Analysis of volatile compounds of rosemary honey. Comparison of different extraction techniques

Summary The analysis of the volatile fraction from honey requires the sugar matrix to be separated prior to the analysis by GC-MS. In this study, three extraction techniques, simultaneous extraction-distillation, liquid-liquid extraction and solid-phase extraction, were compared to the extraction of the volatile compounds of a rosemary honey. Analysis of these fractions by gas chromatography—mass spectrometry enabled the tentative identification of up to 122 volatile compounds (alcohols, ketones, aldehydes, acids, esters, terpenes, hydrocarbons, phenol, furan and pyran compounds). SDE extracts were rich in terpenes and esters, while the other two techniques avoided the formation of artefacts due to heating the sample.