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Updated: Aug 14, 2026

Extraction and Detection of Geosmin and 2-Methylisoborneol in Water and Fish using High-Capacity Sorptive Extraction Probes and GC-MS
Published on: July 3, 2025
Geosmin and 2-methylisoborneol from cyanobacteria in three water supply systems
G Izaguirre1, C J Hwang, S W Krasner
1Water Quality Branch, The Metropolitan Water District of Southern California, La Verne, California 91750.
Abstract:
Three Oscillatoria strains and one Anabaena species were isolated from three different water supply systems in California that experienced earthy-musty taste and odor problems in their drinking water. Unialgal cultures, free of actinomycetes, were purged using the Grob closed-loop stripping analysis method, and the resulting methylene chloride extracts were analyzed on a gas chromatograph/mass spectrometer. Geosmin was produced by Oscillatoria simplicissima and Anabaena scheremetievi, and 2-methylisoborneol was produced by O. curviceps and O. tenuis. These compounds are the two major causes of earthy-musty tastes and odors in water. In three instances, the major odorant found in culture was previously identified in the water or sediment sample from which the respective organism was isolated. O. curviceps was implicated in a taste and odor episode involving 2-methylisoborneol in a major reservoir. Geosmin and 2-methylisoborneol were easily detected with culture samples of only 4 to 25 ml.
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