Averrhoa carambola L. is a tropical tree with edible fruit that grows at different climatic conditions. Despite its nutritive value and reported health benefits, it is a controversial fruit owing to its rich oxalate content. The present study aimed at investigating aroma and nutrient primary metabolites distribution in A. carambola fruits grown in Indonesia, Malaysia (its endemic origin) versus Egypt, and at different ripening stages. Two techniques were employed to assess volatile and non-volatile metabolites including headspace solid-phase micro-extraction (HS-SPME) joined with gas chromatography coupled with mass-spectrometry (GC-MS) and GC-MS post silylation, respectively. Twenty-four volatiles were detected, with esters amounting for the major class of volatiles in Egyptian fruit at ca. 66%, with methyl caproate as the major component, distinguishing it from other origins. In contrast, aldehydes predominated tropically grown fruits with the ether myristicin found exclusively in these. Primary metabolites profiling led to the identification of 117 metabolites viz. sugars, polyols and organic acids. Fructose (38–48%) and glucose (21–25%) predominated sugar compositions in ripe fruits, whereas sorbitol was the major sugar alcohol (2.4–10.5%) in ripe fruits as well. Oxalic acid, an anti-nutrient with potential health risks, was the major organic acid detected in all the studied fruits (1.7–2.7%), except the Malaysian one (0.07%). It increases upon fruit ripening, including considerable amounts of volatile oxalate esters detected via SPME, and which must not be omitted in total oxalate determinations for safety assessments.
Lens culinaris and several Lupinus species are two legumes regarded as potential protein resources aside from their richness in phytochemicals. Consequently, characterization of their metabolite composition seems warranted to be considered as a sustainable commercial functional food. This study presents a discriminatory holistic approach for metabolite profiling in accessions of four lentil cultivars and four Lupinus species via gas chromatography/mass spectrometry. A total of 107 metabolites were identified, encompassing organic and amino acids, sugars, and sterols, along with antinutrients, viz., alkaloids and sugar phosphates. Among the examined specimens, four nutritionally valuable accessions ought to be prioritized for future breeding to include Lupinus hispanicus, enriched in organic ( ca. 11.7%) and amino acids ( ca. 5%), and Lupinus angustifolius, rich in sucrose ( ca. 40%), along with two dark-colored lentil cultivars 'verte du Puy' and 'Black Beluga' enriched in peptides. Antinutrient chemicals were observed in Lupinus polyphyllus, owing to its high alkaloid content. Several species-specific markers were also revealed using multivariate data analyses.
Brine, the historically known food additive salt solution, has been widely used as a pickling media to preserve flavor or enhance food aroma, appearance, or other qualities. The influence of pickling, using brine, on the aroma compounds and the primary and secondary metabolite profile in onion bulb Allium cepa red cv. and lemon fruit Citrus limon was evaluated using multiplex metabolomics technologies. In lemon, pickling negatively affected its key odor compound “citral”, whereas monoterpene hydrocarbons limonene and γ-terpinene increased in the pickled product. Meanwhile, in onion sulphur rearrangement products appeared upon storage, i.e., 3,5-diethyl-1,2,4-trithiolane. Profiling of the polar secondary metabolites in lemon fruit via ultra-performance liquid chromatography coupled to MS annotated 37 metabolites including 18 flavonoids, nine coumarins, five limonoids, and two organic acids. With regard to pickling impact, notable and clear separation among specimens was observed with an orthogonal projections to least squares-discriminant analysis (OPLS-DA) score plot for the lemon fruit model showing an enrichment of limonoids and organic acids and that for fresh onion bulb showing an abundance of flavonols and saponins. In general, the pickling process appeared to negatively impact the abundance of secondary metabolites in both onion and lemon, suggesting a decrease in their food health benefits.
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