Volatile changes in Hawaiian noni fruit, Morinda citrifolia L., during ripening and fermentation

Noni fruit (Morinda citrifolia L., Rubiaceae) has been used in traditional medicine throughout the tropics and subtropics and is now attracting interest in western medicine. Fermented noni juice is of particular interest for its promising antitumor activity. The present study collected and analyzed volatiles released at nine time intervals by noni fruit during ripening and fermentation using headspace autosampling coupled to gas chromatography-mass spectrometry.

Twenty-three noni volatiles were identified and relatively quantified. In addition to volatiles previously identified in noni, four novel volatile 3-methyl-2/3-butenyl esters were identified via the synthesis of reference compounds. Principle component analysis (PCA) and canonical discriminant analysis (CDA) were used to facilitate multidimensional pattern recognition. PCA showed that ripening noni fruit cluster into three groups, pre-ripe, fully ripe (translucent) and fermented, based on released volatiles. CDA could 83.8% correctly classify noni samples when all ripeness stages were analyzed and 100% when samples were classified into the three PCA groupings.

The results of the present study confirm the identities of 3-methyl-2/3-butenyl esters, both novel and previously identified, through the synthesis of reference compounds. These esters constitute a large percentage of the volatiles released by fully ripe and fermented noni and likely produced from the decomposition of noniosides, a group of unique glucosides present in the fruit. © 2017 Society of Chemical Industry.