Characterization of the volatile organic compounds produced from avocado during ripening by gas chromatography ion mobility spectrometry.

The volatile organic compounds (VOCs) produced from avocados during storage may be distinct at different periods, and this difference may be related to their degree of maturity, for which no relevant research has been conducted yet. A total of 30 typical target compounds were identified by gas chromatography-ion mobility spectrometry (GC-IMS) combined with principal component analysis (PCA) for the VOCs produced during the post-harvesting process of avocado. With an increase in storage time, the VOCs content produced by avocado due to ripening continued to increase, and the uptrend was particularly obvious on day 13. The storage time of avocado could be distinguished according to the PC1 and PC2 values in the PCA chart. GC-IMS detection combined with PCA was used to establish the fingerprints of VOCs in avocado for the first time. The maturity of avocados was determined by identifying the signal strength of characteristic VOCs, and this method could be of great potential to predict the maturity of fruits in the future. © 2020 Society of Chemical Industry.