Volatile flavour compounds of cooked acha (Digitaria exilis Stapf)

Volatile compounds obtained from cooked acha using a Tenax trap isolation method were identified on a GC–MS. Twenty-three compounds were identified and quantified. These compounds included aldehydes, hetero-cyclics, alcohols, hydrocarbons, an ester, a terpene and two benzene compounds. Major volatiles included ethylbenzoate, 2-pentylfuran, 2,5-dimethylpyrazine, trisiloxane, 2,6-dimethylpyrazine and 1,4-cyclohexadiene. Volatiles with smaller peaks comprised 4-vinylguaiacol, 2-acetylpyrroline, 2-methylpyrazine, toluene, pentanal, nonanal and 3-cyclohexen-1-ol. Although, not conclusive, GC-sniffing results indicated that the compounds with high probability of contributing to the aroma of cooked acha included pentanal, hexanal, hexanol, nonanal, benzaldehyde, 2-methylpyrazine, 2,5-dimethylpyrazine, 2,6-dimethylpyrazine, 2-acetylpyrroline and 2-pentylfuran.