Abstract: An HS-SPME coupled with GC-MS method was developed and applied for the quantification of volatile terpenoids in Chinese medicinal liquor. The effects of SPME fiber type, percentage of ethanol, extraction temperature, and adsorption time on the extraction of volatile terpenoids were evaluated. The optimal SPME extraction parameters were determined as follows: samples were diluted to an alcoholicity of 10% and extracted with 50/30 μm DVB/CAR/PDMS fiber for 45 min at 60 ℃. The proposed method exhibited good linearity. An excellent correlation coefficient was observed for 41 analytes, no less than 0.9921. The limits of detection were in the range of 0.01 to 3.62 μg/L and the limits of quantification varied from 0.03 to 12.05 μg/L. Both the repeatability and precision RSD values were below 15%. The spike recoveries of 41 volatile terpenoids were in the range of 81.01 % to 118.94 %. A total of 41 volatile terpenoids were quantified by this method in base and fished samples of Chinese medicinal liquor   Dongjiu,,. Total terpenoid content was higher in Daqu base liquor compared to Xiaoqu base liquor. Seventeen terpenoids including D-camphor were found in Daqu base liquor rather than Xiaoqu base liquor. Regardless of the affecting factors coming from distillation such as acid and heat, the 17 terpenoids were speculated to be mainly derived from Daqu fermented grains, while calamine was found only in Xiaoqu base liquor, suggesting that it is derived from Xiaoqu fermented grains. This study indicates that the HS-SPME coupled with GC-MS method is suitable for the quantitative analysis of terpenoids in Chinese medicinal liquor.

Key words: Chinese medicinal liquor, Dongjiu liquor, terpenoids, headspace-solid phase microextraction (HS-SPME), gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS)