Apple is one of the most popular fruits among consumers due to its delicious flavor and high nutritional value. In this study, a metabolomics approach was used to determine the correlation between the metabolites and sensory characteristics of different apple cultivars. The sensory characteristics were based on quantitative descriptive analysis and consumer hedonic assessment. The volatile and non-volatile profiles were detected by using headspace solid-phase microextraction coupled with gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (HS-SPME/GC-MS) and ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography-quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry (UHPLC-qTOF-MS). The results showed that both sensory attributes and metabolites of apple fruits were discriminated into four clusters by statistical multivariate discriminant analysis. The high hedonic rating of apples was due in part to its flavor profile such as floral, honey, and pineapple with sweetness and sourness. High hedonic liking and positive flavors of apples could be associated with the volatile compounds including isobutyl acetate, butyl acetate, and (<i>E</i>)-2-hexen-1-ol with high contents of sugars and organic acids. On the other hand, cucumber-like flavor of apples attributed to the relatively low hedonic liking of apples, which might be correlated with high contents of isobutanol, 3-methyl-1-butanol, and ethyl decanonate. These findings demonstrated that metabolite pattern within apples could be responsible for the specific sensory qualities of apple cultivars and provided insight into a paradigm for the selection and development of new and more desirable apple cultivars in the future.

Sensory properties and metabolomic profiles of different apple cultivars grown in Korea

ACS Fall 2021

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