ABSTRACT
This chapter describes the plant metabolic processes behind Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) that contribute to chemical defense systems and food quality. Qualitative and quantitative analyses of aroma glycosides are predominantly performed using Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry followed by TMS/TFA derivatization. Liquid Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry is a powerful chemical analysis tool for quantitative analysis of Glycosidic Bound Volatile compounds (GBVs) at the picomolar level, and does not require derivatization. GBVs comprise a sugar moiety and a non-sugar moiety, and VOCs are liberated by ß-glycosidases that catalyze the hydroxylation of glycosidic bonds between glycone and aglycone. As a consequence, research into VOCs and GBVs is expanding both from viewpoints of phytochemical and plant physiology and perspectives of food chemistry and medical science. Aroma compounds in foods with rich flavors, such as wine, tea, and shochu, predominantly comprise VOCs that are derived from aglycone moieties of GBVs during manufacture.
