The lactone 6-pentyl-a-pyrone (6-PP) is a coconut-like aroma compound approved by the American agency Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for food use. The aim of the present study was to improve the extraction conditions of headspace solid-phase microextraction coupled with gas chromatography to quantify the 6-PP produced by Trichoderma harzianum using green coir dust. To achieve this purpose, standard solutions of 6-PP were added to green coir dust. The compound was extracted by a polydimethylsiloxane fiber. Agitation and addition of a 25% NaCl solution (w/v) resulted in better reproducibility. A central composite design was applied to study three factors: extraction temperature, conditioning time, and extraction time. Good responses were obtained when the extraction temperature was 79 °C, and the extraction time was 29 minutes. The conditioning time effect was not significant and was established at 2 minutes. After the development of the analytical method, it was employed to determine the 6-PP production by Trichoderma harzianum in solid-state fermentation using green coir dust as the support material for the process.
coconut aroma; 6-pentyl-α-pyrone; solid-state fermentation; SPME; green coir dust; experimental design
