Abstract: The volatile composition of bamboo vinegar was qualitatively analyzed by each of the pretreatment methods purge and trap-thermal desorption (P＆T-TD) and liquid-liquid extraction (LLE) combined with gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) and quantified by peak area normalization method. A total of 50 compounds including acids, phenols, ketones, esters, aldehydes, etc. were identified in bamboo vinegar based on both pretreatment methods, of which 28 were identified by P＆T-TD/GC-MS, and 29 by LLE/GC-MS. The major components with a relative content of more than 2% were acetic acid methyl ester, methyl propionate, acetic acid, 1-hydroxy-2-butanone, cyclopentanone, furfural, phenol, 2-hydroxy-3-methyl-2-cyclopenten-1-one, and 2,6-dimethoxy-phenol. The volatile composition of bamboo vinegar identified by both methods revealed considerable differences and complementarities. So, the combination of both methods can result in a complete determination of the volatile composition of bamboo vinegar.

Key words: bamboo vinegar, volatile compounds, gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS), purge and trap-thermal desorption (P＆T-TD), liquid-liquid extraction (LLE)