Determination of aroma and some quality parameters of aspir (Carthamus tinctorius L.) stigmas

In this study, stigmas of seven different safflower (Carthamus tinctorius L.) cultivars (Olas, Dinçer, Balcı, Göktürk, Asol, Linas and Hasankendi) obtained from Çukurova University Faculty of Agriculture Research and Application Farm were investigated in terms of aroma compounds, color, total phenolic content, antioxidant capacity (with ABTS and DPPH methods). Extraction of aroma compounds of safflower samples was done by purge and trap method and GC-MS device was used for identification. As a result of the analysis, a total of 43 aroma compounds were found. It has been determined that the aroma of safflower stigmas is mostly composed of terpene, acid and alcohol compounds. The dominant aroma compounds in the stigmas were determined as ocimene, limonene, (E)-β-caryophyllene, hexanal, acetoin, 3-methyl-butanoic acid and 2,3-butanediol. In terms of aroma compounds, the highest amount was determined in Balcı variety (77,30 mg/kg), while the lowest amount was determined in Dinçer variety (26,44 mg/kg). As a result of total phenolic content and antioxidant capacity analyzes, the highest total phenolic content was found in Hasankendi variety (1965.73 mg/kg in GAE). Hasankendi variety showed the highest activity in terms of antioxidant capacity (14307.10 µM/kg in TE in ABTS method, 2307.00 µM/kg in TE in DPPH method). It was determined that the variety difference affected the values of color, total phenolic content, antioxidant capacity and aroma.