Characterization of fennel flavors by solid phase trapping-solvent extraction and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry

Headspace solid phase trapping solvent extraction (HS-SPTE) and GC-MS was applied for the characterization of volatile flavors from fennel, anise seed, star-anise, dill seed, fennel bean, and Ricard aperitif liquor. Tenax was used for HS-SPTE adsorption material. Recoveries, precision, linear dynamic ranges, and the limit of detection in the analytical method were validated. There were some similarities and distinct differences between fennel-like samples. The Korean and the Chinese fennels contained trans-anethole, (+)-limonene, anisealdehyde, methyl chavicol as major components. The volatile aroma components from star anise were characterised by rich trans-anethole, (+)-limonene, methyl chavicol, and anisaldehyde. Additionally, principal component analysis (PCA) has been used for characterizing or classifying eight different fennel-like samples according to origin or other features. A quite different pattern of dill seed was found due to the presence of apiol (dill).