Analysis of differences in volatile flavor substances of peanut pods under various drying methods via GC–IMS

The purpose of this study was to explore the differences in volatile flavor compounds in peanut pods subjected to different drying methods. Heat pump drying (HPD), infrared drying (ID), combined heat pump-infrared drying (HPD-ID), and vacuum freeze drying (VFD) were employed to dry peanuts in the experiment. Volatile compounds in peanut pods were identified using gas chromatography-ion mobility spectrometry (GC-IMS), and differences of these volatile substances were analyzed by fingerprinting and principal component analysis (PCA). The results showed that the volatile flavor components of peanut pods dried by different methods mainly included 15 aldehydes, 10 alcohols, 7 ketones, 3 esters, 1 pyrazine, 2 acids, 1 ether, and 8 unidentified compounds. Fingerprinting and qualitative analysis indicated that different drying methods led to distinct flavor profiles. Principal component analysis revealed that the cumulative contribution of PC1 and PC2 was 83%, while that of PC1, PC2, and PC3 reached 98%, indicating significant differences among groups. These results demonstrated that GC-IMS could efficiently analyze and distinguish differences in volatile flavor components of peanut pods dried using various methods.