Characterization of key aroma compounds in a representative aromatic extracts from citrus and astragalus honeys based on aroma extract dilution analyses

The aroma and aroma-active compounds of astragalus and citrus honeys were determined by GC-MS-olfactometry (GC-MS-O). The honey extracts were obtained by two different extraction techniques including liquid–liquid extraction (LLE) and solid phase extraction (SPE), and compared to determine the more representative odour aromatic honey extract. According to sensory analysis, the aromatic extract (40 g honey with 22 mL water) obtained by LLE was the most similar of honey odour. The amount of aroma compounds of citrus honey (14391.6 µg kg −1 ) was higher than astragalus honey (4270.1 µg kg −1 ). Terpenes and acids in citrus honey and esters and aldehydes in astragalus honey were the most dominant aroma compounds. Aroma extract dilution analysis (AEDA) was used to determine the aroma-active compounds of honey samples. By application of AEDA on the aromatic extracts isolated by LLE, 12 aroma-active compounds in astragalus honey and 23 in citrus honey could be detected within a flavour dilution (FD) factor range of 8–128. On the basis of the FD factor, phenylethyl alcohol in both honeys was the most powerful key compound and was described as the flowery odour.