Abstract: This study aimed to determine the volatile aroma components of fruit peels of four varieties of citrus with different aroma characteristics by solid-phase microextraction (SPME) coupled with gas chromatography-mass spectrophotometry (GC-MS). Results showed that a total of 39, 37, 43 and 41 volatile components were identified in the peels of ponkan, naval orange, Shatang mandarine and Citrus reticulata Blanco cv. Manau Gan. Esters were not detected in ponkan or Shatang mandarine and ketones were not detected in naval orange. The aroma component identified in Citrus reticulata Blanco cv. Manau Gan included alkanes, aldehydes, ketones, alcohols, esters, aromatic compounds and other miscellaneous compounds. The differences in the aroma profiles of these citrus varieties were explained in terms of aroma composition, the relative contents of common aroma components and unique aroma compounds, and the differences in the aroma types of citrus were chemically demonstrated.

Key words: gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS), solid-phase microextraction (SPME), citrus, aroma compounds