Flavor Quality Analysis of Ten Actinidia arguta Fruits Based on High-Performance Liquid Chromatography and Headspace Gas Chromatography–Ion Mobility Spectrometry

Abstract

<i>Actinidia arguta</i> is a fruit crop with high nutritional and economic value. However, its flavor quality depends on various factors, such as variety, environment, and post-harvest handling. We analyzed the composition of total soluble sugars, titratable acids, organic acids, and flavor substances in the fruits of ten <i>A. arguta</i> varieties. The total soluble sugar content ranged from 4.22 g/L to 12.99 g/L, the titratable acid content ranged from 52.55 g/L to 89.9 g/L, and the sugar-acid ratio ranged from 5.39 to 14.17 at the soft ripe stage. High-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) showed that citric, quinic, and malic acids were the main organic acids in the <i>A. arguta</i> fruits. Headspace gas chromatography-ion mobility spectrometry (HS-GC-IMS) detected 81 volatile compounds in 10 <i>A. arguta</i> varieties, including 24 esters, 17 alcohols, 23 aldehydes, 7 ketones, 5 terpenes, 2 acids, 1 Pyrazine, 1 furan, and 1 benzene. Esters and aldehydes had the highest relative content of total volatile compounds. An orthogonal partial least squares discriminant analysis (OPLS-DA) based on the odor activity value (OAV) revealed that myrcene, benzaldehyde, methyl isobutyrate, α-phellandrene, 3-methyl butanal, valeraldehyde, ethyl butyrate, acetoin, (E)-2-octenal, hexyl propanoate, terpinolene, 1-penten-3-one, and methyl butyrate were the main contributors to the differences in the aroma profiles of the fruits of different <i>A. arguta</i> varieties. Ten <i>A. arguta</i> varieties have different flavors. This study can clarify the differences between varieties and provide a reference for the evaluation of <i>A. arguta</i> fruit flavor, variety improvement and new variety selection.