Low morphine yielding winter ('Zeno Morphex') and summer ('Viola', 'Mieszko', 'Borowski') poppy varieties were investigated for their chemical composition and sensory properties. The oil content of the 13 seed samples as well as that of fatty acids, tocopherols, and volatile compounds in the respective oils were determined, and the sensory profiles of the seeds and oils were established. Linoleic acid made up 70.7-75.2% of the fatty acids. High amounts of γ-tocopherol were detected, especially in variety 'Viola' (287 ± 34 mg kg-1), while δ-tocopherol was only present in 'Zeno Morphex' (3.9 ± 0.6 mg kg-1). The most abundant volatiles were caproic acid (1.4-148 μg g-1), hexanal (0.9-15.2 μg g-1), 1-hexanol (0.3-20.1 μg g-1), limonene (1.3-9.4 μg g-1), and 2-pentylfuran (1.0-7.8 μg g-1). The sensory panel distinguished samples in particular by fatty/oily, rancid, sweet, and green attributes, the green aroma being correlated to three methoxypyrazines only present in summer poppies.
Keywords: Papaver somniferum L.; SPME headspace; aroma analysis; mass spectrometry; sensory profile.