Processing of aroma extracts from elder flower (Sambucus nigra L.)

The effect of temperature, liquid phase composition, and extraction time on the extraction of 9 aldehydes, 7 ketones, 19 alcohols, 3 esters, 4 oxides, 6 terpenes and 1 aromatic aroma compound varied within and between these 7 groups of aroma compounds. No enzymatic catalysed processes regarding aroma compounds were found in this study. Factor analysis showed that description of the effects of extraction parameters required five non-correlated factors with eigenvalues 18.1, 6.2, 4.8, 3.6, and 2.3 that included 41.2, 14.2, 10.9, 8.3 and 5.2% of the data variation, respectively. The sensory quality of the extracts from the 12 cultivars was described by two factors with eigenvalues 1.9 and 0.5 including 72.4 and 20.6% of the data variation, respectively. Use of the data obtained by extraction and from sensory evaluation showed that it was possible to select cultivars, applicable for commercial use in order to improve the sensory quality and to introduce a diversity of elder flower extracts that may be attractive for different groups of consumers.