Investigation of the Volatile Profile of Red Jujube by Using GC-IMS, Multivariate Data Analysis, and Descriptive Sensory Analysis

Abstract

The aroma characteristics of six red jujube cultivars (Jinchang—‘JC’, Junzao—‘JZ’, Huizao—‘HZ’, Qiyuexian—‘QYX’, Hetiandazao—‘HTDZ’, and Yuanzao—‘YZ’), cultivated in Xinjiang Province, China, were studied by E-nose and GC-IMS. The presence of acetoin, E-2-hexanol, hexanal, acetic acid, and ethyl acetate played an important role in the classification results. JC, JZ, HZ, and YZ were different from others, while QYX and HTDZ were similar to each other. HZ had the most abundant specific VOCs, including linalool, nonanoic acid, methyl myristoleate, 2-acetylfuran, 1-octen-3-one, E-2-heptenal, 2-heptenone, 7-octenoic acid, and 2-pentanone. HZ had higher intensity in jujube ID, floral, sweet, and fruity attributes. Correlation analysis showed that jujube ID (identity) might be related to phenylacetaldehyde and isobutanoic acid that formed by the transamination or dehydrogenation of amino acids; meanwhile, the sweet attribute was correlated with amino acids, including threonine, glutamic acid, glycine, alanine, valine, leucine, tyrosine, phenylalanine, lysine, histidine, and arginine.

Profiling the Major Aroma-Active Compounds of Microwave-Dried Jujube Slices through Molecular Sensory Science Approaches

“…Five aroma-active aldehydes were identified in jujube slices, including hexanal and nonanal. These compounds are commonly associated with “green”, “cut grass”, “fat”, and “citrus” notes, which were also noted by panelists in the sensory descriptions of jujube slices and are typical of many other jujube varieties [ 3 , 35 , 36 ]. Hexanal and nonanal showed a decreasing tendency in response to drying time, possibly due to thermal degradation and volatilization loss.…”

“…Additionally, its concentration decreased with increasing drying time, which may contribute to reducing the floral attribute in jujube slice samples. Acids were identified as the key aroma contributor in jujube samples [ 36 , 39 ]. According to the sensory results, the sour taste was one of the important flavor characteristics of the original jujube slices.…”

Effects of cold plasma, high hydrostatic pressure, ultrasound, and high-pressure carbon dioxide pretreatments on the quality characteristics of vacuum freeze-dried jujube slices

“…In total, there were 19 markers, of which 12 were volatile compounds, 4 were color parameters, and 3 were bioactive compounds. Among these, physicochemical properties, including volatile compounds (ethyl hexanoate (A2), ( E )-2-hexenal (B1), and hexanoic acid (G1)), bioactive compounds (cAMP and AA), and color parameters have been reported as discriminating indicators in jujube fruits of different origins, cultivars, processing methods, and storage times [ [89] , [90] , [91] , [92] , [93] ]. Terpene discrimination indicators included all the terpenes detected in this study, indicating that the terpenes are more sensitive to processing.…”