The volatile compounds of three mango cultivars (Haden, Tommy-Atkins and Keitt), from the State of São Paulo, were isolated by a dynamic headspace technique involving suction on a porous polymer. The complex mixture of volatile compounds was separated by high-resolution gas chromatography. Some volatiles were identified by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry and Kovats Indices. The monoterpene hydrocarbons were the most abundant in the headspace of the fruits. Car-3-ene was the major component of the cultivars Haden and Keitt, while the Tommy Atkins mango exhibited predominance of two constituents, car-3-ene and alpha-pinene. Other identified compounds were alpha-fenchene, alpha-camphene, p-cimene, beta-mircene, beta-phellandrene, limonene, alpha-terpinolene, beta-caryophyllene e alpha-humulene. Samples of the same cultivar demonstrated great homogeneity, with no statistically significant difference being observed among the three lots analyzed for each cultivar.
volatile compounds; flavour; dynamic headspace; mango; cultivars
