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. 2025 Aug 1:12:1611006.
doi: 10.3389/fnut.2025.1611006. eCollection 2025.

Investigation of the differences in volatile organic compounds of sesame oil under different processing methods using GC-IMS and electronic nose

Wen Ai  1   2 , Xinyi Yin  1   2 , Shijia Zhang  1   2 , Ziran Yu  1   2 , Yuqing Liu  1   2 , Dan Huang  1
Affiliations

Investigation of the differences in volatile organic compounds of sesame oil under different processing methods using GC-IMS and electronic nose

Wen Ai et al. Front Nutr. .

Abstract

Introduction: Sesame oil is an edible oil of high economic and nutritional value, possessing a unique flavor and exerting various physiological effects, including antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and hypoglycemic effects. Flavor compounds are essential in evaluating the taste and quality of food. To explore the impacts of water substitution method, cold-pressing method, and hot-pressing method on the volatile organic components and active aroma components of sesame oil.

Methods: This study employed the Heracles Neo ultra-fast gas-phase electronic nose and GC-IMS technology, combined with chemometric analysis, to analyze the volatile organic compounds (VOCs) of three groups of sesame oil samples.

Results: A total of 74 VOCs were detected in the three sesame oil samples, which were from GC-IMS and Heracles NEO ultra-fast gas-phase electronic nose (60 VOCs were detected via GC-IMS, 22 VOCs were detected via GC-IMS, among them, 8 VOCs were simultaneously detected via GC-IMS and Heracles NEO ultra-fast gas-phase electronic nose). The sesame oil produced via the water substitution method was rich in more than 42 VOCs, including Cyclopentanone, 1-Pentanol and had a more unique and richer flavor; the sesame oil produced via the cold-pressing method contains 4 VOCs, for example, γ -terpinene with an original fruity flavor; and the sesame oil processed by the hot-pressing method was rich in 29 VOCs, including 2-methyl-1-propanol, and had a better fat aroma.

Discussion: This study helps to improve the quality and flavor of sesame oil from the perspective of volatile components, facilitating technological innovation and industrial upgrades.

Keywords: Heracles NEO ultra-fast gas-phase electronic nose; gas chromatography–ion mobility spectrometry; processing method; sesame oil; volatile organic compounds.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
(a) Three-dimensional spectrum of VOCs of three groups of sesame oil; (b) Two-dimensional spectrum of VOCs of three groups of sesame oil; (c) Spectral comparison of cold-pressing method and the other two groups of sesame oil.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Fingerprint analysis of VOCs in sesame oils. (The red box represents the compounds with the SS-01 sample higher than the other two groups, the yellow box represents the compounds with the SS-02 sample higher than the other two groups, and the blue box represents the compounds with the SS-03 sample higher than the other two groups).
Figure 3
Figure 3
PCA scores of VOCs in the three groups of sesame oils.
Figure 4
Figure 4
(a) PLS − DA analysis of VOCs in the three groups of sesame oil; (b) VIP values of the characteristic variables; (c) Permutation test results for VOCs in the three groups of sesame oil.
Figure 5
Figure 5
MXT-5 gas chromatogram overlay diagram.
Figure 6
Figure 6
MXT-1701 gas chromatogram overlay diagram.
Figure 7
Figure 7
PCA scores of VOCs in the three groups of sesame oils.
Figure 8
Figure 8
Histogram of differential compound contents.
Figure 9
Figure 9
(a) One-way ANOVA results of VOCs in sesame oil processed by three different methods using e-Nose; (b) One-way ANOVA results of VOCs in sesame oil processed by three different methods using GC-IMS.
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