Volatile compounds of Morinda royoc L. fruit at two ripening stages

Abstract

Morinda royoc L. (Rubiaceae), commonly known in Cuba as garañón, piñipiñi or piña ratón arbusto, is a plant typically found in coastal hammocks with medicinal properties. Application of headspace-solid phase microextraction combined with gas chromatography-mass spectrometry was used to analyze, for the first time, the volatile compounds of Morinda royoc L. fruits at to ripening stages. A fiber of polydimethylsiloxane-divinylbenzene (PDMS/DVB) was used for the extraction. The analyses led to the identification of 137 compounds, including 42 esters, 22 acids, 17 alcohols, 14 ketones, 14 terpenes, 9 aldehydes, 9 sulfur-compounds, 4 lactones, 3 phenols and derivatives, 3 paraffins and a nitrogen-compound. Qualitative and quantitatively, acids were a major chemical class of compounds in both maturity stages, mainly in the ripe stage. Although some compounds remain without changes in both ripening stages, the composition of certain volatile compounds clearly differs in both stages. The over-ripe fruit showed significantly higher amounts of 3-methyl-3-butenyl butanoate, 3-methyl-3-butenyl hexanoate and 3-methyl-3-butenyl octanoate, while 3-methyl-3-butenyl acetate, benzyl acetate and benzyl butanoate significantly decreased. The content of butanoic acid and 2-methylbutanoic acid increased from mature to over-ripe stage, while the major part of the other acids decreased during maturation.