Determination of volatile organic compounds in the crude and heat treated amaranth samples

Abstract

The present study concentrated on the development of an analytical method for determination of emissions of volatile organic compounds from crude and heat treated amaranth (genus Amaranthus L.) samples. Emitted substances were collected by solid-phase microextraction (SPME) method and identified by gas chromatography with mass spectrometry. The list of identified abundant organic compounds exceeds one hundred substances of different classes. Total concentrations of quantified volatile organic compounds ranged between 2.2 and 68.9 μg/g of dried sample. Hexanal and acetic acid were found as the most abundant compounds detected in amaranth samples. It was found that heat treatment (popping) of amaranth samples changed their composition of volatile organic compounds dramatically. The highest volatile organic compound emissions were found in popped grain amaranth in comparison to all crude grains and amaranth biomasses.