ABSTRACT
The current methodology used in quality control of Ecuadorian beverages such as Pájaro azúl, Puro and Pata de vaca is carried out by using conventional gas chromatography; however, it does not allow the fingerprinting of these Ecuadorian spirit beverages and their possible cases of adulteration. In order to overcome this drawback, comprehensive two-dimensional gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC × GC-MS) was combined with multivariate data analysis, revealing that compounds like citronellal, citronellol, geraniol, methyl anthranilate, (-)-trans-α-bergamotene, (-)-cis-α-bergamotene and D-limonene can be considered key elements for pattern recognition of these traditional beverages and product adulteration cases. Thus, the two-dimensional chromatographic fingerprints obtained by GC × GC-MS coupled with chemometric analysis, using Principal Component Analysis and Fisher-ratio can be considered as a potential strategy for adulteration recognition, and it may used as a quality assurance system for Ecuadorian traditional spirits.
