Electronic nose and GC-MS to investigate the volatile component of an Italian traditional pasta

The present work investigated the possibility of combining headspace sampling-solid-phase microextraction with gas chromatography-mass spectroscopy (GC-MS) analysis and an array of semiconductor gas sensors to study the volatile fraction of traditional Italian cereal foods. In particular, it studied a pasta recognized as typical by the Italian laws and made with a semolina obtained from a toasted durum wheat. The GC-MS analysis allowed the identification of several volatile compounds, almost always in small concentrations, in raw materials and in fresh and dried pasta. The data deriving from the application of the GC-MS and electronic nose analyses were submitted to principal component analysis to evaluate the suitability of these techniques for emphasizing differences due to composition and/or processing. These preliminary results showed that both the analytical techniques allowed good discrimination among the meals but not among the pasta samples.