Abstract
The aroma compounds of Florida grown guava, mango and carambola were isolated by headspace SPME and by solvent extraction methods coupled with gas chromatographymass spectroscopy (GC/MS) and GC-Olfactometry (GC-O). The volatile components were analyzed using both headspace and solvent extraction techniques in order to insure that the results of GC-O were representative of the fruit aroma. The combination of the two techniques resulted in 53, 48 and 46 aroma active compounds detected in carambola, guava and ripe mango, respectively. There was no single aroma character impact compound that contributed to the aroma of these fruit. The major classes of aroma active volatiles that contributed to the fruity aroma were the esters followed by aldehydes, alcohols, and ketones, which contribute green and sweet notes to fruit aroma. In addition, sulfur and norisoprenoid compounds contributed to the guava and carambola aromas, respectively.
