Fingerprinting of Peach During the Ripening Process Using an Analytical Platform with Spectrometric and...

Area of Science:

• Food science and technology
• Analytical chemistry
• Agricultural science

Background:

• Peach quality is increasingly linked to harvest timing.
• Objective methods are needed to determine optimal peach ripeness.
• Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) play a role in fruit aroma and quality.

Purpose of the Study:

• To characterize the spectral fingerprint and volatilome of peaches.
• To identify the optimum ripening point for peaches.
• To differentiate peach varieties and ripening stages using analytical techniques.

Main Methods:

• Fourier transform near-infrared spectroscopy (FT-NIR) for spectral fingerprinting.
• Headspace gas chromatography-ion mobility spectrometry (HS-GC-IMS) for volatilome analysis.
• Headspace gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (HS-GC-MS) for volatilome analysis.
• Principal component analysis (PCA) and partial least-squares discriminant analysis (PLS-DA) for data interpretation.

Main Results:

• Distinct clusters were observed for peaches at the same ripening stage using PCA.
• PLS-DA models successfully differentiated peach varieties and ripening stages.
• Volatilome analysis via HS-GC-IMS and HS-GC-MS showed promising results for ripeness determination.

Conclusions:

• Spectral fingerprinting and volatilome analysis are effective tools for assessing peach ripeness.
• These methods can aid in identifying the optimal harvest point for improved peach quality.
• The study provides a foundation for non-destructive quality assessment in peaches.