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ARS Home » Southeast Area » Fort Pierce, Florida » U.S. Horticultural Research Laboratory » Citrus and Other Subtropical Products Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #283056
Title: Gas chromatography-olfactometry analyses of volatiles produced by ‘Fallglo’ and ‘US Early Pride’ mandarins

Author
item LECLAIR, CLOTILDE - Ensat
item Plotto, Anne
item McCollum, Thomas
item Bai, Jinhe
item BIOTTEAU, ALICE - Ensat
item Baldwin, Elizabeth - Liz
item REYES-DE-CORCUERA, JOSE - University Of Florida
item CHERVIN, CHRISTIAN - Ensat

Submitted to: Proceedings of Florida State Horticultural Society
Publication Type: Proceedings
Publication Acceptance Date: 11/19/2012
Publication Date: 12/17/2012
Citation: Leclair, C., Plotto, A., Mccollum, T.G., Bai, J., Biotteau, A., Baldwin, E.A., Reyes-De-Corcuera, J., Chervin, C. 2012. Gas chromatography-olfactometry analyses of volatiles produced by ‘Fallglo’ and ‘US Early Pride’ mandarins. Proceedings of Florida State Horticultural Society. 125:264-271.

Interpretive Summary: The volatile compounds produced by the tangerine ‘Fallglo’ and its seedless mutation ‘US Early Pride’ were analyzed by gas chromatography and olfactometry over four harvests during the 2011-2012 season. Compounds with fruity characteristics were higher in the last ‘Fallglo’ harvest. Two new odor-active compounds not previously reported in tangerines were found.

Technical Abstract: ‘Fallglo’ is a popular tangerine (Citrus reticulata Blanco) cultivar with high eating quality. However, ‘Fallglo’ may contain as many as 30-40 seeds per fruit. ‘US Early Pride’ is a seedless mutation of ‘Fallglo’ with similar quality attributes. The objective of the current study was to determine if ‘Fallglo’ and ‘US Early Pride’ fruits differed in the composition or quantity of aroma-active volatiles produced over time. Fruits were harvested bi-weekly from October to December. Juice was carefully extracted from 50 fruits, and volatiles were analyzed using gas chromatography (GC). Two subjects evaluated GC effluents by olfactometry in triplicate runs for each sample. Volatile identification was done by GC-mass spectrometry and confirmed by sniffing of authentic standards. The same 30 aroma-active compounds were perceived in ‘Fallglo’ and ‘US Early Pride’, of which 23 were identified. Compounds were classified in odor descriptor groups: fatty (10 compounds), plastic or rubber (seven compounds), fruity or citrus (four compounds), floral (four compounds), mushroom (two compounds), green (two compounds) and other (one compound). ‘Fallglo’ and ‘US Early Pride’ had similar aroma intensities for the three first harvests (October 26, November 3, November 17), but ‘Fallglo’ had higher levels of two fruity odorous peaks (E-2-pentenal and the coeluting compounds E-2-hexenal and ethyl 2 methyl butanoate) than did ‘US Early Pride’ at the December harvest. The last harvest showed significantly higher aroma intensity for six peaks in each cultivar, with only two peaks in common in both cultivars.