Quantification of Some Volatile Aromatic Compounds of Apricot by Adding Standards

The quantification of twelve volatile aromatic compounds of apricot was realized by adding known amounts of pure compounds directly in the slurry before analysis by vacuum distillation and gas chromatography. This method was compared with the classical technique using an internal standard and was applied to two different apricot cultivars. Large differences were observed between the amounts of volatiles calculated by the two methods. They are due to the differences between the extraction coefficients of the quantified compounds and to the retentions of volatiles on nonvolatile compounds, which may vary according to the polarity.