Evaluation of (60)Co Irradiation on Volatile Components of Turmeric (Curcumae Longae Rhizoma) Volatile Oil with GC–IMS

(60)Co irradiation is an efficient and rapid sterilization method. The aim of this work is to determine the changes in essential-oil composition under different irradiation intensities of (60)Co and to select an appropriate irradiation dose with GC–IMS. Dosages of 0, 5, and 10 kGy of (60)Co were used to analyze turmeric (Curcumae Longae Rhizoma) volatile oil after (60)Co irradiation (named JH-1, JH-2, and JH-3). The odor fingerprints of volatile organic compounds in different turmeric volatile oil samples were constructed by headspace solid-phase microextraction and gas chromatography–ion mobility spectrometry (GC–IMS) after irradiation. The differences in odor fingerprints of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) were compared by principal component analysis (PCA). The results showed that 97 volatile components were detected in the volatile oil of Curcuma longa, and 64 components were identified by database retrieval. With the change in irradiation intensity, the volatile compounds in the three turmeric volatile oil samples were similar, but the peak intensity was significantly different, which was attributed to the change in compound composition and content caused by different irradiation doses. In addition, the principal component analysis showed that JH-2 and JH-3 were relatively correlated, while JH-1 and JH-3 were far from each other. In general, different doses of (60)Co irradiation can affect the content of volatile substances in turmeric volatile oil. With the increase in irradiation dose, the peak area decreased, and so the irradiation dose of 5 kGy/min was better. It is shown that irradiation technology has good application prospects in the sterilization of foods with volatile components. However, we must pay attention to the changes in radiation dose and chemical composition.