Characterization of key flavor compounds of different dried Amomum tsao-ko using a sensomics approach

This study investigated the aroma characteristics of three types of dried Amomum tsao-ko Crevost & Lemarié (AT), sun-drying (SD), wood-drying (WD), and oven-drying (OD) by using gas chromatography–olfactory–mass spectrometry (GC–O–MS) methods. GC–MS identified a total of 50 volatile compounds. Among these compounds, 34 substances were considered potential aroma-active compounds by GC–O. 1,8-Cineole (OAV 494.32–44972.31), β -myrcene (OAV 243.81–763.18), α -phellandrene (OAV 72.18–200.16), octanal (OAV 294.08–961.96), and ( E )-2-octenal (OAV 409.07–1076.10), along with 14 other substances with high odor activity values (OAVs), are the key components of the overall aroma, with camphorated, spicy, piney, lemon, aldehyde, and fatty odors. Nine substances, including 1,8-cineole, geranial, and ( E )-2-decen-1-ol, were identified as important for flavor differentiation between different groups of dried AT by orthogonal partial least squares discriminate analysis of these potentially aroma-active compounds. Aroma reorganization and omission experiments showed that 1,8-cineole, ( E )-2-decen-1-ol, and ( E )-2-octenal were the key aroma components of the OD samples.