Flavor profile characterization and quality evaluation of ginger oils using GC-MS, intelligent sensory and molecular...

Ginger volatile oil is highly favored by consumers for its unique aroma, yet its key aroma components, perception mechanisms, and aroma quality evaluation methods remain insufficiently clarified. Herein, Gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS), intelligent sensory, and molecular docking were integrated to analyze the aroma characteristics of ginger volatile oils systematically. Ten potential key aroma components were identified via ROAV analysis to establish aroma fingerprints (similarity >0.9) for evaluating commercial samples. The quality discrepancies of ginger oils were mainly attributed to the absence and imbalance ratios of potential key aroma components, especially cineole, m-cymene and geraniol. Intelligent sensory parameters (W1S, W2S, W5C and a*) can serve as auxiliary indicators for quality evaluation. Molecular docking demonstrated that α-curcumene and β-phellandrene exhibited the strongest interactions with olfactory receptors (ORs) through hydrogen bonds and π-π interactions. This study achieved comprehensive aroma evaluation of ginger volatile oil and clarified the potential molecular interactions between its characteristic aroma components and ORs.