Volatile compounds in medlar fruit (Mespilus germanica L.) at two ripening stages

Abstract

Medlar is the fruit of Mespilus germanica L. in the family of Rosaceae. The fruit can be eaten only if ‘bletted’ (softened by frost or longer storage). The effect of the maturation stages on the volatile compounds of the medlar fruit was investigated during two different stages. Volatile flavour substances were isolated from the minced pulp of unripe and full ripe medlar fruits by simultaneous steam distillation extraction (SDE) with methilen chloride as the extracting solvent. The concentrate was analysed by GC-FID-MS. Hexanoic and hexadecanoic acids were the predominant acids, hexanal and (E)-2-hexenal were the predominant aldehydes, (Z)-3-hexenol and hexanol were the predominant alcohols, with p-cymene, terpinen-4-ol, and γ-terpiene (the terpenes responsible for the characteristic medlar flavour) being also present. The C6 aliphatic compounds, such as hexanal and (E)-2-hexenal, were observed as the major volatile constituents in the green stage. In contrast, hexanol and (Z)-3-hexenol were the main volatiles in ripe fruits

Medlar—A Comprehensive and Integrative Review

“…Several authors analyzed the influence of different ripening stages on the content of other chemical compound (Table 8), such as the following: carbohydrates [38,40,42,62,66], organic acids [1][2][3]32,38,[40][41][42]49,62,66], proteins [38,40], aldehydes [48,49], alcohols [49], esters [49], and terpenes [49]. As mentioned previously, following harvest period, medlar fruits can have a relatively short shelf life during which they undergo profound changes in texture, color, and flavour.…”

“…By the 17th and 18th century, however, it was forgotten (when more convenient late-ripening fruits became abundant), but it has begun to be cultivated again today. There are several cultivars grown for their fruit's quality that include "Hollandia," "Nottingham," "Russian" [4], "Dutch" (with the largest fruits, also Several scientific papers analyzed the rediscovered medlar from various points of view: pomological [6,[17][18][19][20][21], phenotypic [3,[22][23][24][25], phylogenetic [26][27][28][29][30][31][32][33], chemical composition, including polyphenols, flavonoids, other antioxidants compounds, macroelements and microelements [9,17,[34][35][36][37][38][39][40][41][42][43][44][45][46][47][48][49], antimicrobial effects [10,[50][51][52], the influence of ripening stage [1,17,[34]…”

Affordable and environmentally friendly method for the synthesis of a green silver nanophotocatalyst based on Mespilus germanica

“…Mespilus germanica belongs to the Rosaceae flower family [46] and grows in various weather conditions and in many locations such as North Anatolia, Southeastern Europe and Iran [47]. Different parts of this plant such as its fruit, flower and leaves have been widely used in traditional medicine to treat diarrhea, bloating and gastric acid, intestinal swelling, and oral ulcers [48,49].…”

“…Different parts of this plant such as its fruit, flower and leaves have been widely used in traditional medicine to treat diarrhea, bloating and gastric acid, intestinal swelling, and oral ulcers [48,49]. The Mespilus germanica fruit seed contains ascorbic acid (AA) and a high total phenolic content which is responsible for its antioxidant activity [46]. These functional groups could be used as active sites to immobilize silver nanoparticles (Ag NPs).…”

Morphological and Chemical Properties of Medlar (Mespilus Germanica L.) Fruits and Changes in Quality During Ripening

“…Changes in sugars, organic acids, and fatty acids of consumed medlar have been reported during the post-harvest period (Glew et al, 2003). In previous studies, mechanical properties and the chemical composition of medlar were described during maturation and ripening (Rodriguez et al, 2000;Rop et al, 2011;Veličković et al, 2013). Changes in fruit quality are important for marketing of medlar fruits.…”