Rapid differentiation of new apple cultivars by headspace solid-phase microextraction in combination with chemometrical data processing

The aim of this study was to test a combination of automated headspace solid phase-microextraction gas chromatography (GC) with chemometrical data treatment for the rapid differentiation of enzyme-inactivated homogenates of new apple cultivars. The four cultivars Pinova, Piflora, Renora and Florina are characterized by different volatile patterns. Differences in the contents of volatiles were especially found for butyl acetate, ethyl butanoate, 2-methyl butanol, ethyl acetate and 6-methyl-5-hepten-2-ol. The used sample preparation method for GC coupled with pattern recognition of chromatograms is a useful tool for rapid and reliable determination of large numbers of samples.