ANALYSIS OF VOLATILE FRUIT COMPONENTS BY HEADSPACE SOLID-PHASE MICROEXTRACTION

A method based on headspace solid-phase microextraction (HS-SPME) has been developed for the analysis of volatile compounds in fruits. Condi tions of sampling have been tuned. Repeatability and recoveries obtain ed with this method have been determined by using a mixture of typical components of fruit aroma. Several fruits, such as raspberries, straw berries, blackberries, banana and mango, have been analysed by the pro posed method. The patterns obtained include compounds typically found in fresh fruits and compounds formed during processing or storage. The results showed the use of the technique for fruit characterization an d its potential as a routine method for analyzing changes in key flavo ur compounds during different fruit processing regimes. (C) 1998 Elsev ier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.