Establishment of Monstera deliciosa fruit volatile metabolomic profile at different ripening stages using solid-phase microextraction combined with gas chromatography–mass spectrometry

Abstract

The volatile metabolomic profile of Monstera deliciosa fruits (M. deliciosa, ceriman) at three ripening stages, ripe, half-ripe and unripe, was established using headspace solid-phase microextraction (HS-SPME) combined with gas chromatography–quadrupole mass spectrometry detection (GC–qMS). To obtain the optimal HS-SPME conditions, the main experimental parameters that influence the extraction efficiency and experimental response were analyzed. The highest extraction efficiency was achieved with 1g of ceriman sample, using a polydimethylsiloxane/divinylbenzene (PDMS/DVB) fiber for 60min at 40°C with 15% NaCl (w/w). After optimization, all ceriman samples were analyzed with the best extraction conditions that allowed to identify 80 volatile metabolites (VOMs), belonging to different chemical groups namely ethyl esters (88.61–77.94%), terpenoids (18.08–9.83%), carbonyl compounds (3.41–1.05%), higher alcohols (1.41–0.51%) and lactones (0.14–0.03%). Thirty-eight of the identified volatile metabolites (47.50%) have not been reported in M. deliciosa, so far, providing a more complete characterization of its volatile composition. The predominant VOMs identified in M. deliciosa fruits were ethyl butanoate, linalool, ethyl hexanoate, ethyl 2-methyl butanoate, butanoic acid, ethyl benzoate and propyl butanoate. Remarkable differences were found in both the quantitative and qualitative composition of M. deliciosa fruits at different ripening stages.Principal component analysis (PCA) provided a suitable tool to differentiate the volatile profile of target fruits among three ripening stages.