Volatile compounds characterising Tunisian virgin olive oils: the influence of cultivar.

Summary In this work, the volatile profiles of four Tunisian virgin olive oils were established by headspace-solid phase microextraction and gas chromatography, using flame ionisation and mass spectrometer detectors. More than eighty compounds were isolated and characterised, representing 97–99% of the total GC area. The main volatile compounds present in the oil samples were determined quantitatively, the major constituents were often aldehydes, particularly (E)-2-hexenal (48–90%). Significant differences in the content of volatile constituents were observed. These quantitative differences were used to distinguish between virgin olive oils from different varieties.