Researchers at the College of Agriculture of Guangxi University (Nanning, China) who set out to comprehensively characterize the discrepancies of volatile organic compound (VOC) profiles in tomato flesh from 16 tomato varieties with different fruit colors, including both commercial and heirloom varieties, used headspace-solid phase microextraction coupled with gas chromatography-triple quadrupole mass spectrometry (HS-SPME-GC–MS/MS) and E-nose. A paper based on this work was published in Food Chemistry:X.
The flavor of the tomato (Solanum lycopersicum L.) is determined by a combination of soluble sugars, organic acids, and various volatile VOCs.2 Sugars and acid levels directly affect the fruit's sweetness and acidity, while their unique flavor characteristics are a result of their VOC composition.3 Breeders have been primarily focused recently on the development of tomato varieties with high yields, disease resistance, improved storage and transportability, often at the expense of the fruit's flavor, which can result in a degradation of that flavor.
The researchers analyzed 154 VOCs taken from flesh of 16 tomato varieties using HS-SPME-GC–MS/MS, with aldehydes comprising the largest group. The relative odor activity value (rOAV) analysis identified 26 key aroma compounds which the team believes might collectively contribute to the tomato's flavor characteristics (such as fruity, grassy, floral, and earthy notes).
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