Abstract
Cucumis melo fruit is highly valued for its sweet and refreshing flesh, however the flavour and value are also highly influenced by aroma as dictated by volatile organic compounds (VOCs). A simple and robust method of sampling VOCs on polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) has been developed. Contrasting cultivars of C. melo subspecies melo were investigated at commercial maturity: three cultivars of var. Cantalupensis group Charentais (cv. Cézanne, Escrito, and Dalton) known to exhibit differences in ripening behaviour and shelf-life, as well as one cultivar of var. Cantalupensis group Ha’Ogan (cv. Noy Yisre’el) and one non-climacteric cultivar of var. Inodorus (cv. Tam Dew). The melon cultivar selection was based upon fruits exhibiting clear differences (cv. Noy Yisre’el and Tam Dew) and similarities (cv. Cézanne, Escrito, and Dalton) in flavour. In total, 58 VOCs were detected by thermal desorption (TD)-GC–MS which permitted the discrimination of each cultivar via Principal component analysis (PCA). PCA indicated a reduction in VOCs in the non-climacteric cv. Tam Dew compared to the four Cantalupensis cultivars. Within the group Charentais melons, the differences between the short, mid and long shelf-life cultivars were considerable. 1H NMR analysis led to the quantification of 12 core amino acids, their levels were 3–10-fold greater in the Charentais melons, although they were reduced in the highly fragrant cv. Cézanne, indicating their role as VOC precursors. This study along with comparisons to more traditional labour intensive solid phase micro-extraction (SPME) GC–MS VOC profiling data has indicated that the high-throughput PDMS method is of great potential for the assessment of melon aroma and quality.
Highlights
IntroductionThe melon (Cucumis melo L.) belongs to the Cucurbitaceae family, which contains numerous species differing greatly in fruit size (several grams to kilograms), shape (round to elongated) and organoleptic properties (bitter to sweet) (Stepansky et al, 1999a)
The melon (Cucumis melo L.) belongs to the Cucurbitaceae family, which contains numerous species differing greatly in fruit size, shape and organoleptic properties (Stepansky et al, 1999a)
principal components (PCs) 1 loading the concentration of 2-methyl-ethyl butanoate increased as melon fruits ripened, this study indicates that it is of highest abundance in the most fragrant melon cultivars and is significantly reduced in the non-aromatic Tam Dew melon
Summary
The melon (Cucumis melo L.) belongs to the Cucurbitaceae family, which contains numerous species differing greatly in fruit size (several grams to kilograms), shape (round to elongated) and organoleptic properties (bitter to sweet) (Stepansky et al, 1999a). Cantalupensis (groups Ha’Ogan and Charentais) are highly prized for their sweet, refreshing, and aromatic flesh, whereas non-climacteric C. melo such as the var. Cantalupensis group Charentais melon cultivars known as (and called) Cézanne, Escrito, and Dalton, which exhibit differences in ripening behaviour and shelf-life (Aubert and Bourger, 2004). Previous GC–TOF/MS and 1H NMR spatial analysis of extracted polar metabolites in Cézanne and Escrito melon fruit indicated that the inner mesocarp was hypoxic and produced ethanol, it contained high concentrations of specific sugars and amino acids (Biais et al, 2009, 2010), which are known to be key precursors for the VOCs responsible for fruit aroma (Gonda et al, 2013; Schwab et al, 2008)
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