Characterization of Mango Juice by High‐Resolution NMR, Hyphenated NMR, and Diffusion‐Ordered Spectroscopy

Abstract

The application of nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy, hyphenated NMR, and diffusion‐ordered spectroscopy (DOSY) to the characterization of mango juice, as an example of a complex food mixture, is described. The compositional changes taking place as a function of ripening were followed, and selected metabolites were quantified by integration of the corresponding NMR peaks. In this way, an overall view of the metabolite changes is obtained, enabling the study of the biochemical mechanisms involved in the ripening process. More than 50 compounds were identified by 1D‐ and 2D‐NMR, but many ambiguous assignments remain due to spectral overlap or insufficient coupling information. The use of Liquid Chromatography (LC‐NMR) and LC‐NMR/Mass Spectrometry (MS) enables a fuller characterization of the soluble pectin fraction to be made; its dependence on ripening stage is discussed. Finally, DOSY adds information on the Mr of many metabolites, including the pectin fractions of ripe and unripe mango juices, and enables further peak assignments to be made. This paper was by special invitation as a contribution to a special issue of the journal entitled “Application of Spectroscopic Methods to Environmental Problems.” The special issue was organized by Professor Peter A. Tanner, Professor in the Department of Biology and Chemistry at City University of Hong Kong.