Abstract:

Green prickly ash samples from 8 main producing areas in China were collected in this study. The
response signals collected by HeraclesⅠfast gas phase electronic nose for prickly ash were analyzed by principal component
analysis (PCA) and significant response signal screening. Volatile components were detected and analyzed by gas
chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). The electronic nose results showed 8 samples were divided into 3 types.
Each type showed a 6 dimensional cobweb map, which was obviously different from each other. A total of 68 compounds
were identified in all 8 samples, 39 of which were common to these samples including olefins, alcohols, esters and
small amounts of other compounds. Olefins and alcohols were the major volatile compounds among these 39 common
components, accounting for more than 89% of the total amount of volatile compounds. The ratio of olefins to alcohols was
the main difference among 3 types of green prickly ash. Green Prickly ash from Dintan represented type 1 with similar
contents of olefins and alcohols (olefins:alcohols = 1:1), green prickly ash grown in Yimeng Mountain area represented type
2 with significantly higher content of olefins and lower content of alcohols (olefins:lcohols = 2.5:1), and the other 6 samples
including green prickly ash from Chongqing, Jiangjin, Jinyang, Hongya, Kunming, and Hanyuan showed higher content of
olefins and lower content of alcohols (olefins:alcohols = 2:1). These results are of great significance for geographic origin
discrimination, aroma classification and characteristics analysis of Chinese green prickly ash.

Key words: Chinese green prickly ash, electronic nose, gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS), principal component analysis, characteristic analysis