A multivariate study of the relationship between fatty acids and volatile flavor components in olive and walnut oils

MARIELA TORRES,; MARCELA MARTINEZ,; DAMIAN MODESTO MAESTRI

JOURNAL OF THE AMERICAN OIL CHEMISTS SOCIETY (JAOCS)

AOCS PRESS

Año: 2005 vol. 82 p. 105 - 110

0003-021X

The relationships between fatty acid and volatile profiles of olive and walnut oils from Argentina was studied using GC and solid phase microextraction coupled to GC – MS. The major volatiles were aldehydes and hydrocarbons mainly produced through oxidative pathways. n-Pentane, nonanal and 2,4-decadienal were predominant in walnut oils, whereas nonanal, 2-decenal and 2-undecenal were the most abundant components in olive oils. A multivariate analysis applied to chemical data emphasised the differences between the oils and allowed to see the pattern of covariation among the fatty acids and the volatile compounds. The main differences between walnut and olive oils, were the presence of larger amounts of short chain (C5 – C6) saturated hydrocarbon and aldehydes in the former, and the increased quantities of middle chain (C7 – C11) compounds in olive oil. The explanation could be their different origins, mainly from linoleic acid in walnut or almost exclusively from oleic acid in olive.