Chiral Evaluation of Aroma‐active Compounds in Real Complex Samples

The enantiomeric distribution of aroma‐active compounds resulting from stereospecific biosyn‐thetic pathways was established using a multidimensional chromatographic system, which involves the on‐line coupling of reversed‐phase liquid chromatography and gas chromatography (RPLC‐GC). The proposed approach allowed the rapid determination of the enantiomeric composition of chiral terpenes such as α‐pinene, limonene, linalool and α‐terpineol in different products (that is, orange aroma, orange essential oils, and fruit beverage) without requiring the previous concentration of the sample. Relative standard deviation values lower than 7.5% were obtained for the investigated compounds. Applications to the authentication of fruit products based on both the R‐ and S‐form contents of chiral terpenes were considered.