Extraction of volatile flavour compounds from butter oil in a low-density polyethylene membrane pouch

A low-density polyethylene membrane pouch method was developed to extract volatile flavour compounds from butter oil prior to gas chromatography-mass spectrometry analysis. The butter oil represented oil-based sample with complex flavour compounds. It was placed in the pouch and heat-sealed for extraction in diethyl ether at 40°C for 1h. The extraction mechanism can be explained by the molecular sieve effect. The extracted volatile flavour compounds are essential for butter oil aroma, e.g. fatty acids and lactones. The percent recoveries of fatty acids and lactones by this method were 1.00-1.74% and 10.1-11.2%, respectively. Sensory evaluation of the aroma recombinate and butter oil indicated the promise of this extraction technique.