Fella Panagiota, Kaikiti Kyriaki, Stylianou Marinos, Agapiou Agapios
Department of Chemistry, University of Cyprus, Nicosia 1678, Cyprus.
Metabolites. 2022 Jul 15;12(7):656. doi: 10.3390/metabo12070656.
Carob's recognized nutritional and medicinal value next to its unique agriculture importance is associated with an array of social, economic, and cultural activities. The carob fruit is popular for its intense aroma due to the emitted volatile organic compounds (VOCs). The composition of VOCs released from carob fruits changes during ripening, rendering it a non-invasive tool for the determination of the ripening period and freshness of the fruit. Therefore, headspace solid-phase microextraction gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (HS-SPME-GC/MS) was applied to reveal the respective gaseous signal molecules related to fruit maturity. The sampling was implemented during weeks 26-36 from five different locations in Cyprus. Additionally, the gaseous emissions of total VOCs (TVOCs) and carbon dioxide (CO) were recorded next to the moisture content of the fruit. The major chemical classes in the ripening are acids, followed by esters, and ketones. More specifically, the most abundant VOCs during ripening are propanoic acid, 2-methyl-(isobutyric acid), 2-heptanone, propanoic acid, 2-methyl-, 2-methylbutyl ester, acetic acid, methyl isobutyrate, propanoic acid, 2-methyl-, 3-methylbutyl ester, 2-pentanone, butanoic acid and propanoic acid, 2-methyl-ethyl ester. Finally, CO emissions and moisture content showed a rapid decline until the 31st week and then stabilized for all examined areas. The methodology revealed variations in VOCs' profile during the ripening process.
角豆除了具有独特的农业重要性外，其公认的营养和药用价值还与一系列社会、经济和文化活动相关。角豆果实因其释放的挥发性有机化合物（VOCs）而具有浓郁的香气，广受欢迎。角豆果实释放的VOCs成分在成熟过程中会发生变化，使其成为确定果实成熟期和新鲜度的一种非侵入性工具。因此，采用顶空固相微萃取气相色谱/质谱联用技术（HS-SPME-GC/MS）来揭示与果实成熟相关的各自气态信号分子。采样在塞浦路斯五个不同地点的第26至36周进行。此外，还记录了总挥发性有机化合物（TVOCs）和二氧化碳（CO）的气体排放以及果实的水分含量。成熟过程中的主要化学类别是酸，其次是酯和酮。更具体地说，成熟过程中最丰富的挥发性有机化合物是丙酸、2-甲基-（异丁酸）、2-庚酮、丙酸、2-甲基-、2-甲基丁酯、乙酸、甲基异丁酸酯、丙酸、2-甲基-、3-甲基丁酯、2-戊酮、丁酸和丙酸、2-甲基-乙酯。最后，所有检测区域的CO排放和水分含量在第31周之前迅速下降，然后趋于稳定。该方法揭示了成熟过程中挥发性有机化合物谱的变化。
