Comparative Analysis of Volatile Compounds from Four Radish Microgreen Cultivars Based on Ultrasonic Cell Disruption...

Area of Science:

• Agricultural Science
• Food Chemistry
• Analytical Chemistry

Background:

• Radish microgreens are a source of diverse volatile compounds influencing flavor.
• Understanding these volatile profiles is crucial for crop improvement and culinary applications.

Purpose of the Study:

• To efficiently extract and identify volatile compounds from four radish microgreen cultivars.
• To analyze the correlation between radish cultivars and their volatile compound profiles.
• To characterize aroma profiles using chemometric and sensory evaluation methods.

Main Methods:

• Ultrasonic cell disruption for volatile compound extraction.
• Headspace solid-phase micro-extraction and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (HS-SPME/GC-MS) for identification and quantification.
• Chemometrics analysis, including principal component analysis (PCA) and hierarchical clustering heat maps.
• Odor activity value (OAV), odor contribution rate (OCR), and radar fingerprint chart (RFC) for aroma profiling.

Main Results:

• A total of 51 volatile compounds were identified and quantified, including alcohols, aldehydes, isothiocyanates, sulfides, ketones, esters, terpenes, and hydrocarbons.
• Significant correlations were found between radish cultivars and their specific volatile compound compositions.
• Distinct aroma profiles were elucidated for each of the four cultivars studied.
• Chemometric analysis successfully differentiated the cultivars based on their volatile profiles.

Conclusions:

• Ultrasonic cell disruption is an effective method for extracting volatiles from radish microgreens.
• The study provides a comprehensive understanding of flavor variations among radish microgreen cultivars.
• Findings establish a theoretical foundation for the genetic enhancement of radish microgreen flavor profiles.