Abstract
Carob powder is increasingly valued as a substitute for cocoa and as a flavor-enhancing component of processed foods. However, little is known about the impact of preharvest factors such as fruit maturity, genotype and altitude on its volatile organic compounds (VOCs) composition. The current study examined the VOCs composition of powder milled from pods of two genotypes cultivated at 15 and 510 m altitude and harvested at six progressive stages of maturity, ranging from fully developed immature green (RS1) to late ripe (RS6). Fifty-six VOCs categorized into acids, esters, aldehydes, ketones, alcohols, furans, and alkanes were identified through HS-SPME GC-MS analysis. Maturity was the most influential factor, followed by altitude and least by genotype. Aldehydes and alcohols correlated positively (r = 0.789; p < 0.001), both accumulated in immature carobs and decreased with progressive ripening, resulting in the attenuation of green grassy aroma. Conversely, acids increased with ripening and dominated the carob volatilome at full maturity, correlating negatively with aldehydes and alcohols (r = −0.835 and r = −0.950, respectively; p < 0.001). The most abundant VOC throughout ripening (17.3-57.7%) was isobutyric acid, responsible for the characteristic cheesy-acidic-buttery aroma of carob powder. The pleasurable aroma detected at the immature stages (RS2 and RS3) was traced to isobutyrate and methyl isobutyrate esters, rendering unripe green carob powder a potential admixture component for improving the aroma of novel food products. Lower altitude favored the accumulation of acids linked to less pleasant aroma, whereas isobutyric acid was more abundant at higher altitude. This constitutes a significant indication that higher altitude enhances the characteristic carob-like aroma and sensory quality of carob powder.
Highlights
The carob (Ceratonia siliqua L.) is an underutilized crop that belongs to the Fabaceae family, growing naturally and cultivated non-intensively for centuries in the Mediterranean basin
Such constitutive changes in aroma are transferred to carob powder, which is a primary product of the carob pod milling operation following the deseeding of the pods
Of the three main factors examined with respect to the carob powder volatile profile, maturity was the most influential, followed by altitude, while the effect of genotype was limited
Summary
The carob (Ceratonia siliqua L.) is an underutilized crop that belongs to the Fabaceae family, growing naturally and cultivated non-intensively for centuries in the Mediterranean basin. The kibbled carob pulp is a low-cost byproduct of the pod milling process that is utilized by the food industry to produce various high value functional products such as molasses (carob syrup), carob juice and powder (flour and fiber). Carob powder is generally prepared from roasted and unroasted coarse carob kibbles milled to a granulometry < 2.0 mm and bearing an intensely caramelized aroma [4]. It is increasingly valued as a substitute for cocoa and finds its way as an ingredient in a wide range of processed foods (e.g., morning cereals) due to its low fat (0.6%) and high dietary fiber content (40%) [5, 6]. Carob powder is a great source of sugars and bioactive secondary metabolites such as polyphenols (e.g., tannins, catechins, gallotanins, and gallic acid) and soluble peptides [7, 8] associated with numerous health-promoting properties ranging from radical scavenging to antiproliferative action on colon cancer and hepatocellular carcinoma, the control of diarrhea symptoms, the lowering of LDL cholesterol and antidiabetic effects [2, 9, 10]
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