Characterization and discrimination of flavor and taste profiles in olive oil from different varieties using E-nose, GC-IMS, E-tongue, and UPLC-MS/MS.

The varieties of Olea europaea play an important part in forming flavor and taste profiles of olive oil. Herein, extra virgin olive oil (EVOO) of five O. europaea varieties were comprehensively characterized by flavor and taste using an electronic nose (E-nose), gas chromatography-ion mobility spectrometry (GC-IMS), electronic tongue (E-tongue), and ultra performance liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry (UPLC-MS/MS). E-nose effectively differentiated the samples. Thirty volatile organic compounds were characterized, with esters being the most abundant. E-tongue profiling indicated that all five EVOO exhibited sweetness, bitterness, and astringency, albeit with differentiated intensities. Comparative analyses and Mantel test analyses identified 26 phenolic compounds underlying contributors to bitterness and astringency in the EVOO. Molecular docking approaches were employed to validate and visualize the capabilities for five bitter compounds with high affinity combining to bitter taste receptors. This research revealed the metabolic regulation responsible for flavor and taste profiles of EVOO.