72 Fruits (3), 131–138 | ISSN 0248-1294 print, 1625-967X online | https://doi.org/10.17660/th2017/72.3.2 | © ISHS 2017 Short communication Pouteria lucuma fruits Discovering a volatile organic compound fingerprinting of C. Taitia , I. Colzi, E. Azzarello and S. Mancuso Università degli Studi di Firenze, Dipartimento di Scienze delle Produzioni Agroalimentari e dell’Ambiente, Viale delle Idee, 30, 50019 Sesto Fiorentino, Florence, Italy Summary Significance of this study Introduction – The unfamiliarity of European What is already known on this subject? consumers with fresh tropical fruits has restricted • their introduction on the international markets. Sev- rope, as consumers are becoming more aware of their eral tropical species, such as Pouteria lucuma, have nutritionalDemand for value fresh and tropical role infruits disease is increasing prevention. in Eu- instead a great economic potential for the Europe- an markets, producing edible fruits known for their What are the new findings? nutritional and healing properties. Currently, fruit • Poute- aroma and sensory characteristics are one of the pri- ria lucuma mary factors determining the fresh fruit quality and This paper is aimed to assess the main VOCs of consumers’ choice and purchasing intention. There- P. lucuma. fruit, trying to fill a scientific gap due to fore, in the last years great attention has been shown the lack of information about flavor compounds of towards the characterization of Volatile Organic What is the expected impact on horticulture? Compounds (VOCs) which contribute to characterize • odors and flavors of a wide variety of tropical fruits sumption of unknown tropical fruits in Europe, in and that can attract the interest of consumers. Mate- creasingOur findings their could production contribute in the to countriesincrease the of origin. con- rials and methods – In this work, proton-transfer-re- - action time-of-flight mass spectrometry (PTR-MS- TOF) measurements were carried out to assess for the first time, the VOCs profile of lucuma fruit, which Introduction – Les fruits tropicaux sont peu is much common and widely consumed in Peru and connus des consommateurs européens, ce qui limite Chile. Results and discussion – More than 50 aromat- leur introduction sur les marchés internationaux. ic compounds were determined in ripe fruits and the Plusieurs espèces tropicales, telles que Pouteria lucu- most abundant signals observed were m/z = 27.022, ma, ont pourtant un fort potentiel économique pour 33.033, 45.033 and 47.049, which were tentatively le marché européen, avec des fruits comestibles ré- identified as acetylene, methanol, acetaldehyde and putés pour leurs propriétés nutritionnelles et cura- ethanol, respectively. Interestingly, many of the com- tives. Actuellement, l’arôme des fruits et les caracté- pounds that usually contribute to the flavor of several ristiques sensorielles sont parmi les principaux fac- tropical fruits, such as mono-, hemi- and sesqui-terp- teurs déterminant la qualité des fruits frais, le choix ens, were not present in the aroma profile of the lu- des consommateurs et leur intention d’achat. Ces cuma fruit. Conclusion – The entire dataset obtained dernières années, une attention particulière est por- shows that the lucuma fruit aroma is due in large part tée à la caractérisation des composés organiques vo- to the presence of short-chain alcohols (methanol, latils (COV) qui contribuent à caractériser les odeurs acetaldehyde, ethanol) but also of volatile esters, et les arômes d’une grande variété de fruits tropicaux aldehydes and hydrocarbons that contributes to the et qui peuvent attirer l’intérêt des consommateurs. complex mixture of volatile aroma. Matériel et méthodes – Au cours de ce travail, des me- sures de spectrométrie de masse (MS) à temps de vol Keywords (TOF) et ionisation par transfert de proton (PTR) ont tropical fruits, Pouteria lucuma, aromatic compounds, été effectuées pour évaluer pour la première fois le profil COV des fruits du lucuma, très répandu et lar- gement consommé au Pérou et au Chili. Résultats et proton-transfer-reaction time-of-flight mass spectro- value discussion – Plus de 50 composés aromatiques ont été metry (PTR-MS-TOF), underutilized species, nutritional déterminés à partir des fruits mûrs et les signaux les Résumé plus abondants ont été observés aux rapports masse/ charge (m/z) de 27,022, 33,033, 45,033 et 47,049 provisoirement identifiés comme l’acétylène, le mé- Découverte de l’empreinte biochimique en thanol, l’acétaldéhyde et l’éthanol, respectivement. Il Pouteria lucuma. est intéressant de constater que de nombreux compo- composés organiques volatils des fruits de sés qui contribuent habituellement à la saveur de plu- sieurs fruits tropicaux, tels les mono-, hémi- et ses- a Corresponding author: [email protected]. Volume 72 | Issue 3 | May/June 2017 131 Taiti et al Pouteria lucuma fruits . | Discovering a volatile organic compound fingerprinting of qui-terpènes, n’étaient pas présents dans le profil ceptance based on individual preference (Baietto and Wil aromatique des fruits du lucuma. Conclusion – L’en- Moreover, fruit aroma is the key to determine consumer ac- semble des données obtenues montre que l’arôme des - fruits du lucuma est dû en grande partie à la présence son, 2015). A large number of VOCs has been identified in d’alcools à chaîne courte (méthanol, acétaldéhyde, themany threshold exotic or of temperate perception fruits, and thebut interactionsmore studies with are needother- éthanol) mais aussi d’esters volatils, d’aldéhydes et ed to characterize each fruits, such as: aroma fingerprinting, d’hydrocarbures qui contribuent au mélange com- plexe d’arômes volatils. compounds. Actually, PTRMS TOF represents a simple and fast technology which allows a rapid and real-time detection Mots-clés theof the “from headspace farm to table”composition production of VOCs, chain and to meetcould the be satisused Pouteria lucuma for compounds identifications and their monitoring during - fruits exotiques, , composes aromatiques, compoundsfaction of the of consumerfruits, for exampledemands. spices Indeed, (Taiti PTRMS TOF has valeurspectrométrie nutritionnelle de masse à temps de vol et ionisation par et al been extensively used to assess and monitoring the flavor transfert de proton (PTR-MS-TOF), espèce sous-utilisée, apples (Farneti et al et al., ., 2015b), Pouteria lucuma .,Ruiz 2015) & Pav.and istropical a subtropical fruits (Taiti perennial tree2015a). producing an important edible fruit known for its nu Introduction tritional and healing properties. This species belongs to the Sapotaceae - in Europe (Sabbe et al moreDemand aware offor their fresh nutritional tropical valuefruits and is steadilyrole in disease increasing pre species belonging family toand the is nativegenus Pouteriato the high, such Andean as “lucuma” valleys ., 2009), as consumers are becoming of Chile, Ecuador and Peru (Gutierrez, 1980). Although some be associated also to other factors, such as: the improvement- populations and were used in the traditional diet and med vention (Song and Forney, 2008). Moreover, this increase can or “sapote”, have been cultivated for centuries by the native crease of international travels and higher incomes, the grow international trade market, thus representing a strong eco- of storage technologies and transportation systems, the inet- icine (Fuentealba, 2016), they are almost unknown on the al - - ing search for new flavors and innovative products (Sabbe nomic potential for native peoples. About 88% lucuma fruit ., 2009). Currently, consumers show more attention to the consumptionworld production and foris concentrated export to other in Peru.countries, In this such country as Chile, lu- fruit quality and some parameters, as flavor and dietary val- cuma is a staple food, generally much common for domestic ue, have become very important. The quality of fresh fruits et al depends indeed on many aspects, among which appearance, US and Canada (AMPEX, 2010) that are wide consumers color, texture, flavor and nutritional benefit (Song and For- (Quilter ., 1991). Both on the national and international ney, 2008). Furthermore, it has been proven that sensoryet trade market, lucuma is usually consumed as fresh fruit and alcharacteristics are one of the primary factors for consumers’ juices or can be used for the preparation of ice-creams and choice and purchasing intention (Verbeke, 2006; Enneking desserts as flour and frozen or dehydrated pulp (Diaz, 1987). ., 2007). Lucumaet al is a climacteric fruit and the ripening process is In 2002 Tuorila and Cardello (2002) in a study per- partassociated and a hardby color inedible changes inner and seed increase (nut), known of soluble for its solids heal formed to analyze consumer responses to an off-flavor in (Lizana ., 1986). It is composed by an outer fleshy edible juice in the presence of specific health claims, highlighted corn and canola oils, it represents a rich natural source of- the importance of sensory liking as the principal predictor ing properties since, as tough other plantset al such as soybean, secondof consumption. time and Inconsuming practice, itif inthe the first future. impression of taste is poor, the consumer is prevented from trying the product a fatty acids (Simopoulos, 2004; Rojo ., 2010). Moreover, andlucuma it is usedfruit asis naturala good alternativesource of tofiber, sucrose minerals, used asphenolic sweet Therefore, improvements in fruit flavor are needed to compounds, carotene andet other al