{"id":{"repo_id":"eku","oai_identifier":"oai:encompass.eku.edu:etd-1784"},"canonical_url":"https://search.dev.ndltd.org/etd/eku/oai:encompass.eku.edu:etd-1784","repository":{"repo_id":"eku","name":"Eastern Kentucky University","base_url":"https://encompass.eku.edu/do/oai/"},"display":{"title":"Decoding the Flavor of Kentucky's Native Pawpaw Fruit","abstract":"The objective of this research was to decode the flavor of Asimina triloba, or the pawpaw fruit, to identify and quantitate the aroma-active compounds that are present. Gas chromatography – olfactometry (GC-O) was applied on capillary GC columns with various means of extraction. The volatile compounds present were extracted using both headspace solid phase micro-extraction (HS-SPME) for 30 minutes at 23°C and 50°C, and solvent extraction using methylene chloride. The sample extracts were analyzed with both gas chromatography – mass spectrometry (GC-MS) and gas chromatography – olfactometry (GC-O). To eliminate potential artifacts that were observed when using HS-SPME at 50°C, the study focused on analyzing the SPME samples performed at 23°C and solvent extraction for characterization of the aroma compounds within the pawpaw fruit. Throughout this study, forty-four aroma-active compounds were observed. Of the forty-four compounds, fifteen were identified for the first time within the pawpaw fruit. Acetaldehyde, diacetyl, eugenol, homofuraneol, delta-octalactone, gamma-octalactone, and vanillin are a few of the recently identified odor-active compounds. It was observed that these odor-active compounds had high flavor dilution (FD) factors. The esters within the pawpaw alongside these high intensity aroma-active compounds contribute to the unique aroma associated with the pawpaw fruit. The odor has often been described as tropical, creamy, sweet, and a mixture of banana, mango, and pineapple-like. In addition, some of these flavor compounds were quantitated and comparisons were made to different cultivars as well as during the ripening stage. These results identified one marker compound (3-hydroxy ethyl butyrate) as a potential way to distinguish Mango pawpaw cultivar from others. Overall, this work provides a good foundation for future pawpaw researchers who may try to understand the flavor differences of various pawpaw cultivars.","abstract_html":"The objective of this research was to decode the flavor of Asimina triloba, or the pawpaw fruit, to identify and quantitate the aroma-active compounds that are present. Gas chromatography – olfactometry (GC-O) was applied on capillary GC columns with various means of extraction. The volatile compounds present were extracted using both headspace solid phase micro-extraction (HS-SPME) for 30 minutes at 23°C and 50°C, and solvent extraction using methylene chloride. The sample extracts were analyzed with both gas chromatography – mass spectrometry (GC-MS) and gas chromatography – olfactometry (GC-O). To eliminate potential artifacts that were observed when using HS-SPME at 50°C, the study focused on analyzing the SPME samples performed at 23°C and solvent extraction for characterization of the aroma compounds within the pawpaw fruit. Throughout this study, forty-four aroma-active compounds were observed. Of the forty-four compounds, fifteen were identified for the first time within the pawpaw fruit. Acetaldehyde, diacetyl, eugenol, homofuraneol, delta-octalactone, gamma-octalactone, and vanillin are a few of the recently identified odor-active compounds. It was observed that these odor-active compounds had high flavor dilution (FD) factors. The esters within the pawpaw alongside these high intensity aroma-active compounds contribute to the unique aroma associated with the pawpaw fruit. The odor has often been described as tropical, creamy, sweet, and a mixture of banana, mango, and pineapple-like. In addition, some of these flavor compounds were quantitated and comparisons were made to different cultivars as well as during the ripening stage. These results identified one marker compound (3-hydroxy ethyl butyrate) as a potential way to distinguish Mango pawpaw cultivar from others. Overall, this work provides a good foundation for future pawpaw researchers who may try to understand the flavor differences of various pawpaw cultivars.","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Roark, Mackenzie Leanne"],"institution":null,"degree_name":"Master of Science (MS)","degree_level":null,"degree_discipline":"Chemistry","degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":[],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2023,"date_issued":"2023-05-12T07:00:00Z","date_published":"2023-05-12T07:00:00Z","updated_at":"2026-07-24T02:16:00Z","subjects":["Chemistry;Fragrance and Flavor;Gas Chromatography;Mass Spectrometry;Olfactometry;Pawpaw Fruit","Chemistry","Physical Sciences and Mathematics"],"languages":[],"rights":[],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://encompass.eku.edu/etd/786","outbound_label":"Repository record","outbound_source":"dc:identifier"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Roark, Mackenzie Leanne"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"thesis:degree_discipline","label":"Discipline","values":["Chemistry"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["Master of Science (MS)"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["Chemistry;Fragrance and Flavor;Gas Chromatography;Mass Spectrometry;Olfactometry;Pawpaw Fruit","Chemistry","Physical Sciences and Mathematics"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["https://encompass.eku.edu/etd/786"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["The objective of this research was to decode the flavor of Asimina triloba, or the pawpaw fruit, to identify and quantitate the aroma-active compounds that are present. Gas chromatography – olfactometry (GC-O) was applied on capillary GC columns with various means of extraction. The volatile compounds present were extracted using both headspace solid phase micro-extraction (HS-SPME) for 30 minutes at 23°C and 50°C, and solvent extraction using methylene chloride. The sample extracts were analyzed with both gas chromatography – mass spectrometry (GC-MS) and gas chromatography – olfactometry (GC-O). To eliminate potential artifacts that were observed when using HS-SPME at 50°C, the study focused on analyzing the SPME samples performed at 23°C and solvent extraction for characterization of the aroma compounds within the pawpaw fruit. Throughout this study, forty-four aroma-active compounds were observed. Of the forty-four compounds, fifteen were identified for the first time within the pawpaw fruit. Acetaldehyde, diacetyl, eugenol, homofuraneol, delta-octalactone, gamma-octalactone, and vanillin are a few of the recently identified odor-active compounds. It was observed that these odor-active compounds had high flavor dilution (FD) factors. The esters within the pawpaw alongside these high intensity aroma-active compounds contribute to the unique aroma associated with the pawpaw fruit. The odor has often been described as tropical, creamy, sweet, and a mixture of banana, mango, and pineapple-like. In addition, some of these flavor compounds were quantitated and comparisons were made to different cultivars as well as during the ripening stage. These results identified one marker compound (3-hydroxy ethyl butyrate) as a potential way to distinguish Mango pawpaw cultivar from others. Overall, this work provides a good foundation for future pawpaw researchers who may try to understand the flavor differences of various pawpaw cultivars."]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["Decoding the Flavor of Kentucky's Native Pawpaw Fruit"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:creator":["Roark, Mackenzie Leanne"],"dc:description.abstract":["The objective of this research was to decode the flavor of Asimina triloba, or the pawpaw fruit, to identify and quantitate the aroma-active compounds that are present. Gas chromatography – olfactometry (GC-O) was applied on capillary GC columns with various means of extraction. The volatile compounds present were extracted using both headspace solid phase micro-extraction (HS-SPME) for 30 minutes at 23°C and 50°C, and solvent extraction using methylene chloride. The sample extracts were analyzed with both gas chromatography – mass spectrometry (GC-MS) and gas chromatography – olfactometry (GC-O). To eliminate potential artifacts that were observed when using HS-SPME at 50°C, the study focused on analyzing the SPME samples performed at 23°C and solvent extraction for characterization of the aroma compounds within the pawpaw fruit. Throughout this study, forty-four aroma-active compounds were observed. Of the forty-four compounds, fifteen were identified for the first time within the pawpaw fruit. Acetaldehyde, diacetyl, eugenol, homofuraneol, delta-octalactone, gamma-octalactone, and vanillin are a few of the recently identified odor-active compounds. It was observed that these odor-active compounds had high flavor dilution (FD) factors. The esters within the pawpaw alongside these high intensity aroma-active compounds contribute to the unique aroma associated with the pawpaw fruit. The odor has often been described as tropical, creamy, sweet, and a mixture of banana, mango, and pineapple-like. In addition, some of these flavor compounds were quantitated and comparisons were made to different cultivars as well as during the ripening stage. These results identified one marker compound (3-hydroxy ethyl butyrate) as a potential way to distinguish Mango pawpaw cultivar from others. Overall, this work provides a good foundation for future pawpaw researchers who may try to understand the flavor differences of various pawpaw cultivars."],"dc:identifier":["https://encompass.eku.edu/etd/786"],"dc:subject":["Chemistry;Fragrance and Flavor;Gas Chromatography;Mass Spectrometry;Olfactometry;Pawpaw Fruit","Chemistry","Physical Sciences and Mathematics"],"dc:title":["Decoding the Flavor of Kentucky's Native Pawpaw Fruit"],"thesis:degree_discipline":["Chemistry"],"thesis:degree_name":["Master of Science (MS)"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-24T02:16:00Z"}