Elucidating the roles of ethanol fermentation metabolism in causing off-flavors in mandarins

To elucidate the roles of ethanol fermentation metabolism in causing off-flavors, 'Mor' mandarins were exposed to anaerobic atmospheres for 0, 2, 4, 7, and 10 days to gradually increase juice ethanol and acetaldehyde levels through enhanced fermentation. Exposure to anaerobic atmosphere caused progressive decline in fruit sensory quality, from nearly "good" to "very bad", because of decreased typical mandarin flavor and increased sensation of 'musty' and 'ethanol' off-flavors. GC-MS analysis revealed significant (p ≤ 0.05) increases in the contents of 12 aroma volatiles, including the ethanol fermentation metabolites ethanol and acetaldehyde, and several fatty acid and amino acid catabolism derivates, 7 of which were ethyl esters, which suggests that they were esterification products of ethanol and acyl-CoA's derived from fatty acid and amino acid catabolism. These de novo synthesized anaerobiosis-regulated ethyl esters impart 'pungent', 'ethereal', 'waxy', 'musty', and 'fruity' notes. Overall, these results suggest that besides the direct effects of ethanol and acetaldehyde, downstream ethanol esterification products may also be involved in causing off-flavor sensation in mandarins.     

Does ethylene degreening affect internal quality of citrus fruit?

Citrus fruit are non-climacteric. However, exposure to exogenous ethylene, e.g., during ethylene degreening, stimulates various ripening-related processes in the peel tissue, such as destruction of the green chlorophyll pigments and accumulation of orange/yellow carotenoids. Nonetheless, it is not yet known whether exogenous ethylene affects internal ripening processes in citrus flesh. To address this question, we examined the possible effects of ethylene on taste, aroma, perceived flavor, and nutritional quality of various citrus fruit, including ‘Navel’ oranges, ‘Star Ruby’ grapefruit and ‘Satsuma’ mandarins. Exposure to ethylene enhanced peel color break, and respiration and ethylene production rates in all citrus fruit tested. However, ethylene degreening had no effect on juice total soluble solids and acid contents, and had only minor effects on contents and composition of juice aroma volatiles. Moreover, sensory analysis tests revealed that ethylene degreening did not affect the flavor of oranges and grapefruit, but marginally impaired sensory acceptability of mandarins; the latter change could be attributed, at least partially, to storage of the fruit for 5 days at 20 °C. Nevertheless, ethylene degreening did not enhance off-flavor perception or accumulation of off-flavor volatiles, nor had any effect on levels of health promoting compounds such as vitamin C, total phenols and flavonoids, or antioxidant-activity of citrus juice. We conclude that although ethylene affects peel color break, it is probably not involved in regulation of internal ripening processes in citrus fruit and, therefore, does not impair internal fruit quality.     

Importance of storage temperatures in maintaining flavor and quality of mandarins

Mandarins suffer from short ‘flavor-life’ compared with other citrus species. The recommended minimum safe temperature for mandarin storage is 5-8 °C. However, because of continuing reductions in permitted chemical residues and increasing concern regarding decay development, mandarins are often shipped at much lower temperatures of 3-4 °C. In the last few years we noticed wide differences in responsiveness of mandarin varieties to chilling, and that the earliest indication of damage was a decrease in flavor acceptability. In the present study, we evaluated changes in flavor and quality of chilling-tolerant ‘Or’ and chilling-sensitive ‘Odem’ mandarins after 4 weeks of storage at 2, 5, or 8 °C followed by 3 days at 20 °C. Low storage temperatures resulted in loss of orange peel color in fruit of both varieties, which became paler and yellowish. The flavor of ‘Or’ mandarins was not affected by different storage temperatures, whereas ‘Odem’ showed severe flavor loss at low storage temperatures. GC-MS analysis of aroma volatiles revealed that changes of storage temperatures had no major effects on aroma volatile contents in ‘Or’ mandarins. However, in ‘Odem’ mandarins, storage at 2 °C caused accumulation of 13 volatiles, mainly terpenes and their derivates, whereas storage at 8 °C resulted in decreases of six volatiles, comprising five terpenes and one terpene derivative. Overall, we conclude that storage temperature is a fundamental factor affecting color and flavor of mandarins, and therefore it is crucial to define the optimal minimum safe temperature for each mandarin variety. Furthermore, massive accumulation of terpenes is most likely the cause for the decrease in flavor acceptability of ‘Odem’ mandarins after storage at low chilling temperatures.