Identification of Odor Active Compounds in Physalis peruviana L.

The volatiles of cape gooseberry fruit (Physalis peruviana L.) were isolated by solvent-assisted flavor evaporation (SAFE), odor active compounds identified by gas chromatography–olfactometry (GC-O) and gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC-MS). Quantitation of compounds was performed by headspace—solid phase microextraction (HS-SPME) for all but one. Aroma extract dilution analysis (AEDA) revealed 18 odor active regions, with the highest flavor dilution values (FD = 512) noted for ethyl butanoate and 4-hydroxy-2,5-dimethylfuran-3-one (furaneol). Odor activity values were determined for all 18 compounds and the highest was noted for ethyl butanoate (OAV = 504), followed by linalool, (E)-non-2-enal, (2E,6Z)-nona-2,6-dienal, hexanal, ethyl octanoate, ethyl hexanoate, butane-2,3-dione, and 2-methylpropanal. The main groups of odor active compounds in Physalis peruviana L. were esters and aldehydes. A recombinant experiment confirmed the identification and quantitative results.