Metabolic Profiling and Potential Taste Biomarkers of Two Rambutans during Maturation
Hao Deng,
Guang Wu,
Li Guo,
Fuchu Hu,
Liying Zhou,
Bin Xu,
Qingchun Yin,
Zhe Chen
Affiliations
Hao Deng
Key Laboratory of Tropical Fruit and Vegetable Cold-Chain of Hainan Province, Institute of Agro-Products of Processing and Design, Hainan Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Haikou 571100, China
Guang Wu
Key Laboratory of Tropical Fruit and Vegetable Cold-Chain of Hainan Province, Institute of Agro-Products of Processing and Design, Hainan Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Haikou 571100, China
Li Guo
Key Laboratory of Tropical Fruit and Vegetable Cold-Chain of Hainan Province, Institute of Agro-Products of Processing and Design, Hainan Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Haikou 571100, China
Fuchu Hu
Key Laboratory of Genetic Resources Evaluation and Utilization of Tropical Fruits and Vegetables (Co-construction by Ministry of Province), Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Haikou 571100, China
Liying Zhou
Key Laboratory of Tropical Fruit and Vegetable Cold-Chain of Hainan Province, Institute of Agro-Products of Processing and Design, Hainan Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Haikou 571100, China
Bin Xu
Key Laboratory of Tropical Fruit and Vegetable Cold-Chain of Hainan Province, Institute of Agro-Products of Processing and Design, Hainan Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Haikou 571100, China
Qingchun Yin
Key Laboratory of Tropical Fruits and Vegetables Quality and Safety for State Market Regulation, Hainan Institute for Food Control, Haikou 570314, China
Zhe Chen
Key Laboratory of Genetic Resources Evaluation and Utilization of Tropical Fruits and Vegetables (Co-construction by Ministry of Province), Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Haikou 571100, China
The metabolite-caused taste variation during rambutan maturation is unknown due to a lack of systematic investigation of all components. In this study, three growing stages, including unripe (S1), half-ripe (S2), and full-ripe (S3) BY2 and BY7 rambutans were compared and profiled by UPLC–MS/MS-based widely targeted metabolomics analysis. We demonstrated that the sugar-acid ratios of two rambutans were greatly improved between the S2 and S3 stages. A total of 821 metabolites were identified, including 232, 205, 204, and 12 differential metabolites (DMs) in BY2-S1 vs. BY2-S2, BY2-S2 vs. BY2-S3, BY7-S1 vs. BY7-S2, and BY7-S2 vs. BY7-S3, respectively. A correlation analysis showed that gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) could be the sugar-acid ratio biomarker of BY2 rambutan. Methionine (Met), alanine (Ala), and S-methyl-L-cysteine (SMC) could be total amino acid biomarkers of BY2 and BY7 rambutans. In addition, UPLC-MS/MS-based quantitative verification of the above biomarkers exhibited the same variations as metabolomics analysis. This study not only provides useful nutritive information on rambutans but also valuable metabolic data for rambutan breeding strategies.
