Influence of harvest season on volatile aroma constituents of two banana cultivars by electronic nose and HS-SPME coupled with GC-MS

Abstract Volatile compounds are important factors that affect the flavor quality of banana. The odors of banana during harvest change significantly depending upon the season; however, the nature of the changes occurring at different times of harvest is still unclear. To clarify how banana harvesting time affects the volatile compound profiles and comprehensive flavor characterization, the volatile compounds of the BaXi and GuangFen No. 1 banana cultivars during the fruit harvests in March and September were evaluated using electronic nose technology, and also headspace solid phase micro-extraction combined with gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (HS-SPME GC–MS), respectively. Results from the principal component analysis and radar fingerprint chart of electronic nose showed that the flavor and volatile components in BaXi and GuangFen No. 1 banana fruit during the harvest in March differed significantly from those harvested in September. The relative content of esters in BaXi (95.29 %) and GuangFen No. 1 (90.96 %) banana fruit harvest in March was significantly higher than for BaXi (59.11 %) and GuangFen No. 1 (61.62 %) bananas harvested in September. We found that only banana fruits harvested in March contained isobutyl isobutyrate, isobutyl butyrate, and isobutyl hexanoate, while hexyl acetate was found only in fruits harvested in September. Results indicate that fruits harvested in March have more volatile aroma compounds in both the cultivars. Findings from the current study are useful for the banana industry as it provides baseline data in the difference in physiochemical properties of bananas harvested in different seasons.