Abstract
Changes in flavor and aroma components and their relationships to maturation in satsuma mandarin (Citrus unshiu Marc.) fruit were investigated.
Fruit of′Sugiyama unshu′, a mid maturing cultivar, were sampled from sunshine and shade positions in the tree canopy, at intervals of about 1 month, from August 4 to December 11, 1978.
1. Percentage variations in volatile flavor components of peel.
In the peel of sunshine-fruits, the most pronounced percentage variations were found in d-limonene and terpinene. d-Limonene increased gradually, while terpinene decreased rapidly till early October, and thereafter they remained relatively constant. α-Pinene decreased from August to September, and thereafter, it remained relatively constant together with δ-elemene, decyl aldehyde, perillyl aldehyde and γ-elemene. β-Pinene, nonyl aldehyde, trans-sabinene, linalool, β-caryophylene, α-terpineol, p-cymene, β-copaene and geranyl acetate decreased, while mircene increased.
In the peel of shade-fruits, d-limonene increased during August to September, then remained relatively constant, whereas terpinene decreased markedly till early October, and then increased slowly. α-Pinene, camphene, β-pinene, trans-sabinene, decyl aldehyde, linalool, β-caryophylene, β-copaene and geranyl acetate remained relatively constant. p-Cymene, nonyl aldehyde, β-farnesene, α-terpineol, perillyl aldehyde and γ-elemene tended to decrease generally, whereas myrcene and δ-elemene increased.
The total content of volatiles in the peel of fruit in sunshine and shade positions in the tree canopy continued to increase until early October, and then decreased gradually, although it was higher in the peel of sunshine-fruit than of shade-fruit.
2. Percentage variations in volatile flavor components of juice.
In the juice of sunshine-fruit, in early November, d-limonene was the most abundant component, followed by terpinene, myrcene, p-cymene, β-caryophylene, geranyl acetate, δ-elemene, α-pinene, β-pinene, α-terpineol, trans-sabinene, β-copaene, γ-elemene and linalool. After one month, d-limonene decreased markedly, and neither geranyl acetate nor trans-sabinene was detected, whereas the other components increased considerably. The increase was especially significant for nonyl-aldehyde, which was not present at all in the previous month.
In the juice of shade-fruit, in early November, d-limonene was the largest component, followed by terpinene, linalool, myrcene, β-caryophylene, p-cymene, geranyl acetate, α-terpineol, β-copaene, α-pinene, trans-sabinene, β-pinene, δ-elemene and nonyl aldehyde in this order. After one month, both d-limonene and terpinene decreased greatly. Furthermore, myrcene, p-cymene, β-pinene, trans-sabinene and nonyl aldehyde could not be detected, whereas the other components increased markedly. The increase was especially significant for γ-elemene, which was not present at in the previous month.
