Determination of Volatiles in Hops from Romania by Solid Phase Fiber Microextraction and Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry

The main objective of this study was to evaluate the variability of the essential oils of hops harvested in two consecutive years using in-tube extraction with gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. The second objective was to assess the possibility of using the volatile profile to characterize and discriminate hop cultivars based on a chemometric approach. Three hop varieties from Transylvania, Romania were studied. Principal component analysis and cluster analysis were used to differentiate hop varieties and to identify discriminant varietal markers. Forty-nine volatiles were separated from hop cultivars, with forty-seven identified. The main components of hop essential oils included monoterpenes (-myrcene) and sesquiterpenes (-caryophyllene and -humulene). The results indicated that even though the composition of hop essential oil may be influenced by environmental factors, volatile profiles may be employed to identify cultivars.