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Flavor and Aroma of

Fruits

Taste + Aroma = Flavor


Taste perceived in mouth
Sweet
Salty
Bitter
Sour (acid)
Umami (protein meaty)

Florence Negre-Zakharov
Department of Plant Sciences
fnegre@ucdavis.edu

Taste Receptor Cells on tongue

Taste + Aroma = Flavor


Aroma perceived in nose
Volatile compounds released from various items
(food, flowers)

Orthonasal route

Retronasal route

Chandrashekar et al., 2006

Small et al., 2005

Outline

OH

OCH3
OH

OH
CH2

linalool

OH
O

Overview of aroma substances

methylsalicylate

OCH3

benzaldehyde

phenylethanol

CH2

OH

eugenol
O

OH

H
CH2

linalool
limonene
phenylacetaldehyde

Methods for aroma measurement

phenylacetaldehyde

linalool

- Extraction
O

- Separation
- Detection

OH

OH

neral
OH

linalool

OH

linalool

CH2

- Analysis

nerolidol

limonene

phenylethanol

Aroma research

geranial

OH
CH2

OH

OH
phenylethanol
geraniol

linalool

Aroma compounds

Aroma compounds

Terpenoids

Fatty acid/amino acid derivatives

Monoterpenes

Sesquiterpenes

Fatty acid derivative

Amino acid derivative

OH
OH

3-hexenol

Geraniol

OH

Isobutyl Acetate

Farnesol

Aroma compounds

Aroma compounds

Phenylpropanoids and Benzenoids

N- and S-containing compounds

Phenylpropanoid

Benzenoid

Nitrogen

Sulfur

Dimethyl Disulfide
Benzaldehyde

Eugenol

Methyl
Anthranilate

Aroma Measurement
Extraction

Separation

Aroma Extraction
Solvent (alcohol, organic solvents)
Steam Distillation

Steam + oil vapors

Condenser

Detection

(cooling system)

Still

Analysis

Essential Oil

Separator
Hydrosol
(distillate water)

Aroma Extraction (cont)

Aroma Separation

Headspace (SPME, dynamic)

Gas chromatography

Solid Phase
Micro Extraction
(SPME)

Sample
Inlet

GC Oven

HOT

air

Dynamic closed loop


stripping system

Intensity

GC
Column

Time

Quantification (how much compound x is in the fruit?)

Mass Spectrometry (GC-MS)

Calibration Curve
Intensity

Time

Intensity

Flame Ionization Detector


(GC-FID)

Aroma Analysis

Intensity

Aroma Detection

58.6

Geranyl Acetone
Time

Olfactory detection (GC-O)

26.2 g

Quantity

Correlation with sensory perception (odor


threshold, what does it smell like?...)

Aroma Analysis and


Produce Quality

Aroma Research

Odor descriptors
Intensity

2-Ethyl Hexanol

Decanal

citrus, fresh,
floral, oily, sweet

orange peel,
soap

270,000 ppb

2 ppb

Geranyl Acetone

How are aroma volatiles made in fruits?

fresh, rose, leaf,


floral, green,
magnolia, fruity

60 ppb

?
Time

Odor thresholds (minimum concentration of a substance at

How is aroma volatile production regulated


in fruits?

What are the impacts of cultural practices and


postharvest storage on aroma formation?

which a majority of test subjects can detect and identify the substance
characteristic odor)

Alcohol Acyl Transferase:


a gene involved in melon
aroma formation
AAT

+
Alcohol

Acyl-CoA

Regulation of Aroma Formation

+
Volatile Ester

CoA

AATs

Yahyaoui et al., 2002

Regulation of Aroma Formation

Ayub et al., 1996

Regulation of Aroma Formation


Climacteric fruits
Aroma formation mostly regulated by ethylene,
with an unknown ethylene-independent
component

Non-climacteric fruits
Regulation not understood yet (possibility of auxin
involvement?)
El-Sharkawy et al., 2005

Factors Influencing Aroma Formation


Pre-harvest factors
Supply of carbon (sugars), water stress, light,
temperature, biotic stresses

Postharvest practices
Ethylene regulation, temperature, biotic/abiotic
stresses

Conclusions
Aroma volatiles are a diverse class of plant volatile
substances
Aroma measurement involves extraction,
separation, detection and analysis
Aroma quality evaluation is complex!
Many factors influence the aroma quality of fresh
produce

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