Abstract:The differences in aroma characteristics and volatile compounds of Zanthoxylum essential oils were investigated through sensory aroma evaluation using sorting, aromatic volatile component identification via gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS), and several statistical analyses, including odor activity value (OAV) measurement combined with multidimensional scaling (MDS), correspondence analysis (CA), and correlation analysis. The sorting results showed that the aroma similarity of Zanthoxylum schinifolium essential oils was relatively high according to consumers evaluations, while Zanthoxylum bungeanum essential oils exhibited similar aroma but also significant internal variations. A total of 12 aroma descriptors were developed to characterize these Zanthoxylum essential oils. Significant differences were observed in the descriptions for different Zanthoxylum essential oils (P<0.05). GC-MC identified 51 volatile compounds across 13 types of Zanthoxylum essential oils, including alkenes (25 types), alcohols (nine types), aldehydes (two types), ketones (five types), esters (six types), and other compounds (four types). Furthermore, 26 active aroma compounds (OAV>1) were determined. Correlation analysis between the descriptors and the OAV values of the active aroma compounds suggested that aroma differences among the various Zanthoxylum essential oils were significantly related to their key aroma compounds (P<0.05). The differences in OAV values of key aroma compounds form the essence of the variations in consumers' perception of the aromas of Zanthoxylum essential oils.
