Analysis of Different Quality Agarwood Oil (Aquilaria Malaccensis) and Sensory Study

Agarwood is increasing in demand in the global market due to the presence of resinous wood that is widely used as an ingredient in perfumes, aromatherapy and traditional medicines. The popularity comes with concern on its unique smell (woody) and quality adulteration. This paper presents the response between chemical compositions in agarwood oil, reflected on the reading of fabricated e-nose which is used for classification. Different quality of samples which were identified as pure and mixture agarwood oil were analyzed by using gas chromatography for chemical profiling. Reveals that common major compounds like 4-phenyl-2-butanone, β-agarofuran, 10- epi-γ-eudesmol and agarospirol were found in the pure sample. An electronic nose (E-nose) that consists of a sensor array is a device used to substitute human olfactory system. The sample was exposed to the sensor array for odor profile recognition. The collected dataset was normalized and analyzed using box plot for feature extraction. The result concludes that different chemical compound was able to produce a different pattern for electronic nose reading even though the odor profile is almost similar

Analysis of volatile compound from swiftlet raw material using solid-phase microextraction gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (SPME-GC-MS) and e-nose sensor

Aerodramus fuciphagus, or swiftlets are small insectivorous birds that breed throughout Southeast Asia. Edible birds’ nest (EBN) from the swiftlets’ saliva secretion are valuable in the market. EBN industry in Malaysia are large and recognized for its economic potential. Aroma is one of the factors believed to attract swiftlets to enter and build nests in the birdhouse. This study focused on the identification of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) from the aroma of EBN, feather, and guano as reference samples in a successful swiftlet birdhouse. E-nose technology was used to determine the VOC similarity index based on the reference samples collected. Headspace technique coupled with gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (HS-GC/MS) were performed for the chemical profile identification. The area favored by the population of swiftlet are shown through the similarity index of the e-nose results which are 87.06%, 67.15% and 60.23% obtained from feather, guano and EBN respectively. Next, HS-GC/MS using four types of solid-phase microextraction (SPME) fibers were used in the analysis. PDMS fiber showed the highest efficiency in extracting the VOCs from the reference samples. Pentadecane (15.5%) and 2,4-Di-tert-butylphenol (10.41%) were the main compounds from 16 compounds identified in EBN. Eleven compounds were identified in the feather sample with Heptadecane (7.26%) and Pentadecane (6.14%) as the main compounds, followed by ten compounds extracted from the guano sample, with 2-Bromo dodecane (11.9%) and Hexadecane (7.39%) as the main compounds. From this study, the volatile compounds of the possible natural aroma that attracts the swiftlets into the birdhouse can be identified

Resolution of Complex Sesquiterpene Hydrocarbons in Aquilaria malaccensis Volatile Oils Using Gas Chromatography Technique

Agarwood or gaharu is resin-impregnated wood of the tree genus Aquilaria (Thymelaeaceae). In Malaysia, the main agarwood producer is Aquilaria malaccensis and oil extracted from this species is highly priced. One of the challenges in commercializing agarwood is the lack of universal standard to classify the aromatic oils. Our present knowledge places the main aromatic compounds of agarwood oil in the sesquiterpene hydrocarbon region. In this work, we extracted agarwood oil using hydrodistillation method in the laboratory and compared with a commercial-scale extraction in the factory. We analyzed the sesquiterpene hydrocarbon region using several highly sophisticated detection systems. Using GC-FID, 12 sesquiterpene hydrocarbons were identified, while another eight were determined using GC-MS. Five compounds were identified in both analytical techniques: aromadendrene, α-bulnesene, α-guaiene, γ-gurjunene, and β-maaliene. Advanced analysis using GC × GC/TOFMS detected 24 sesquiterpene hydrocarbons in both laboratory and pilot scale agarwood oils. Many of the sesquiterpene hydrocarbons identified provide the woody aroma to the agarwood oil. Specifically, α-gurjunene and α-guaiene contribute to the woody balsamic aroma, while α-copaene contributes to the spicy-wood aroma. In total, 33 sesquiterpene hydrocarbons were identified from A. malaccensis in the present study, with high certainty. Results from this study can be used toward establishing a universal standard for agarwood oil from the genus Aquilaria in the global market, which is presently lacking

Production of volatile organic compounds using oil palm frond juice as a sole substrate by ceratocystis fimbriata = Penghasilan sebatian organik meruap menggunakan jus pelepah kelapa sawit sebagai substrat tunggal oleh ceratocystis fimbriata

In this paper, the potential of oil palm frond (OPF) juice as an alternative and renewable carbon source to replace the function of glucose to produce volatile compounds by Ceratocystis fimbriata will be reported. The OPF juice was extracted using simple physical separation method. The growths of fungi were monitored by using cell dry weight (CDW) method whereby the characterization of sugar composition and consumption of the OPF juice by Ceratocystis fimbriata were carried out using high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). The volatile organic compounds were separated and analyzed by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) with solid phase micro extraction (SPME). On the fourth day, the biomass produced by Ceratocystis fimbriata increased significantly and produced the highest number of products comprising of 3 alcohols, 2 esters, 1 aldehyde, 1 fatty acid, 1 phenol and 1 ketone. Based on the GC-MS analysis, several volatile compounds namely aldehydes, alcohols, ketones, and esters could be produced from OPF juice supplemented with a mineral salt medium. This result shows the potential usage of OPF juice as substrates for the growth and production of volatile organic compounds by Ceratocystis fimbriata

Inspection of crude oil condition using electronic nose (E-nose)

Oil and gas production and distribution processes technologies are highly complex and capital-intensive. Crude oil is a high demand commodity in Malaysia and across the world. Physical and chemical properties are used to classify crude oil in oil and gas industries. The human's nose cannot distinguish the difference of smell among various crude oils grade. Conventional approaches to detect odour are expensive and difficult to operate. Due to declining production and increasing demand, using E-nose technologies to inspect the odour condition of crude oil might be a significant change in the industries. The Case-Based Reasoning (CBR) classification method also is utilised in this project to classify crude oil conditions. As a result, all crude oil samples have their odour profile pattern extracted through the normalisation of data. The performance accuracy of the CBR classifier achieved a high rate, which is 99.31% on average. Hence, the using of E-nose and utilising CBR are excellent methods in investigating odour

Intelligent clasification sewage treatment plant (STP) using E-nose

The environment is an invaluable gift. In an era of progress, economic activities and development projects are often carried out to improve living standards and keep pace with other developed countries. However, this activity has had a negative impact on the environment because some parties still fail to control the disposal of waste that can cause environmental pollution. The effects of this pollution can give to discomfort and disruption to the life of the community. It is because the effects of toxic emissions have caused air pollution to spread foul odors. Therefore, this study was conducted to classify air odor and water odor from the treatment plant in the area of Universiti Malaysia Pahang, Gambang Campus. The classification of air and water odors was done using case-based reasoning

Characterisation of Aquilaria hirta based on morphology evaluation and volatile chemical compound

Aquilaria hirta is one of the agarwood tree species in Malaysia that produces a unique resinous wood and essential oil used in perfumery, medicinal, cosmetic and religious ceremonies. Currently, it has been listed as vulnerable (VU) and threatenad species in the IUCN Red List. This study aims to characterise the morphology of A. hirta via scanning electron microscopic analysis, and to identify the volatile chemical compounds of the wood and its essential oil using gas chromatography-flame ionisation detector and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry analyses. Aquilaria hirta was identified by the presence of hirsute on the abaxial side of leaves and midrib. The field emission scanning electron microscope analysis showed plant vessel pits can be seen in the healthy wood images compared with resinous wood images due to presence of resin and microorganisms. A total of 19 compounds were identified in resinous A. hirta wood consisting of 5.97% sesquiterpenes and 20.32% oxygenated sesquiterpenes. The major compounds are kessane, γ-cadinene, α-caryophyllene, β-caryophylene and caryophyllene oxide. There were 35 compounds found in A. hirta oil comprising 0.45% monoterpenes, 23.51% sesquiterpenes and 19.53% oxygenated sesquiterpenes. Major compounds detected were γ-cadinene, nor-ketoagarofuran, allo-aromadendrene, γ-gurjunene and β-gurjunene. This study provides a reference for the identification of A. hirta species based on morphology evaluation and volatile chemical compounds profile of the essential oil and wood

Intelligent classification of palm oil tree pollination using E-nose

The pollination period is one of the crucial steps needed to ensure crop yield increases, especially in palm oil palm plantations. Most of the research has difficulty determining the pollination period of palm oil. Many problems contribute to this problem, such as difficut to reach and depedency of the polination insect as the insect activity is influenced by the surrounding enviroment.E-Nose can help determine the period by classifiy odour pattern of the male and female palm oil flower. The pattern of each of the flowers were classified using cased – based reasoning artificial intelligent technique. This paper shows the research of the palm oil pollination flower odour profile pattern using case-based reasoning (CBR) classifier

Chemical composition of Agarwood Essential Oil (Aquilaria malaccensis) upon exposure towards heat condition

Agarwood (Gaharu) is highly valued due to extensive usage in industries including perfumery, pharmaceutical and traditional medicine. The strong and unique woody aroma of agarwood oil is dependent on the abundance of sesquiterpenoid or oxygenated sesquiterpene. Post-treatment of agarwood oil such as exposure towards heat, UV light and oxygen under certain period of time are practiced by the industry to induce the formation of sesquiterpenoid content through the oxidation process, thus enhancing the woody aroma of the oil. In this study, agarwood oil (Aquilaria malaccensis) from Pahang, Malaysia was subjected to exposure of heat at 40 oC for periods of 3, 7, 14, 20 and 30 days. Gas chromatography analysis identified the major compounds in the oils as 9-hydroxyselina- 4,11-dien-14-oic acid (6.94-8.06 %), epi-α-cadinol (6.38-7.88 %), selina-3,11-dien-9-al (5.20-6.72 %), β-eudesmol (3.95-5.22 %), 10-epi-γ-eudesmol (3.95-3.87 %), selina-4,11- dien-14-oic acid (4.21-4.85 %), and α-eudesmol (3.25-3.79 %), kusunol (1.77-3.02 %) and kessane (2.42-2.90 %). The classification of compounds of treated oil (Day 3 to Day 30) showed that the sesquiterpenoid group dominated the aromatic compounds of agarwood oil in the range of 62.82 to 66.25 % with the highest content on Day 14. However, further investigation showed a decrease in total sesquiterpenoid content from 70.85 % (Day 0 to 66.25 % (Day 14) suggesting that the heating process did not increase the quantity of sesquiterpenoids as intended. Thus, further study with other parameters such as oxygen and UV light is recommended to be done together with headspace analysis of the samples

Analysis of Volatile Compound from Commercial Swiftlet Aroma Using Solid-Phase Microextraction Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry (SPME-GC-MS)

This study was designed to investigate the compounds in the different types of commercial aroma used to attract swiftlets in the birdhouse. Analysis of the volatile compounds is done on two types of commercial aroma, which is categorized as floor aroma (F1, F2, F3) and top aroma (T1, T2, T3) using SPME-GC-MS. As a result, F1, F2 and F3 shows the presence of major constituents like 2-heptanone (13.53%, 3.22% and 0.37% respectively) and 2-nonanone (0.83%, 2.02%, and 0.82% respectively) using DB-1ms while 2-heptanone (5.87%, 0.78% and 0.45% respectively) and methoxy-phenyl-oxime (11.50%, 11.84% and 0.20% respectively) using DB-wax. Major constituents detected using DB-1ms for T1, T2 and T3 are 1-(2-methoxy-1-methylethoxy)-2-propanol (36.49%, 16.23% and 3.06% respectively). Meanwhile, no similar compounds detected by DB-wax for sample T1, T2 and T3. The overall findings concluded that most of the formulation used in the commercial aroma contained strong odor-producing chemicals to attract swiftlets. More studies should be done on investigating the effects of the commercial aroma towards swiftlet also on aroma made from natural substances instead of chemically produced commercial aroma