Effect of Oven Drying, Microwave Drying, and Silica Gel Drying Methods on the Volatile Components of Ginger (Zingiber officinale Roscoe) by HS-SPME-GC-MS

Fresh or dried ginger is a common traditional Chinese medicine as well as an important spice in China. The volatile components of ginger play important roles in its flavor and bioactivities. In this work, headspace solid-phase microextraction followed by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) was used to study the effects of oven drying, microwave drying, and silica gel drying methods on the degree of dehydration and volatile components of ginger. Sixty compounds were identified by GC-MS. The major volatile compounds were zingiberene (26.4-37.1%), beta-phellandrene (7.4-12.9%), beta-sesquiphellandrene (10.2-12.8%), and geranial (6.6-8.1%). The volatiles of silica gel-dried ginger were similar to those of fresh ginger. Microwave-dried ginger had a higher content of zingiberene and satisfactory dehydration efficiency. The result showed that microwave and silica gel can be used in drying of ginger to maintain the taste and appearance of fresh ginger.