Nutritional and metabolomics characterization of the coconut water at different nut developmental stages

Abstract

Coconut water possesses remarkable nutritional value due to the presence of health-protective chemical constituents in it. Despite its commercial uses, there is lack of information on changes in the nutritional profile of coconut water along with nut developmental stages. In the current study, we investigated the major physicochemical, nutritional, and metabolic changes occurring in two coconut varieties 'Chowghat Orange Dwarf ' (COD) and 'Malayan Yellow Dwarf' (MYD) during nut development by following four different maturity stages. Gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC–MS)-based metabolomics approach was used to identify the metabolites responsible for discriminating the nutrients present in coconut water according to different nut maturity stages. Significant changes in the physicochemical properties, nutritional (free amino acid, protein, sugar, and ascorbic acid), and metabolite profile were observed within each variety during the process of nut maturation. Additionally, we observed development-associated changes in the mineral composition of coconut water. Ultra-performance liquid chromatography (UPLC) analyses identified 17 amino acids from coconut water of both ‘COD’ and ‘MYD’ varieties. Using partial least squares discriminant analysis, we identified 8 metabolites that could be used as biomarkers to distinguish between the nut maturity stages. In conclusion, the highly informative current data sets can be used in developing nutritionally balanced customized formulations from coconut water.