Characterization of volatile compounds of Turkish pine honeys from different regions and classification with chemometric studies

Abstract

Pine honey is highly appreciated by consumers because of its non-crystallization, appearance, color, taste, and unique aroma. The objective of this study was to investigate the volatile compounds of pine honeys from 23 stations from 7 regions in Turkey's Aegean and Mediterranean regions. Solid-phase microextraction, followed by gas chromatography (GC) and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) systems were used to determine volatile compounds qualitatively and quantitatively. A total of 32 volatile compounds were identified and octanol, nonanol, 4,4,7-alpha-trimethyl 2,4,5,6,7-alpha-hexahydro-1-benzofuran-2-yl-methanol, benzaldehyde, octanal, phenylacetaldehyde, nonanal, decanal, 2-nonanone, 4-oxoisophorone, methyl salicylate, alpha-pinene, beta-pinene, limonene, cis-linalool oxide, borneol, 1,8-cineole, and beta-damascenone were found to be common volatile compounds. The classification based on the geographical origin of pine honey samples was determined using principal component analyses (PCA) and hierarchical clustering analyses (HCA). These results revealed that nonanal, nonanol, octanol, decanal, phenylacetaldehyde, benzaldehyde, octanal, alpha-pinene, 4-oxoisophorone, methyl salicylate, iso-propyl myristate, limonene, and beta-damascenone could be used as marker compounds in Turkish pine honeys.