Light-induced alterations of pineapple (Ananas comosus [L.] Merr.) juice volatiles during accelerated ageing and mass spectrometric studies into their precursors.

Alterations of volatiles during accelerated light-induced ageing of pineapple juice were assessed by HS-SPME-GC-MS in a non-targeted profiling analysis over a 16-week period. Multivariate statistics permitted to reveal substantial chemical markers generally describing the effect of light storage. Volatiles generated comprised phenylpropenes, carbonyls, 2-methylthiophene, toluene, and furfural, while concentrations of methyl and ethyl esters, terpenes, and furanones decreased. In addition, the qualitative composition of phenolic compounds and glycoside-bound volatiles in selected samples was characterized by HPLC-DAD-ESI-MS as well as HR-ESI-MS. The fresh juice contained unique pineapple metabolites such as S-p-coumaryl, S-coniferyl, S-sinapylglutathione, and structurally related derivatives. Among others, the presence of p-coumaroyl, feruloyl, and caffeoylisocitrate as well as three 4-hydroxy-2,5-dimethyl-3(2H)-furanone glycosides in pineapples could be substantiated by the HR-ESI-MS experiment. Mass spectrometric assignments of selected metabolites are presented, and putative linkages between volatiles and their precursors are established.