Evaluation of the Key Odorants in Volatile Oils from Tubers of Apios americana Medikus

This study was investigated the chemical composition of volatile oils and aroma evaluation from the tubers of Apios americana Medikus. Theses volatile oils were obtained by the hydrodistillation (HD) and the solvent-assisted flavor evaporation (SAFE) methods. These oils were analyzed by Gas chromatography (GC), GC-mass spectrometry (GC-MS), GC-olfactometry (GC-O), aroma extract dilution analysis (AEDA) and odor activity values (OAV) for the first time. The major compounds in the HD oil were palmitic acid (36.5%), linoleic acid (10.5%) and nonadecanol (5.7%). Meanwhile, in the SAFE oil, the major compounds were 4-hydroxy-4-methyl-2-pentanone (34.2%), hexanal (11.0%) and hexanol (7.9%). Through aroma evaluation, 20 (HD) and 14 (SAFE) aroma-active compounds were identified by GC-O. As a result, the most intense aroma-active compounds in both extraction methods were 1-octen-3-ol and hexanal, both of which showed high odor activity values (OAV).