / PDMS) was evaluated on the volatiles extraction. The effects of extraction temperature, extraction medium concentration (NaCl) and amount of sample were studied using the Composite Central Delineation (CCD) to achieve the highest extraction efficiency. In mature (red) and semi-yellow (yellow) acerola the dominant compounds were esters; among them, ethylhexanoate and 4-pentenyl butanoate were the ones with the highest relative concentration. This identification is essential information for the flavors industry which use different aromatic compounds for the formulation of fragrances and aromas to be used in food, cosmetics, and perfumes.