Aroma characterization of ripe date fruits (Phoenix dactylifera L.) from Algeria

The headspace of eight Algerian date varieties with low market value were analyzed for their aroma\udcompounds using solid phase micro extraction and gas chromatography combined with mass\udspectrometry. In this study, 61 identified compounds were categorized in various chemical classes on\udthe basis of their functional groups, alcohols, esters, aldehydes, terpenoids, ketones, hydrocarbons,\udand ethers. Twenty specific volatiles were found to be representative of a single variety and four shared\udmolecules were exclusively observed in all the studied dates. Some dates such as Bent Qbala, Litima,\udand Timjouhart were statistically different from the other varieties which presented on the contrary a\udsignificant similarity between them. In the present study, forty eight new volatile compounds were\udidentified which could be useful for the characterization of the Algerian date