Exploring the visualization of human milk odor profiles: intuitive characterization and construction of the link between odor compounds and sensory attributes

Studies on odor are not negligible in the human milk (HM) science field because it plays an irreplaceable role in the feeding process of infants. This study aimed to investigate the odor skeleton components (OSCs) in HM and verify and construct an intuitive link between them and the HM odor attributes. A total of 72 odor-active compounds were identified from 32 HMs using the comprehensive two-dimensional gas chromatography-olfactometry-mass spectrometry. Twenty of these compounds were identified as OSCs (average FD ≥ 1 and average OAV ≥ 1), and their actual odor contribution was clarified. Furthermore, the connection of the 20 OSCs with their corresponding eight odor attributes was visualized by constructing a molecular sensory odor wheel. Of them, 2,3-butanedione, (E)-2-decenal, nonanal, (E)-2-nonenal, octanal, 1-octen-3-one, hexanal, methional, and butanoic acid were the most important contributors to dairy-sweet, fishy, dairy-fat, metallic/iron, flour, grassy/green, cooked, and sweaty/rancid odor of HM.