Calamansi juices from three countries (Malaysia, the Philippines and Vietnam) were characterised through measuring volatiles, physicochemical properties and non-volatiles (sugars, organic acids and phenolic acids). The volatile components of manually squeezed calamansi juices were extracted using dichloromethane and headspace solid-phase microextraction, and then analysed using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry/flame ionisation detector, respectively. A total of 60 volatile compounds were identified. The results indicated that the Vietnam calamansi juice contained the highest amount of volatiles. Two principal components obtained from principal component analysis (PCA) represented 89.65% of the cumulative total variations of the volatiles. Among the non-volatile components, these three calamansi juices could be, to some extent, differentiated according to fructose and glucose concentrations. Hence, this study of calamansi juices could lead to a better understanding of calamansi fruits.
Nineteen odour-active compounds were quantified in three black velvet tamarind fruit species. Calculation of the odour activity values (OAVs) of the odorants showed that differences in odour profiles of the tamarinds were mainly caused by linalool, limonene, 4-hydroxy-2,5-dimethyl-3(2H)-furanone, nonanal, and (Z)-3-hexenal. On the basis of their high OAVs, cis-linalool oxide (furanoid), geranyl acetone, and cinnamyl acetate were identified as other potent odorants in the three tamarinds. Sensory studies revealed very distinct aroma profiles, which are characteristic of these types of fruits. While the Dialiumguineense elicited floral, flowery, caramel-like notes, the other two species were dominated by leaf-like, caramel, and green notes.
A simple, fast, repeatable and less laborious sample preparation protocol was developed and applied for the analysis of biocontrol fungus Trichoderma harzianum strain FA1132 by using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. The match factors for sample spectra with respect to the mass spectra library of fungal volatile compounds were determined and used to study the complex hydrocarbons and other volatile compounds, which were separated by using different capillary columns with nonpolar, medium polar and high polar stationary phases. To date, more than 278 volatile compounds (with spectral match factor at least 90%) such as normal saturated hydrocarbons (C7-C30), cyclohexane, cyclopentane, fatty acids, alcohols, esters, sulfur-containing compounds, simple pyrane and benzene derivatives have been identified. Most of these compounds have not previously been reported. The method described in this paper is a more convenient research tool for the detection of volatile compounds from the cultures of T. harzianum.
A study was carried out to determine the physicochemical characteristics of the oil derived from papaya seeds of the Hong Kong/Sekaki variety. Proximate analysis showed that seeds of the Hong Kong/Sekaki variety contained considerable amount of oil (27.0%). The iodine value, saponification value, unsaponifiable matter and free fatty acid contents of freshly extracted papaya seed oil were 76.9 g I2/100g oil, 193.5 mg KOH/g oil, 1.52% and 0.91%, respectively. The oil had a Lovibond color index of 15.2Y + 5.2B. Papaya seed oil contained ten detectable fatty acids, of which 78.33% were unsaturated. Oleic (73.5%) acid was the dominant fatty acids followed by palmitic acid (15.8%). Based on the high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) analysis, seven species of triacylglycerols (TAGs) were detected. The predominant TAGs of papaya seed oil were OOO (40.4%), POO (29.1%) and SOO (9.9%) where O, P, and S denote oleic, palmitic and stearic acids, respectively. Thermal analysis by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) showed that papaya seed oil had its major melting and crystallization transitions at 12.4°C and -48.2°C, respectively. Analysis of the sample by Z-nose (electronic nose) instrument showed that the sample had a high level of volatile compounds.
The volatile compounds in four selected African star apple fruit (Chrysophyllum albidum) varieties were isolated and identified using the headspace solid-phase microextraction (HS-SPME) coupled with gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). A total of 59 compounds were identified. Application of the aroma extract dilution analysis (AEDA) to the aroma distillates from the fruits revealed 45 odour-active compounds in the flavour dilution (FD) factor range of 4-128. Among them, the highest odour activities (FD factors) were determined for methylhexanoate, acetophenone and ethyl dodecanoate. Moreover, aroma lipophilicity appears to reflect molecular conformation. Further analysis of the similarities and differences between the fruit varieties in terms of the key odourants by the application of PLS-DA and PLS-regression coefficient showed strong positive correlation between the very sweet/sweet varieties and 10 key odourants. The odourants included ethyl acetate, acetyl methyl carbinol, methylhexanoate, sabinene, p-cymene, methylbenzoate, ethylbenzoate, geraniol, cis-α-bergomotene, acetophenone, and ethyl dodecanoate.
Temperature is one of the key factors in limiting the distribution of plants and controlling major metabolic processes. A series of simulated reciprocal transplant experiments were performed to investigate the effect of temperature on plant chemical composition. Polygonum minus of different lowland and highland origin were grown under a controlled environment with different temperature regimes to study the effects on secondary metabolites. We applied gas chromatography-mass spectrometry and liquid chromatography time-of-flight mass spectrometry to identify the chemical compounds. A total of 37 volatile organic compounds and 85 flavonoids were detected, with the largest response observed in the compositional changes of aldehydes and terpenes in highland plants under higher temperature treatment. Significantly less anthocyanidin compounds and larger amounts of flavonols were detected under higher temperature treatment. We also studied natural variation in the different plant populations growing under the same environment and identified compounds unique to each population through metabolite fingerprinting. This study shows that the origin of different plant populations influences the effects of temperature on chemical composition.
The preservation of active constituents in Cassia alata through the removal of moisture is crucial in producing a final product with high antioxidant activity. This study aims to determine the influences of various drying methods and drying conditions on the antioxidant activity, volatiles and phytosterols content of C. alata. The drying methods used were convective drying (CD) at 40 °C, 50 °C and 60 °C; freeze drying; vacuum microwave drying (VMD) at 6, 9 and 12 W/g; and two-stage convective pre-drying followed by vacuum microwave finish drying (CPD-VMFD) at 50 °C and 9 W/g. The drying kinetics of C. alata are best described by the thin-layer model (modified Page model). The highest antioxidant activity, TPC and volatile concentration were achieved with CD at 40 °C. GC-MS analysis identified the presence of 51 volatiles, which were mostly present in all samples but with quantitative variation. The dominant volatiles in fresh C. alata are 2-hexenal (60.28 mg 100 g-1 db), 1-hexanol (18.70 mg 100 g-1 db) and salicylic acid (15.05 mg 100 g-1 db). The concentration of phytosterols in fresh sample was 3647.48 mg 100 g-1 db, and the major phytosterols present in fresh and dried samples were β-sitosterol (1162.24 mg 100 g-1 db). CPD-VMFD was effective in ensuring the preservation of higher phytosterol content in comparison with CD at 50 °C. The final recommendation of a suitable drying method to dehydrate C. alata leaves is CD at 40 °C.