Analysis of aromatic constituents of apricot ‘Jinkaite’ at different developmental stages

Abstract

The aromatic constituents of apricot 'Jinkaite' were analyzed at different developmental stages by static headspace and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). The results showed that 46 aromatic constituents were detected in 'Jinkaite' apricot fruit. The main aromatic components were esters, alcohols, and aldehydes. The aromatic constituents and contents both showed significant differences during various fruit developmental periods. Specifically, 31, 32, and 24 aromatic constituents were detected at green-ripe, commercial-ripe, and full-ripe stages, respectively, and the contents of esters were highest at each stage, respectively representing 61.33, 70.03, and 61.48% of the total aromatic compounds. The characteristic aroma compounds of apricot fruit included acetic acid hexyl ester, ethyl hexanoate, propanoic acid 2-methylhexyl ester, and 1-hexanol, the odor units of which at the full-ripe stage were 448.5, 29.86, 7.85, and 3.54.