Sensory analysis odor-activity value

IRMS LC MDGC MS MSA NIF NMR OAV OSV PCA RAS RP SDE SFE SIM SNIF SPME TIC TLC Stable Isotope Ratio Mass Spectrometry Liquid Chromatography MultiDimensional Gas Chromatography Mass Spectrometry Multivariate Sensory Analysis Nasal Impact Frequency Nuclear Magnetic Resonance spectroscopy Odor Activity value Odor Spectrum Value Principal Component Analysis Retronasal Stimulation Reversed Phase Simultaneous steam Distillation Extraction Supercritical Fluid Extraction Selected Ion Monitoring Surface of Nasal Impact Frequency Solid Phase Micro Extraction Total Ion Current Thin Layer Chromatography... 

The objective of modern flavor analysis is to qualitatively and quantitatively determine the flavor profile imparted by nature and thus to identify those substances responsible for the flavor of a food. In recent years, a combination of sensory methods and instrumental analytical procedures has made a major contribution toward reaching this objective. Thanks in particular to the concept of odor activity value, which has been steadily refined at the German Research Institute for Food Chemistry in Garching (Technical University of Munich) during the past decade, it is today possible to make well-founded statements about the odor activity of volatile flavor compounds in foods (112-116). With the aid of the odor activity value concept, it is possible to identify those components of the extremely complicated flavor profiles that are of key importance for the specific flavor of a food. 

In general, the aroma of a food consists of many volatile compounds, only a few of which are sensorially relevant. A first essential step in aroma analysis is the distinction of the more potent odorants from volatiles having low or no aroma activity. In 1963, Rothe and Thomas calculated the ratio of the concentration of an odorant to its odor threshold and denoted it aroma value (3). This approach was the first attempt to estimate the sensory contribution of single odorants to the overall aroma of a food. Since that time, similar methods have been developed odor unit (4) based on nasal odor thresholds, flavor unit (5) using... 

---