Solid-Phase Microextraction (SPME) Technique for Measurement of Generation of Fresh Cucumber Flavor Compounds

Investigations were carried out to determine whether flavor compounds characteristic for fresh cucumbers could be rapidly determined using a solid-phase microextraction (SPME) dynamic headspace sampling method combined with gas chromatography and flame ionization detection. Cucumbers were sampled, during blending, for fresh cucumber flavor compounds (E,Z)-2,6-nonadienal and (E)-2-nonenal. The GC was such that the two target compounds were separated and baseline-resolved. Relative standard deviations for analysis of both (E,Z)-2,6-nonadienal and (E)-2-nonenal using this SPME sampling method were +/-10%. Utility of the analytical method was demonstrated by determining the effect of heat treatments on the ability of cucumbers to produce these flavor impact compounds.