Isolation and identification of the aroma components from saffron (Crocus sativus)

In this work we have studied the volatile components of saffron, the dried, dark-red stigmata of Crocus sativus L. flowers. The isolation of the aroma, was achieved using the following techniques: (a) steam distillation (SD), (b) micro-steam distillation extraction (MSDE), and (c) vacuum head space method (VHS). The determination of the volatile components was performed using some different gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) instruments and methods. The characteristic compounds are 2,6,6-trimethyl-1,3-cyclohexadien-1-carboxaldehyde, namely safranal; 3,5,5-trimethyl-2-cyclohexen-1-one, namely isophorone; 3,5,5-trimethyl-3-cyclohexen-1-one, isomer of isophorone; 2,6,6-trimethyl-2-cyclohexen-1,4-dione; and 2,6,6-trimethyl-1,4-cyclohexadiene-1-carboxaldehyde, isomer of safranal.