Volatile Compounds and Physicochemical Quality of Four Jabuticabas (Plinia sp.)

The jabuticaba is a native Brazilian fruit that has aroused worldwide interest in terms of its nutritional composition and biological activity. However, research on the profile of volatile compounds (VOCs) emitted by these fruits is rare. This study presents the first identification of VOCs from four jabuticaba species. The aim of the study was to characterize the aromatic profile of the following species: 'Sabará' (Plinia jaboticaba), 'Escarlate' (Plinia phitrantha × Plinia cauliflora), 'Otto Andersen' (Plinia cauliflora), and 'Esalq' (Plinia phitrantha). The analysis was performed by headspace solid-phase microextraction combined with gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (SPME-GC-MS). Multivariate analysis techniques applying the partial least squares-discriminant analysis (PLS-DA) and heatmap were used to compare the results. Fruit quality parameters were determined in terms of fresh mass (g), skin color, soluble solids, and titratable acidity. A total of 117 VOCs was identified including terpenoids, esters, alcohols, aldehydes, alkanes, ketones, and carboxylic acids, with 36 VOCs common to all four species. Terpenes were the majority for all jabuticabas with smaller contributions from other volatile classes, especially β-cubebene, β-elemene, and D-limonene for the 'Otto Andersen' jabuticaba.