Authentification of fruit spirits using HS‑SPME/GC‑FID and OPLS methods

Abstract

This research provides an accurate description of the origin for fruit spirits. In total, 63 samples of various kinds of fruit spirits (especially from apples, pears, plums, apricots and mirabelle) were analysed using headspace-solid phase microextraction and gas chromatography with flame-ionization detector. Obtained volatile profiles were treated and analysed by multivariate regression with a reduction of dimensionality-orthogonal projections to latent structure for the classification of fruit spirits according to their fruit of origin. Basic result of statistical analysis was the differentiation of spirits to groups with respect to fruit kind. Tested kinds of fruit spirits were strictly separated from each other. The selection was achieved with a specificity of 1.000 and a sensitivity of 1.000 for each kind of spirit. The statistical model was verified by an external validation. Hierarchical cluster analysis (calculation of distances by Ward’s method) showed a similarity of volatile profiles of pome fruit spirits (apple and pear brandies) and stone fruit spirits (especially mirabelle and plum brandies).