Abstract:

Osmanthus fragrans is a naturally occurring edible spice endemic in China, but its use is limited due to poor aroma retention. Therefore the discovery of edible materials which allow sustained aroma release from its essential oil will particularly facilitate the application of the naturally occurring spice. In this study, vanillin was selected as a candidate to sustain aroma release from the essential oil according to the five-element aroma diagram and its efficacy was evaluated by weight loss and olfaction-based methods. The results showed that when an increasing amount of vanillin in the range of 0 to 0.23 g to 100 mL of an ethanol solution of the essential oil, the retention performance of aroma compounds was improved; in the presence of 0.15 g of vanillin, the aroma retention time was doubled compared to the blank.

Key words: vanillin, Osmanthus fragrans essential oil, aroma, sustained release