Identification Method of Taro (Colocasia esculenta L.) Origin Based on Gas Chromatography-Ion Mobility Spectrometry Technology

To analyze the composition of volatile organic compounds in taro from different origins, and construct visual fingerprint of taro origins. The volatile components of taro from different origins were determined by gas chromatography-ion mobility spectrometry (GC-IMS), and principal component analysis (PCA) could quickly distinguish the differences of volatile components, further screened the different volatile compounds in taro samples. Results showed that, a total of 45 signal peaks were detected in taro from different origins, and 26 compounds were identified, including monomers and dimers of some compounds. Taro samples could be divided into three categories by PCA. Among them, the volatile substances of Jingjiang taro and Fenghua taro were similar, but they were significant different from Lipu taro and Shagou taro. Isopropanol, 2-methyl-butyl acetate and methyl octanoate were regarded as characteristic markers to distinguish different taro samples. This method was intuitive and rapid, and would provide a novel method and technical support for distinguishing local characteristic taro.