A major challenge to the papaya industry is inconsistency in fruit quality and, in particular, flavour, which is a complex trait that comprises taste perception in the mouth (sweetness, acidity, or bitterness) and aroma produced by several volatile compounds. Current commercial varieties vary greatly in their taste, likely due to historical prioritised selection for fruit appearance as well as large environmental effects. Therefore, it is important to better understand the genetic and biochemical mechanisms and biosynthesis pathways underpinning preferable flavour in order to select and breed for better tasting new commercial papaya varieties. As an initial step, objectively measurable standards of the compound profiles that provide papaya’s taste and aroma, together with ‘mouth feel’, are required. This review presents an overview of the approaches to characterise the flavour profiles of papaya through sugar component determination, volatile compound detection, sensory panel testing, as well as genomics-based studies to identify the papaya flavour.

中文翻译：

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木瓜 (Carica papaya L.) 风味分析

木瓜行业面临的主要挑战是水果品质的不一致，特别是风味的不一致，风味是一种复杂的特征，包括口腔中的味觉（甜味、酸味或苦味）以及由几种挥发性化合物产生的香气。当前商业品种的口味差异很大，这可能是由于历史上对水果外观的优先选择以及巨大的环境影响。因此，更好地了解支撑更好风味的遗传和生化机制以及生物合成途径非常重要，以便选择和培育出味道更好的新商业木瓜品种。作为第一步，需要提供木瓜味道和香气以及“口感”的化合物特征的客观可测量标准。本综述概述了通过糖成分测定、挥发性化合物检测、感官小组测试以及基于基因组学的研究来识别木瓜风味来表征木瓜风味特征的方法。