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ARS Home » Pacific West Area » Albany, California » Western Regional Research Center » Healthy Processed Foods Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #294700
Title: Cooked carrots volatiles. AEDA and odor activity comparisons. Identification of Linden Ether as an important aroma component

Author
item Buttery, Ron
item Takeoka, Gary

Submitted to: Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 9/3/2013
Publication Date: 9/3/2013
Publication URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1021/jf402827e
Citation: Buttery, R.G., Takeoka, G.R. 2013. Cooked carrots volatiles. AEDA and odor activity comparisons. Identification of Linden Ether as an important aroma component. Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry. 61:9063-9066. DOI: 10.1021/jf402827e.

Interpretive Summary: Carrots are an important crop used as a component of many food preparations frequently as the cooked form. Because of their beta-carotene content they are also a food which contributes to human health. Although there have been many studies on the analysis of carrot volatiles there have been very few studies on which volatiles are important to carrot flavor and these were only subjective. Two widely accepted quantitative methods of evaluating the relative importance of food aroma components are aroma extract dilution analysis (AEDA) and odor activity value comparisons. This manuscript reports the results of applying these methods to cooked carrot aroma. It also reports the identification of two previously unidentified aroma components of cooked carrots Linden ether and beta-damascenone which the study found to be major contributors to cooked carrot aroma and flavor.

Technical Abstract: MS with GC-RI evidence was found for the presence of Linden ether in cooked carrot. Evaluation of the GC effluent from cooked carrot volatiles using Aroma Extract Dilution Analysis (AEDA) found Linden ether with the highest Flavor Dilution (FD) factor. Others with 10 fold lower FD factors were B-ionone, eugenol, the previously unidentified B-damascenone, (E)-2-nonenal, octanal and heptanal. All other previously identified volatiles showed lower FD factors. Odor thresholds, concentrations and odor activity values of previously identified compounds are reviewed. This indicated that more than 15 compounds occur in cooked carrots above their odor thresholds (in water). Compounds showing the highest odor activity values included B-damascenone,(E) -2-nonenal, (E,E)-2,4-decadienal, B-ionone, octanal (E)-2-decenal, eugenol, and p-vinylguaiacol.