Analysis of volatile aroma compounds from five types of Fenghuang Dancong tea using headspace-solid phase microextraction combined with GC-MS and GC-olfactometry

Abstract

The present work describes the relationship between volatile aroma components and flavours of Fenghuang Dancong tea. Volatile aroma components of five types of Fenghuang Dancong tea namely Baxian, Milanxiang, Yulanxiang, Guihuaxiang, and Yinhuaxiang were extracted by headspace solid-phase microextraction (HS-SPME), then analysed by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) technique and gas chromatography olfactometry (GC-O) techniques. The GC-MS results showed that a total of 116 volatile components were detected, among which 21 (including alcohols, esters, olefins, aldehydes, ketones, and alkanes) were commonly detected in all types of tea. Based on GC-O analysis, 26 active ingredients that mainly contribute to grassy, sweet, floral, fruity, woody, and honey aromas were detected. Among these ingredients, four compounds including linalool oxide I, linalool, nerol, and neroli, which give floral, sweet, and honey aromas were abundant (with high aroma intensity) in all five types of tea. This suggests that these compounds are the main components contributing to the unique aroma of Fenghuang Dancong tea.