Work

Seasonal changes of volatile compounds and odor evaluation of Zanthoxylum bungeanum ‘Hanyuan’ fruit during the development

Year: 2025

Type: article

Abstract: Knowing the content, compound, and key odor of volatile oil in the fruit of prickly ash during the development is important for improving product quality and determining a suitable harvesting period. Samples of Zanthoxylum bungeanum 'Hanyuan' fruit were collected at 31-115 day after flowering (AF) used for volatile oil extraction by the steam distillation method, and the volatile compounds were determined by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS), and the cluster and principal component analysis (PCA) were used for odor evaluation. The volatile oil content increased gradually with the fruit development, ranging from 0.4% to 8.5%, and no significant (P > 0.05) difference was observed between 100 d AF and 115 d AF. A total of 65 compounds were detected in volatile oils at the different stages; these compounds mainly included hydrocarbons, alcohols, esters, ethers, aldehydes, and ketones, which accounted for 96.36%-99.52% of the volatile oils. The main volatile compounds were alkenes, alcohols, and esters according to the number and relative content of the compounds in volatile oils. A total of 25 common compounds were detected in volatile oils at the different stages, which accounted for 93.99%-98.36% of the volatile oils, and (+)-limonene, linalool, myrcene, linalyl acetate, and 1,8-cineole had higher relative content than other compounds. The main compounds of volatile oils at the different stages were similar, but the relative content varied greatly. The relative content of (+)-limonene was observed to be the highest at all stages, myrcene and linalyl acetate showed an increasing trend, and linalool showed a decreasing trend with fruit development. The key odor compounds of Zanthoxylum bungeanum 'Hanyuan' fruit at the different stages were varied. Linalool, (+)-limonene, myrcene, 1,8-cineole, (+)-delta-cadinene, β-ocimene, (E)-β-ocimene, and geranyl acetate were key flavor compounds during the entire fruit period of Zanthoxylum bungeanum 'Hanyuan'. The comprehensive score of odor evaluation at the different stages ranked as 115 d AF > 100 d AF > 86 d AF > 74 d AF > 39 d AF > 64 d AF > 47 d AF > 56 d AF > 31 d AF. The optimal harvest period for Zanthoxylum bungeanum 'Hanyuan' fruit for obtaining a higher content of volatile oil and a comprehensive score of odor evaluation was 100-115 d AF.

Source: BMC Plant Biology

DOI: 10.1186/s12870-025-07878-9