Identification of odor impact compounds of Tagetes minuta L. essential oil: comparison of two GC-olfactometry methods

Odor impact compounds of Tagetes minuta L. essential oil were studied by gas chromatography (GC)-olfactometry using aroma extract dilution analysis (AEDA) and vocabulary-intensity-duration of elementary odors by sniffing (VIDEO-Sniff). AEDA was conducted by direct injection and revealed the presence of 43 odorant zones. Highest flavor dilution (FD) values were obtained for ethyl 2-methylpropanoate, ethyl 3-methylbutanoate, (E)-ocimenone, two tentatively identified thiols, and two yet unknown compounds. VIDEO-Sniff was realized by dynamic headspace sampling (D-HS) combined with 8W-GC-olfactometry where eight sniffers simultaneously detect volatile compounds obtained from a single chromatographic separation and revealed the presence of 42 odorant zones. Odorant trace compounds detected by GC-O that were present in quantities inferior to the GC-qMS system's detection limit and those subject to coelutions were identified by GC x GC-time-of-flight mass spectrometry (TOFMS). A total amount of 37 odorant components could be identified by VIDEO-Sniff, and the strong influence of the fruity notes of numerous esters stood out. Highest olfactory signals were obtained for ethyl 2-methylpropanoate, ethyl 2- and 3-methylbutanoate, and oct-1-en-3-one. Both methods hence come to the conclusion that ethyl 2-methylpropanoate and ethyl 2- and 3-methylbutanoate are among the main odorants in Tagetes minuta L. essential oil. Differences, advantages, and drawbacks of both GC-O methods are discussed.