Screening for Novel Mercaptans in 26 Fruits and 20 Wines Using a Thiol-Selective Isolation Procedure in Combination with Three Detection Methods

A selection of 46 fruits and wines were screened for mercaptans using a thiol-selective isolation procedure. The identification was based on three methods: gas chromatography-olfactometry (GC-O), gas chromatography-sulfur chemiluminescence detection (GC-SCD), and two-dimensional gas chromatography coupled with time-of-flight mass spectrometry (GC × GC-TOF/MS). A database constructed from analytical and sensory data for more than 300 sulfur compounds was used to confirm the identifications. Overall, 11 mercaptans were characterized in the fruits or wines for the first time. In addition, 1-p-menthene-9-thiol identified in kumquat is the first report in any food thus far. Thus, besides 1-p-menthene-8-thiol, p-menthane-8-thiole-3-one, and 3-mercapto-3,7-dimethyl-6-octenyl acetate, a fourth naturally occurring mercapto terpenoid occurs in fruits.