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Linking sensory and proton transfer reaction–mass spectrometry analyses for the assessment of melon fruit (Cucumis melo L.) quality traits

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Abstract

Sixty-seven samples of ten melon types (Cucumis melo L.) were evaluated to determine the relationship between their quality traits: sensory attributes, pH, soluble solids, and volatile organic compounds. Fruits from the cantalupensis, conomon, dudaim, inodorus, and momordica cultivar groups were analyzed. The sensory profiles were assessed using ten attributes covering odor, flavor, and taste characteristics, whereas the volatile profiles were derived by proton transfer reaction–mass spectrometry. Fruits from the cantalupensis and inodorus cultivars showed an opposite pattern for several quality traits. Fruits from the dudaim cultivar were more related to the cantalupensis, whereas conomon and momordica showed an intermediate behavior between inodorus and cantalupensis. The attributes of odor and flavor intensity, ripe fruit odor, fermentative odor, and fermentative flavor correlated positively to C3–C9 esters (r = 0.43–0.73; p ≤ 0.01). Positive correlations were also observed for several alcohols (r = 0.36–0.82; p ≤ 0.05), including methanol, ethanol, and diol alcohols, as well as for several aldehydes (r = 0.43–0.85; p ≤ 0.01), such as acetaldehyde, butanal, methyl butanal, heptanal, and decanal. The attributes mentioned above were negatively correlated with two C9 aldehydes, 2,6-nonadienal and nonenal (r = − 0.45 to − 0.62; p ≤ 0.01), whereas sweetness was negatively correlated with two C6 green leaf volatiles, hexenal and 3-hexenol (r = − 0.50; − 0.67; p ≤ 0.001). The melon fruits presented distinct differences in the quality traits evaluated. These results provide information for the development of new cultivars with characteristic taste combinations without compromising other desirable fruit quality traits.

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Acknowledgements

This research was funded by the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness, INIA—Project: RTA2011-00123-00-00, and by the Agency for the Research Centres of Catalonia (CERCA) of the Generalitat de Catalunya. Tiago Bianchi acknowledges the Ph.D. grant from the Spanish National Institute for Agricultural and Food Research and Technology (INIA).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. IRTA, Food Technology Centre, Finca Camps i Armet, Monells, 17121, Girona, Spain

    Tiago Bianchi, Luis Guerrero, Marta Gratacós-Cubarsí & Maria Hortós

  2. Wageningen Food Safety Research, Part of Wageningen University and Research, P.O. box 230, 6700 AE, Wageningen, The Netherlands

    Tiago Bianchi, Yannick Weesepoel, Alex Koot & Saskia van Ruth

  3. IRTA, Centre for Research in Agricultural Genomics, CSIC-IRTA-UAB-UB, Bellaterra, 08193, Barcelona, Spain

    Jason Argyris & Jordi Garcia-Mas

  4. Food Quality and Design Group, Wageningen University and Research, P.O. box 17, 6700 AA, Wageningen, The Netherlands

    Saskia van Ruth

  5. School of Biological Sciences, Queen’s University Belfast, 19 Chlorine Gardens, Belfast, BT9 5DL, Northern Ireland, UK

    Saskia van Ruth

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  1. Tiago Bianchi
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Appendix

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Table 6 Quality indices determined among melon fruit types (N = 67): mean values and standard deviation in bracketsa
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Bianchi, T., Guerrero, L., Weesepoel, Y. et al. Linking sensory and proton transfer reaction–mass spectrometry analyses for the assessment of melon fruit (Cucumis melo L.) quality traits. Eur Food Res Technol 246, 1439–1457 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00217-020-03502-2

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