# HS–GC–IMS Coupled With Chemometrics Analyzes Volatile Aroma Compounds in Steamed Polygonatum cyrtonema Hua at Different Production Stages

## TL;DR

The study used HS–GC–IMS and chemometrics to track changes in volatile aroma compounds during the steaming of Polygonatum cyrtonema Hua, identifying key markers for different production stages.

## Contribution

The novel use of HS–GC–IMS combined with chemometrics to classify and identify VOC markers in steaming stages of P. cyrtonema Hua.

## Key findings

- Fifty-seven VOCs were identified, including aldehydes, alcohols, ketones, esters, furans, and acids.
- PCA and heatmap cluster analysis successfully classified VOCs from different steaming stages.
- Eighteen VOCs with VIP > 1.0 were identified as potential markers for differentiation.

## Abstract

Headspace-gas chromatography-ion migration spectrometry (HS–GC–IMS) combined with chemometrics was used to analyze the changes in volatile aroma compounds (VOCs) at different production stages of steaming Polygonatum cyrtonema Hua. Fifty-seven representative compounds in the process of steaming were identified, including 17 aldehydes, 15 alcohols, 15 ketones, 5 esters, 3 furans, and 2 acids. After steaming, the content of 21 compounds decreased. Among them, 3 compounds gradually decreased along with an increase in steaming times; they were 1-hexanol dimer, 1-hexanol monomer, and 3-methylbutan-1-ol dimer. The content of 14 compounds increased than before, and that of three, 1-(2-furanyl)ethanone monomer, 2-furaldehyde, and 3-methyl butanal, increased significantly in the steaming times. The VOCs of the different samples can be classified by GC–IMS data combined with principal component analysis (PCA) and heatmap cluster analysis. A reliable prediction set was established by orthogonal partial least squares discriminant analysis (OPLS-DA), and 18 different VOCs with projected variable importance (VIP) greater than 1.0 were screened out, which could be used as differentiating markers. Therefore, HS–GC–IMS and PCA were used to rapidly identify and classify the VOCs in different production stages of steaming P. cyrtonema Hua.