Identification of potential volatile markers for discrimination of traditional Korean fermented vinegars using HS-SPME/GC–MS

Abstract

Vinegar is one of the most widely consumed fermented foods in Korea and has long served as an important seasoning product. However, traditional Korean fermented vinegars are mainly produced through natural fermentation using conventional production methods, which can lead to variability in flavor and quality. In this study, the volatile compound profiles of 41 traditional fermented vinegars (15 apple, 11 persimmon, and 15 brown rice vinegars) were investigated to identify potential volatile markers associated with the raw materials. Volatile compounds were analyzed using headspace solid-phase microextraction coupled with gas chromatography–mass spectrometry. A total of 141 volatile organic compounds were identified in the vinegar samples. Using Welch's analysis of variance with Benjamini–Hochberg false discovery rate correction, we identified nine volatile compounds, to the levels of which were associated with significant differences among the vinegar groups. Multivariate statistical analyses, including principal component analysis and partial least squares discriminant analysis (PLS-DA) further supported the discriminatory potential of these compounds. The PLS-DA model showed an acceptable classification performance (R2Y = 0.724, Q2 = 0.683). These results suggest that the volatile compounds identified may serve as candidate markers for distinguishing between traditional Korean vinegars based on their raw materials; however, further validation is necessary to confirm their robustness under various conditions. © 2026