Effects of Different Pretreatment Methods on the Flavor of Elaeagnus angustifolia Fruit Evaluated by Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry, Gas Chromatography-Olfactometry and Electronic Nose

Headspace solid phase micro-extraction (HS-SPME) combined with gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS), gas chromatography-olfactometry (GC-O) and an electronic nose were used to investigate the effects of five pretreatment methods including raw fruit, baking, drying, steaming and boiling on the volatile flavor profile of Elaeagnus angustifolia fruit grown in Xinjiang. The results showed that by GC-MS analysis, a total of 69 compounds were detected in the five samples. Based on the results of GC-O combined with odor activity value (OAV), 14 volatile compounds were identified as characteristic aroma components. It was found that (E,E)-2,4-decadienal, nonal, (E,E)-2,4-nonadienal, and β-ionone contributed most to the aroma of E. angustifolia fruit. After different pretreatments, there were significant differences in the aroma intensity for multiple sensory attributes among the samples. The electronic nose could effectively distinguish the aroma intensity of these samples. Partial least squares regression (PLSR) was used to analyze and explain the correlation between characteristic aroma intensity and sensory attributes. Overall, the sensory quality of baked E. angustifolia fruit was relatively better than that of the other samples.