Sulfur-Containing Volatiles of Durian Fruits (Durio zibethinus Murr.)

The fruits of three varieties of Indonesian durian have been analyzed by GC-MS and flavor dilution analysis. Twenty-four of the 43 peaks that contributed to the flavor of the 5× diluted extract, as detected by sniff−GC, had a sulfury note. Upon diluting the original extract 50 times, 11 components of the 17 which could still be detected by sniff−GC had a sulfury note, 3 of which were especially strong. One of the three strongest durian odorants was identified, based on Kovats index, MS, and odor description, as 3,5-dimethyl-1,2,4-trithiolane. Ethyl 2-methylbutanoate was found to have the highest odor impact among the non-sulfurous odorants in durian.