Odor-active components in ground roasted sesame seeds

The aroma of ground roasted sesame seeds, which is characterized by high volatility and instability, has not been thoroughly investigated in detail. The aroma components of these seeds were concentrated using methods previously reported, and analyzed by Gas Chromatography-Olfactometry (GC-O) to elucidate precisely which components contribute to the characteristic aroma. The components that contributed to the aroma were found to have low boiling points with two or more peaks described as the roast and the sulfur odors. In addition, the one of the sulfur odor, the catty odor peaks was identified as 2-mercapto-3-pentanone, an odor component of coffee and cooked meat. This study is the first to detect the catty odor in sesame seeds.