## 3 Results and Discussion
### Volatile Organic Compounds  
Considering all infusions, 53 compounds (corresponding to 89.3-97.1% of the total peak areas of the chromatograms) were accurately identified (Table 3). They were grouped into 9 chemical classes: 16 aldehydes, 9 acids, 8 esters, 6 alcohols, 4 terpenoids, 3 ketones, 3 furrans, 2 pyrroles and 2 pyrazines. Of the 53 compounds, only 6 were present in all samples, 9 in both unfermented and 13 in the four fermented samples. The remaining compounds were differently distributed among samples, which differed not only concern \begin{table}
\begin{tabular}{c c c c c c c} \hline \hline \multirow{2}{*}{**Samples**} & \multicolumn{3}{c}{**Instrumental Color**} & \multirow{2}{*}{**SS (\({}^{\circ}\)Brix)**} & \multirow{2}{*}{**pH**} & \multicolumn{1}{c}{**TA (mEq**} \\  & \(L^{*}\) & \(C^{*}\) & \(H^{\circ}\) & & **NaOH/L** \\ \hline
1 & 70.97 \(\pm\) 0.86 \({}^{\mathrm{d}}\) & 52.11 \(\pm\) 1.39 \({}^{\mathrm{b}}\) & 88.47 \(\pm\) 0.88 \({}^{\mathrm{d}}\) & 1.17 \(\pm\) 0.06 \({}^{\mathrm{ab}}\) & 4.21 \(\pm\) 0.01 \({}^{\mathrm{a}}\) & 6.0 \(\pm\) 0.3 \({}^{\mathrm{c}}\) \\ \hline
2 & 79.69 \(\pm\) 0.50 \({}^{\mathrm{a}}\) & 32.54 \(\pm\) 1.50 \({}^{\mathrm{d}}\) & 97.58 \(\pm\) 0.70 \({}^{\mathrm{a}}\) & 1.13 \(\pm\) 0.06 \({}^{\mathrm{c}}\) & 4.22 \(\pm\) 0.01 \({}^{\mathrm{a}}\) & 6.5 \(\pm\) 0.0 \({}^{\mathrm{b}}\) \\ \hline
3 & 56.69 \(\pm\) 1.50 \({}^{\mathrm{f}}\) & 51.42 \(\pm\) 0.23 \({}^{\mathrm{b}}\) & 76.71 \(\pm\) 1.61 \({}^{\mathrm{f}}\) & 1.30 \(\pm\) 0.00 \({}^{\mathrm{a}}\) & 4.20 \(\pm\) 0.00 \({}^{\mathrm{a}}\) & 6.5 \(\pm\) 0.1 \({}^{\mathrm{b}}\) \\ \hline
4 & 68.98 \(\pm\) 1.19 \({}^{\mathrm{e}}\) & 58.01 \(\pm\) 1.46 \({}^{\mathrm{a}}\) & 85.56 \(\pm\) 1.19 \({}^{\mathrm{e}}\) & 1.27 \(\pm\) 0.06 \({}^{\mathrm{a}}\) & 4.19 \(\pm\) 0.01 \({}^{\mathrm{ab}}\) & 7.2 \(\pm\) 0.3 \({}^{\mathrm{a}}\) \\ \hline
5 & 73.68 \(\pm\) 0.45 \({}^{\mathrm{c}}\) & 45.75 \(\pm\) 0.92 \({}^{\mathrm{c}}\) & 90.96 \(\pm\) 0.49 \({}^{\mathrm{c}}\) & 1.20 \(\pm\) 0.00 \({}^{\mathrm{ab}}\) & 4.18 \(\pm\) 0.01 \({}^{\mathrm{b}}\) & 6.2 \(\pm\) 0.3 \({}^{\mathrm{bc}}\) \\ \hline
6 & 77.89 \(\pm\) 0.69 \({}^{\mathrm{b}}\) & 34.27 \(\pm\) 1.40 \({}^{\mathrm{d}}\) & 96.03 \(\pm\) 0.38 \({}^{\mathrm{b}}\) & 1.10 \(\pm\) 0.00 \({}^{\mathrm{c}}\) & 4.22 \(\pm\) 0.02 \({}^{\mathrm{a}}\) & 7.0 \(\pm\) 0.4 \({}^{\mathrm{ab}}\) \\ \hline \hline \end{tabular} Note: \(L^{*}\) (lightness), \(C^{*}\) (chroma), \(H^{\circ}\) (hue angle); SS (soluble solids); TA (titratable acidity). Different letters over the bars indicate statistical differences among samples by ANOVA (\(p\)\(\leq\) 0.05). Samples 1—Brazil (F); 2—Bolivia (F); 3—El Salvador (F); 4—Nicaragua (F); 5—Brazil (UF); 6—Nicaragua (UF). F——fermented; UF—unrefmented.  
\end{table} 
Table 2: Results from physical-chemical analyses of commercial coffee cascara infusions produced in Latin American countries. ing the number of compounds but also in chemical classes (especially aldehydes, acids, alcohols, and ketones) and peak areas. Most identified compounds, a few reported as odoriferous components of other foods, were generated by fermentation, which is a key step in aroma development [43]. Despite the significant variation in the volatile profiles among samples, most identified compounds have been recently reported by [PERSON] et al. [44] who have examined infusions from five coffee cascara teas, also from different countries. A few compounds reported by these authors have been detected in this study but did not meet the peaks confirmation criteria; therefore, they were not considered. No other study investigating the volatile composition of coffee cascara infusions was found. Two studies have investigated the volatile profile of fresh _C. arabica_[45] and _C. caenophora_[46] pulps. Of the 45 and 55 volatile compounds reported in these studies, only 4 and 10 were identified in the present study, respectively, suggesting that the volatile profile of coffee cascara changes considerably as the fruit is fermented and or dried.