Abstract
Cucumis melo L is one of the most commercial and economical crops in the world with several health beneficial compounds as such carotenoids, amino acids, vitamin A and C, minerals, and dietary fiber. Evaluation of the volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in different melon (Cucumis melo L.) breeding lines provides useful information for improving fruit flavor, aroma, and antimicrobial levels. In this study, the VOCs in 28 melon breeding lines harvested in 2019 were identified and characterized using head space solid-phase microextraction (HS-SPME) coupled with gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). This identified 113 VOCs with significant differences in composition and contents of among the breeding lines, including 15 esters, 27 aldehydes, 35 alcohols, 14 ketones, 4 acids, 10 hydrocarbons, 5 sulfurs, and 3 other compounds. The highest average contents of all the VOCs were found in BL-30 (13,973.07 µg/kg FW) and the lowest were in BL-22 (3947.13 µg/kg FW). BL-9 had high levels of carotenoid-derived VOCs. The compounds with the highest contents were benzaldehyde, geranylacetone, and β-ionone. Quality parameters such as color and sugar contents of melons were also measured. All the melon color readings were within the typical acceptable range. BL-22 and BL-14 had the highest and lowest sugar contents, respectively. Principal component analysis (PCA) produced diverse clusters of breeding lines based on flavor and aroma. BL-4, BL-7, BL-12, BL-20, and BL-30 were thus selected as important breeding lines based on their organoleptic, antimicrobial, and health-beneficial properties.
Highlights
The fructose and glucose contents ranged from 4.42–24.01 mg/g and 3.39–11.33 mg/g, respectively, and BL-17 had the highest contents of these sugars
Responds to the scores plot. (B) corresponds to the loadings plot and the codes indicate the volatile compounds, as di played in Table 3.Considering the 2nd and 3rd quadrants, which lie on the left side of the PC2 axis (Figure 3), we found that only a few volatile compounds associate with the breeding lines
This study showed that breeding lines differ greatly based on their individual volatile compositions (VOC contents and types), sugar contents, and color
Summary
Publisher’s Note: MDPI stays neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations. Muskmelons (Cucumis melo L.), including cantaloupe and honeydew melons, belong to the family Cucurbitaceae and are likely originated in Asia [1]. The United States (US) ranks first in the per capita consumption of melons as a fresh fruit [2]. The average American consumes ~13 kg of melon each year [3]. The most important melon traits associated with consumer preference are flavor, color, aroma, texture, juiciness, phytonutrients, and sweetness [4,5,6]
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