Abstract:

In this study, volatile compounds of pear cultivars originating from different species were detected using an electronic nose. The results showed that 18 sensors of the electronic nose responded differently to the volatile compounds of pear cultivars from different species. Likewise, different cultivars resulted in different responses toward these sensors. The eight cultivars could be clustered into two groups by principal component analysis (PCA). One group contained a high concentration of some volatile compounds and exhibited higher response values to sensors, whereas another group contained a low concentration of some volatiles and showed lower response values to sensors. In addition, these cultivars could be clearly differentiated on the basis of their origin and producing area using discrimination factor analysis (DFA). Our results demonstrated that the detection of volatile compounds using electronic nose combining with appropriate mathematic analysis could differentiate pear cultivars．

Key words: pear cultivars, electronic nose, volatile compounds