Geographical traceability of Italian white truffle ( Tuber magnatum Pico) by the analysis of...

RAPID COMMUNICATIONS IN MASS SPECTROMETRY

Rapid Commun. Mass Spectrom. 2008; 22: 3147–3153

) DOI: 10.1002/rcm.3714
Published online in Wiley InterScience (www.interscience.wiley.com
Geographical traceability of Italian white truffle

(Tuber magnatum Pico) by the analysis of volatile

organic compounds

Anna Maria Gioacchini1�, Michele Menotta2, Michele Guescini1, Roberta Saltarelli2,

Paola Ceccaroli2, Antonella Amicucci2, Elena Barbieri1, Giovanna Giomaro3

and Vilberto Stocchi1,2

1Istituto di Ricerca sull’Attivita Motoria, Via I. Maggetti 26, Universita degli Studi di Urbino ‘Carlo Bo’, 61029 Urbino, Italy2Istituto di Chimica Biologica ‘Giorgio Fornaini’, Via A. Saffi 2, University of Urbino ‘Carlo Bo’, 61029 Urbino, Italy3Istituto di Botanica e Orto Botanico ‘Pierina Scaramella’, University of Urbino, 61029 Urbino, Italy

Received 21 April 2008; Revised 14 August 2008; Accepted 15 August 2008

*Correspotivita MoUrbino ‘CE-mail: aContract/

Results are presented that were obtained on the geographic traceability of the white truffle Tuber

magnatum Pico. Solid-phase microextraction coupled to gas chromatography/mass spectrometry

(SPME-GC/MS) was employed to characterize the volatile profile of T. magnatum white truffle

produced in seven geographical areas of Italy. The main components of the volatile fraction were

identified using SPME-GC/MS. Significant differences in the proportion of volatile constituents from

truffles of different geographical areas were detected. The results suggest that, besides genetic

factors, environmental conditions influence the formation of volatile organic compounds. The

mass spectra of the volatile fraction of the samples were used as fingerprints to characterize the

geographical origin. Next, stepwise factorial discriminant analysis afforded a limited number

of characteristic fragment ions that allowed a geographical classification of the truffles studied.

Copyright # 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Truffles are the fruit bodies of hypogeous ascomycetous

fungi which live in symbiosis with the roots of trees, such as

oak, poplar, willow, hazel,1 and some shrubs. The truffles are

appreciated for two important features: for environmental

and forestry applications owing to the advantages that

mycorrhizae provide for host plants and for their unique and

characteristic aroma which clearly provides the economic

value of such edible fungi.2 Among the Tuber species, Tuber

magnatum Pico, the ‘white truffle’, and Tuber melanosporum

Vittad., the ‘black truffle’, are the most appreciated truffles

and they are increasingly in demand by the food market in

many countries. However, T. magnatum fruit bodies are one

of the most expensive delicacies together with caviar and

they have so far been collected prevalently in Italy and in

Croatia, rarely in Slovenia and Hungary, resulting in a

limited availability.3

In the present study, a method that couples headspace

solid-phase microextraction (HS-SPME) to gas chromatog-

raphy/mass spectrometry (GC/MS) was developed and

applied for the simultaneous determination of volatile

organic compounds (VOCs) in the white truffle

T. magnatum Pico belonging to different geographical areas.

SPME has been successfully utilized to rapidly concentrate

a wide variety of polar and non-polar organic compounds.

ndence to: A. M. Gioacchini, Istituto di Ricerca sull’At-toria, Via I. Maggetti 26, Universita degli Studi diarlo Bo’, 61029 Urbino, [email protected] sponsor: CIPE Project 17/03, Marche Region.

This technique, developed by Pawliszyn,4–8 shows evident

advantages compared with traditional techniques such as

liquid/liquid extraction,9 steam distillation10 and purge and

trap11 techniques combined with GC. SPME has proved to be

a highly sensitive and reproducible, low-cost, relatively

simple, solvent-free method for the extraction of organic

chemicals from different matrices, like aqueous, headspace

and ambient air.

The HS-SPME technique combined with ion trap mass

spectrometry (ITMS),12 capable of producing full-scan mass

spectra at very low concentration levels, allowed a detailed

analysis of VOCs.

In the past few decades, VOCs in truffle aromas have been

analyzed using several methods. Some research has been

devoted to the identification of truffle aroma compounds and

to study the effect of food processing on the original aroma

of different Tuber species.13–19 The most used analytical

techniques to concentrate the volatile compounds of food

aroma have been obviously those based on headspace

analysis. For truffle aroma, techniques such as dynamic

sampling headspace coupled to GC/MS20,21 and purge-and-

trap GC/MS22 have been used to detect black Perigord truffle

and Italian white truffle aromas, respectively. HS-SPME

combined with GC/MS17,23,24 has been used to detect the

volatile sulfur compounds in the aroma of white and black

truffles (T. magnatum and T. melanosporum, respectively).

Vapor and headspace analyses of the VOCs emitted by six

species of French truffles have been carried out a study by

March et al.25


3148 A. M. Gioacchini et al.

In the literature, there is no complete agreement about the

compounds responsible for the truffle aroma impact.

White truffle aroma was first analyzed in 1967 by

Fiecchi et al.,26 who indicated bis(methylthio)methane as

the most important component of the odor. Several

subsequent studies identified more sulfur compounds such

as dimethyl sulfide (DMS),27 dimethyl disulfide (DMDS),

dimethyl trisulfide (DMTS), tris(methylthio)methane,

methyl(methylthio)methyl disulfide,17,28 and, in some

samples of white truffle, 1,2,4-trithiolane.17 Recently, Piloni

et al.29 have performed a chemical analysis and odor

evaluation of the Tuber magnatum aroma by GC/MS and

GC/olfactometry (O), respectively. Among 20 compounds

identified by GC/MS, only five sulfur compounds were

detected using the GC/O analysis. DMS odour is likened to

broccoli, cauliflower, truffle and sulfur; bis(methylthio)-

methane has a very strong sulfur gas odour; tris(methylthio)-

methane is described as sulfur and garlic; DMTS and

(methylsulfinyl)(methylthio)methane are described as rot-

ten, cooked turnip and sulfur. These data indicate the key

role of sulfur compounds in the perceived aroma of truffles,

thus distinguishing T. magnatum from other truffle species.

Recently, Aprea et al. have suggested an interesting, rapid

and non-destructive way for the analysis of the aroma of

white truffles based on proton transfer reaction mass

spectrometry (PTR-MS),30 involving also a comparison of

white truffles originating from different Italian regions.

In this work we show the use of SPME-GC/MS combined

with factorial discrimination analysis to characterize the

aromatic profile of truffles and to test their authenticity and

traceability.

We analyzed the fruit bodies of T. magnatum Pico from

seven geographical areas and significant differences were

detected in the proportion of VOCs of truffles. The average

mass spectrum for an entire ion chromatogram acquired over

a period of 50min represented a fingerprint for a Tuber

magnatum species. The resulting fingerprints of truffles of

seven Italian geographical areas were subjected to step-wise

factorial discrimination analysis, considering fragment ions

of each spectrum (40<m/z< 110), potential descriptors of the

composition of the VOCs, leading to the successful

identification of samples.

This method provides an effective approach to the rapid

quality control of the truffle T. magnatum Pico by analysis of

the volatile fraction. The present study represents a first step

for the possible development of a stand-alone device able to

utilize the heightened VOC differences in order to test the

origin of Italian T. magnatum species (portable nano-device).

EXPERIMENTAL

Sample description and preparationFruit bodies of Tuber magnatum from seven Italian geo-

graphical areas were collected in the natural truffle grounds

during three harvesting seasons (2005, 2006 and 2007). In

detail, 27 fruit bodies were harvested from Piedmont, 6 from

central Tuscany, 25 from central Emilia-Romagna, 31 from

the northern part of Marche, 18 from Umbria, 4 from Molise

and 4 from the border region area between Emilia Romagna


and Marche. All 116 samples were separately analyzed.

Species identification was confirmed for every single fruit

body on the basis of carpophore morphology and spore

shape, as well as multiple polymerase chain reaction (PCR)

amplification of three fruit bodies taken at random for each

region.31 The truffles were kept at 48C and placed in 50mL

vials (Kimble Glass Inc., Vineland, NJ, USA) sealed with

butyl-Teflon septum caps (Kimble Glass Inc.). The samples

were analyzed within 24 h by SPME-GC/MS and the

analyses were conducted in triplicate. The weight of

ascocarps collected was about 1–3 g.

SPME-GC/MS measurementsSPME extraction was performed with Supelco fibers coated

with three different stationary phases: polydimethylsiloxane

(PDMS, thickness 100mm), polydimethylsiloxane/divinyl-

benzene (PDMS/DVB, thickness 65mm), and divinylben-

zene/Carboxen/polydimethylsiloxane (DVB/CAR/PDMS,

thickness 50/30mm). The fibers were supplied by Supelco

(Bellafonte, PA, USA). The 50/30mm DVB/CAR/PDMS

fiber, the most suitable, was chosen for further method

development.

The method included inserting a new 2-cm 50/30mm

DVB/CAR/PDMS fiber in a manual injection holder

followed by preconditioning before the day’s analyses by

performing two blank injections, at a temperature of 2708C.The volatile components were extracted by the static

headspace method. During this step, each of the fibers

was exposed for 10min in the headspace of the truffle with

the vial maintained at 208C (in a thermostatically controlled

analysis room). The adsorbed molecules were desorbed by

introducing the SPME fiber into the injector of a 3800 gas

chromatograph (Varian, Inc., Palo Alto, CA, USA).

The injector, in splitless mode for 2min, was set at 2608C.The VOCs were separated on a CP-Sil 8 CB low-bleed/MS

capillary column with a 5% phenyl/95% dimethylpolysilox-

ane stationary phase (30m long, 0.25mm i.d., film thickness

0.25mm; Chrompack Varian, Inc., Palo Alto, CA, USA). The

carrier gas was helium and the column flow was constant

(1mL/min).

The GC oven temperature program was 308C, hold 1min,

18C/min to 408C, hold 2min, 18C/min to 608C, 88C/min to

2008C, 208C/min to 2508C, hold 2min (total run time 55min).

The analyses were performed using a Saturn 2200GC/MS

instrument (Varian, Inc., Palo Alto, CA, USA) operating

under electron impact ionization (EI, internal ionization

source) conditions (70 eV, 20mA, ion trap temperature 1808C)with the ion trap operating in scan mode (scan range from

m/z 40–650 at a scan rate of 1 scan/s). Mass calibration was

performed using perfluorotributylamine.

Peak identification of sulfur-containing compounds and

terpenes was based on mass spectral interpretation and on

the standard library NIST ‘98 databank (NIST/EPA/NIH

Mass Spectral Library, version 1.6, USA).

The most suitable SPME sampling conditions were

investigated in our previous study.32 Furthermore, for

extractions performed at 208C, better chromatographic

reproducibility was achieved, and therefore extraction at


DOI: 10.1002/rcm

Geographical traceability of Italian white truffle 3149

this temperature was constantly employed. The extraction

time was fixed at 10min.32

Data analysisThe spectrum obtained from each sample under study was

converted into an average spectrum of the entire chromato-

graphic run byW32search software. Only fragment ionswith

intensity above 0.5% of total relative abundance were

considered to be informative. The ion ranging from 40 to

110 amu was considered useful for species characterization.

Stepwise and simultaneous discriminant analyses were

carried out by SPSS (version 10 base) and in stepwise

analysis both Mahlanobis and Wilks’ lambda methods were

performed. A subset of significant fragments was obtained

setting F probability at 0.05 for entry and at 0.1 for removal.

For each analysis, a cross validation leave-one-out test was

performed. Only the best classification result has been

reported in the present paper.

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

Among the fibers tested, the dual-layer PDMS/CAR/DVB

was chosen for our experiments. The PDMS/CAR/DVBfiber

is a type of coating in which porous materials such as

Carboxen 1006 (a porous carbon with a surface area of

1200m2/g) and DVB are suspended in the PDMS polymer.

The outer DVB coating captures large molecules, while

smaller and more volatile compounds diffuse through the

DVB layer and are trapped by the inner Carboxen/PDMS

layer. Thus, the dual-layer fiber can efficiently extract a

greater range of analytes than other fibers, which is an

important factor when analyzing unknowns such as the

headspace components of truffle Tuber magnatum fruit

bodies.

Blank runs were conducted, between extractions, with the

chosen fiber, to check for the absence of carry-over which

would cause memory effects and misinterpretation of

results. The effects of various physicochemical parameters

on extraction efficiency were studied in the previous work.32

Using the PDMS/CAR/DVB fiber, we observed that an

exposure time of 10min was sufficient to obtain a high signal

evaluating the sum of the peak areas. We investigated the

influence of fiber exposure temperature (20–1008C) on the

peak area.32 The PDMS/CAR/DVB coating has a higher

extraction efficiency compared to the other twomaterials. For

this reason, an extraction time of 10min at a temperature of

208Cwas selected, with no other preparation step, to estimate

the VOCs by SPME-GC/MS. These extraction conditions

proved satisfactory as regards rapidity, simplicity, sensi-

tivity and repeatability.

Volatile organic compounds extracted under the exper-

imental conditions set previously were identified by SPME-

GC/ITMS analysis. Figure 1 shows the average spectra of

Tuber magnatum from the Emilia Romagna (Fig. 1(a)) and

Piedmont (Fig. 1(b)) regions.

We analyzed a large variety of fruit bodies of T. magnatum

species and we evaluated the potential to compare the VOC

profile of each tuber. We also identified some specific VOC

markers allowing the discrimination of the geographical

origin of the truffle.


A large variety of VOCs (alkanes, alcohols, esters,

aldheydes, ketones, terpenes, etc.) of widely ranging polarity

and molecular weight were identified for T. magnatum.

Sulfur-containing compounds present in the headspace of

the truffle under study were identified by matching their

mass spectra with the reference mass spectra of the NIST‘98

mass spectra library. These compounds play an important

role in the aroma of truffles and especially in that of

T. magnatum. The VOC profile of T. magnatum was

dominated by these compounds: the sulfur-containing

compounds including bis(methylthio)methane, dimethyl

sulfide, dimethyl disulfide, dimethyl trisulfide, tris-

(methylthio)methane, methyl(methylthio)methyl disulfide,

and 1,2,4-trithiolane. The presence and abundance of these

volatile molecules with low odor threshold clearly indicate

the key role of sulfur compounds for white truffle aroma,

thus distinguishing T. magnatum from other truffle species.

The fragment ions atm/z 47 (methyl sulfides) and 61 (ethyl

sulfides) are characteristic of these sulfur-containing com-

pounds.33 The fragmentation of VOCs for all compounds of

each fruit body was therefore globally very similar. This

observation is an important finding because the recombina-

tion of ionic species from different volatile compounds

was limited in the developed method. It is very difficult

to elaborate a link between structural elements and the

spectra.

The results of the pattern recognition study are shown in

Fig. 2. The greater classification distance between the diverse

geographical samples was obtained by using the stepwise

Wilks’ lambda methods that selected the fragment ions, as

useful variables to estimate canonical discriminant function,

as follows: 47, 73, 60, 77, 102, 108, 74, 103, 107, 65, 75, 106, 61,

46, 63, 62, 48, 100, 90, 91, 40, 44, 45, 56, 52, 101, 64, 59, 97, 78, 41.

As shown in Table 1, 94.8% of the original grouped cases

were correctly classified. In the cross-validation test, 81.7% of

the cross-validated grouped cases were correctly classified.

Difficult though it is to link a mass fragment of a SPME/

MS spectrum unequivocally to any precise volatile com-

ponent, it is interesting to note that the ion at m/z 47 was

abundantly present in the spectra of sulfur-containing

components.

The molecular origin of these fragment ions can be found

in several compounds identified in the headspace by SPME-

GC/MS. Fragment ions at m/z 56, 103, 60 and 74 are

predominant in the spectra of alcohols, esters and acids; the

ion atm/z 100 is characteristic of aldehydes and alcohols. The

fragment ion at m/z 91 characterizes compounds such as

toluene and xylene and the ion at m/z 78 is typical of the

benzene spectrum. A fragment ion at m/z 48 is observed in

the spectra of methanethiol. The fragment ions at m/z 61, 45,

47 and 62 are characteristic of sulfur-containing compounds

such as methanethiol, dimethyl sulfide, dimethyl disulfide

and dimethyl trisulfide. Fragment ionsm/z 41, 77 and 107 are

present in the spectra of terpenoid compounds. A fragment

ion at m/z 75 is observed in the spectra of thiodiglycol and

diethyltrisulfide. Fragment ions at m/z 106 (2–12%), 63 (9–

36%) and 73 (0.7–4%) are present in the spectra of

(methylthio)acetic acid, benzothiazole and tris(methylthio)-

methane, respectively. Finally, the fragment ions atm/z 45, 61

and 108 are present in bis(methylthio)methane, a compound


DOI: 10.1002/rcm

Figure 1. Average mass spectrum and TIC chromatogram of the Tuber magnatum species from Emilia

Romagna (a) and Piedmont (b).


more abundant in Tuber magnatum Pico and mainly

responsible for the odor characteristic of this truffle.

Bertault et al.34 have suggested that environmental

variations rather than genetic factors may explain the

organoleptic differences in black truffles (T. melanosporum)

observed over a geographical area. Thus, the country of

truffle origin should be kept in mind in the comparison of

analyses of VOCs emanating from truffles. As shown in

Tables 2a and 2b, qualitative differences were found among

the truffles in the content of sulfur-containing compounds


and the fraction of terpenes. The intra-specific variation in

VOC profiles observed can be attributed to influence of the

geographical origin. Recently, Aprea and collegues30 found

that T. magnatum species fromMarche, Umbria and Tuscany

were well separated from the other Italian regions while the

ascomata harvested in Lazio and Molise were partly

overlapping with the Langhe (Piedmomt) samples. Since

in the literature it is reported that there is a very low genetic

variability within the analyzed Italian populations of

T. magnatum,35 we can hypothesize a correlation between


DOI: 10.1002/rcm

Table 1. Analysis results of the discrimination test

Classification resultsb,c

ragg

Predicted group membership

Total1 2 3 4 5 6 7

Original Count 1 21 4 0 0 0 0 0 252 0 5 0 0 0 0 0 5

3 0 0 16 2 0 0 0 18

4 0 0 0 30 0 0 0 30

5 0 0 0 0 4 0 0 4

6 0 0 0 0 0 27 0 27

7 0 0 0 0 0 0 6 6

Ungrouped cases 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 1

% 1 84,0 16,0 ,0 ,0 ,0 ,0 ,0 100,0

2 ,0 100,0 ,0 ,0 ,0 ,0 ,0 100,0

3 ,0 ,0 88,9 11,1 ,0 ,0 ,0 100,0

4 ,0 ,0 ,0 100,0 ,0 ,0 ,0 100,0

5 ,0 ,0 ,0 ,0 100,0 ,0 ,0 100,0

6 ,0 ,0 ,0 ,0 ,0 100,0 ,0 100,0

7 ,0 ,0 ,0 ,0 ,0 ,0 100,0 100,0

Ungrouped cases ,0 ,0 ,0 100,0 ,0 ,0 ,0 100,0

Cross-validateda Count 1 17 4 0 4 0 0 0 25

2 4 0 0 1 0 0 0 5

3 0 1 15 2 0 0 0 18

4 0 0 0 30 0 0 0 30

5 0 0 0 0 4 0 0 4

6 0 1 1 0 0 24 1 27

7 0 0 0 0 0 2 4 6

% 1 68,0 16,0 ,0 16,0 ,0 ,0 ,0 100,0

2 80,0 ,0 ,0 20,0 ,0 ,0 ,0 100,0

3 ,0 5,6 83,3 11,1 ,0 ,0 ,0 100,0

4 ,0 ,0 ,0 100,0 ,0 ,0 ,0 100,0

5 ,0 ,0 ,0 ,0 100,0 ,0 ,0 100,0

6 ,0 3,7 3,7 ,0 ,0 88,9 3,7 100,0

7 ,0 ,0 ,0 ,0 ,0 33,3 66,7 100,0

a Cross validation is done only for those cases in the analysis. In cross validation, each case is classified by the functions derived from all casesother than that case.b, 94.8% of original grouped cases correctly classified.c 81.7% of cross-validated grouped cases correctly classified.ragg: 1-Emilia Romagna; 2-Border region area between Emilia Romagna and Marche; 3-Umbria; 4-Marche; 5-Molise; 6-Piedmont; 7-Tuscany.

Figure 2. Discriminant analysis plot using ion range from 40 to 110 amu. The analysis

was performed by stepwise Wilks’ lambda methods. 1-Emilia Romagna; þ 2-border

region area between Emilia Romagna and Marche; ~ 3-Umbria; * 4-Marche;

& 5-Molise; 6-Piedmont; 7-Tuscany; ungrouped cases from Marche.

Copyright # 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. Rapid Commun. Mass Spectrom. 2008; 22: 3147–3153

DOI: 10.1002/rcm


Table 2a. The sulfur-containing compounds present in Tuber magnatum from seven different geographical areas

Sulfur-containing compounds

Geographical areas

Umbria Piedmont Marche Emilia Romagna

Border region areabetween Emilia Romagna

and Marche Tuscany Molise

Dimethyl sulfide x x x x x x xAllyl methyl sulfide x — — — — — —Sulfurous acid, isobutyl 2-pentyl ester x — — — — x —Bis(methylthio)methane x x x x x x x1-(Methylthio)pentane x — x — — — —1,2,4-Trithiolane x x x x x x xMethyl(methylthio)methyl disulfide x x x x x x x(Methylsulfinyl)(methylthio)methane x x x x x x xBenzothiazole x — — x x — —2-Methylthioacetic acid x x — — — —3-Methylthiopropional x — — x x — —2-Ethyl-1-hexanethiol x — — — — — —Dimethyl trisulfide x x x x x x xDimethyl disulfide x x x x x x xMethyl pentyl disulfide x — — — — x —Methanethiol — x x x x — —2-Mercaptoethanol — x — — — — x2-Hydroxyethyl propyl sulfide — x — — — — —2,20-Dithiodiethanol — x x x x — —Hydroxybenzene-4-sulfonic acid — x — — — — —Carbonodithioic acid, S,S-dimethyl ester — x — x x — —Tris(methylthio)methane — x x x x x xDiethanol sulfide — x x — x — x4-Cyanothiophenol — x — — — — —Diethyl trisulfide — — x — x — —Thiodiglycol — — x x x — —2-Benzoyl-1,3-dithiane — — — — — x —2,4,6-Trimethylbenzenethiol — — — — — x —

Table 2b. The terpenoid compounds present in Tuber magnatum from seven different geographical areas

Terpenoids

Geographical areas

Umbria Piedmont Marche Emilia RomagnaBorder region area betweenEmilia Romagna and Marche Tuscany Molise

Limonene x x x x x x xGuaiene x x x — x xLongifolene x — — — — x xAlloAromadendrene x — x — x — xLedene x — — — — x —a-Gurjunene x — — — — — —Himachalene x — — — — — —Sylvestrene — x — — — — —Pinene — — x — x — —a-Phellandrene — — — x x — —Camphene — — — x x — —Camphor — — — x x — —Carveol — x — x x x xCedrol — x — — — — —3-Carene — — x — x — —Sabinene — — x — x — —p-Cymene — — x x x x xg-Terpinene — — x — x — —Terpinolene — — x — x — —g-Muurolene — — x — x — —g-Selinene — — x — x — —a-Longipinene — — x x x — xGermacrene D — — x — x — —Cumene hydroperoxide x x — x x — x

Copyright # 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. Rapid Commun. Mass Spectrom. 2008; 22: 3147–3153

DOI: 10.1002/rcm



VOC patterns and geographical area. More research is

needed to identify the environmental variables that signifi-

cantly affect the perfume and taste of white truffles.

However, our results indicate that SPME-GC/MS together

with pattern recognition procedures is a very interesting

approach for fruit body classification of T. magnatum from

different geographical areas.

CONCLUSIONS

The static headspace solid-phase microextraction gas

chromatography/mass spectrometry method together

with discriminant analysis offers a very effective means

for characterizing truffles through the analysis of their

volatile fraction. The data analysis is simple and needs no

statistical pre-treatment. Also, the method chosen for the

analysis by SPME-GC/MS is meant to help reduce thermal,

mechanical, and chemical modification of the samples,

thereby reducing the risk of analytical devices. The method

developed allows discrimination among T. magnatum fruit

bodies harvested in different Italian geographical areas.

In particular, the ascomata from Marche, Tuscany and

Piedmont, the most important Italian regions where these

fungi are harvested and sold, can be distinguished.

Furthermore, the truffles from borders between Marche

and Emilia Romagna, regions with very similar pedo-

climatic characteristics, can be separated. This evidence

strengthens the idea that also a very small environmental

variation rather than genetic factors can determine the

differences in the aroma of the white truffle Tuber magnatum.

The results and findings of this study could be of extreme

value in the development of a new diagnostic method and to

produce a set of VOCs markers, offering great potential for

developing new tools for authenticity and traceability of

Italian white truffle, the most hunted and prized culinary

food.

AcknowledgementsThe authors are thankful to Prof. Alessandra Zambonelli of

the University of Bologna, Prof. Bruno Granetti of the Uni-

versity of Perugia, Dr. Anna Maria Ferrara of the Istituto per

le Piante da Legno e l’Ambiente I.P.L.A. S.p.A., Torino,

and Dr. Gianluigi Gregori of the Centro Sperimentale di

Tartuficoltura di Sant’Angelo in Vado for providing samples.

Experimental work was supported by the CIPE Project 17/

03, Marche Region.


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DOI: 10.1002/rcm

Geographical traceability of Italian white truffle ( Tuber magnatum Pico) by the analysis of...

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