Odor significance of undesirable degradation compounds in heated triolein and trilinolein

To better understand production of undesirable or negative odors such as fruity, plastic, and waxy that are characteristic of higher oleic acid-containing oils, model heated oil systems of triolein and trilinolein were studied. Identification of the odor significance of volatile compounds produced by fractionated and nonfractionated triolein and trilinolein was done by purge and trap-gas chromatography-ion trap mass spectrometry-olfactometry. The predominant odors of the triolein heated 1, 3, and 6 h at 190°C were fruity and plastic, with other negative odors of acrid and grassy. Some of the volatile compounds that produced negative odors in heated triolein, in order of increasing concentration, were hexanal (grassy), octanal (fruity), (E)-2-decenal (plastic), nonanal (fruity), and (E)-2-undecenal (plastic). Some of the negative odor compounds in trilinolein heated for 1, 3 and 6 h, in order of increasing concentration, included (E)-2-nonenal (plastic), pentanal (grassy), and hexanal (grassy). However, the amount of volatile compounds produced and the intensity levels of the odors were lower in trilinolein than in triolein. Formation of many of the volatiles was explained after identification of the volatile precursors, including epoxy, keto, and dimer oxidation products that were produced during heating.