Determination of Aroma Profiles of Olive Oils from Turkish Olive Cultivars

This study analyzed volatile aromatic compounds present in the oils of Turkish olive cultivars. The cultivars Gemlik, AyvalA +/- k, Memecik, Domat, Uslu, HalhalA +/-, Kilis yaglA +/- k, Nizip yaglA +/- k, HaAYebi and Karamani were harvested from important Turkish olive-growing locations, such as BalA +/- kesir, Bursa, Manisa, AydA +/- n, Mugla, A degrees zmir, Kilis, Mersin, Hatay and Gaziantep during the 2007-2008 and 2008-2009 growing seasons. Olive samples were collected in two harvest years, at almost the same maturity stage, and processed under the same conditions. Headspace solid-phase microextraction (HS-SPME) was used to analyze volatile aroma compounds in the olive oil samples. Forty-seven compounds were characterized and quantified using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry/flame ionization detector (GC-MS/FID). The most abundant identified compounds were trans-2-hexenal, hexanal and 3-methyl-1-butanol. The trans-2-hexenal, hexanal and 3-methyl-1-butanol contents of oil samples varied between 0.86-67.15, 3.93-61.82 and 0.48-84.74 %, respectively.