Aroma is one of the essential parameters for the evaluation of fruit quality, with volatile components
being determinant for this characteristic. During this work, the volatile profile of fresh fruits (pulp and
peel) and leaves of Portuguese Ficus carica L. white (‘‘Pingo de Mel” and ‘‘Branca Tradicional”) and dark
(‘‘Borrasota Tradicional”, ‘‘Verbera Preta” and ‘‘Preta Tradicional”) varieties were characterised by HSSPME/
GC–IT-MS.
Fifty-nine compounds were identified and distributed by distinct chemical classes (aldehydes, alcohols,
ketones, esters, monoterpenes, sesquiterpenes, norisoprenoids), with 39 being reported for the first time
in this species. Principal component analysis of semi-quantitative data showed that pulps and peels are
distinguished from leaves by their abundance of monoterpenes and aldehydes. All varieties presented a
similar volatile profile, although some differences between white and dark varieties were noticed.
This is the first study comparing volatile composition of several materials from F. carica. In addition, no
previous study involved the above mentioned varieties.
