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ARS Home » Southeast Area » Fort Pierce, Florida » U.S. Horticultural Research Laboratory » Citrus and Other Subtropical Products Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #364507
Research Project: Quality, Shelf-life and Health Benefits for Fresh, Fresh-cut and Processed Products for Citrus and Other Tropical/Subtropical-grown Fruits and Vegetables

Location: Citrus and Other Subtropical Products Research

Title: Fatty acid and volatile organic compound profiling of avocado germplasm grown under East-Central Florida conditions

Author
item ALI, SAJID - Bahauddin Zakariya University
item Plotto, Anne
item SCULLY, BRIAN - US Department Of Agriculture (USDA)
item Wood, Dave
item Stover, Eddie
item Owens, Nancy
item Pisani, Cristina
item RITENOUR, MARK - University Of Florida
item ANJUM, MUHAMMAD AKBAR - Bahauddin Zakariya University
item NAWAZ, AAMIR - Bahauddin Zakariya University
item NAZ, AAMIR - Bahauddin Zakariya University
item Bai, Jinhe

Submitted to: Scientia Horticulturae
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 11/5/2019
Publication Date: 1/1/2020
Citation: Ali, S., Plotto, A., Scully, B.T., Wood, D.R., Stover, E.W., Owens, N.D., Pisani, C., Ritenour, M., Anjum, M., Nawaz, A., Naz, A., Bai, J. 2020. Fatty acid and volatile organic compound profiling of avocado germplasm grown under East-Central Florida conditions. Scientia Horticulturae. 261. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scienta.2019.109008.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scienta.2019.109008

Interpretive Summary: Due to increased consumer awareness of its healthy dietary value, the demand for avocado has significantly increased in the past few decades. ‘Hass’ is widely produced in Mediterranean climates including California (USA), but generally does not perform well in hot and humid tropical climates such as Florida. However, there are little information available on the volatile and nutritional quality of avocado varieties grown in Florida. In this research, we compare the fatty acid and aroma flavor profiles of a cohort of 14 avocados genotypes from diverse backgrounds. The results showed that 'PA-6206’ (a ‘Hass’ x ‘Bacon seedling) and ‘35707’ (a ‘Catalina’ seedling) had higher total oil content and unsaturated fatty acids, and were most valuable regarding to nutritional quality.

Technical Abstract: Worldwide avocado consumption is growing due to potential health benefits. Most research has focused on ‘Hass’, which does not perform well in Florida. Fatty acids and volatiles were evaluated in 14 avocado genotypes grown in East-Central Florida and compared to ‘Hass’. Two saturated and five unsaturated fatty acids were detected. Total oil content (TOC) was 11 to 25%, with 58.2-71.5% unsaturated fatty acids (UFA). ‘FL Hass’ contained 20% TOC, near the average for genotypes tested, but with a low UFA of 61.9%. ‘PA-6206’ (a ‘Hass’ x ‘Bacon seedling) and ‘35707’ (a ‘Catalina’ seedling) had higher TOC and UFA, while the mostly West Indian types such as ‘Simmonds’, ‘Day’, ‘Pflume’ and ‘Miguel’ had low TOC content. Detected volatiles were acetaldehyde, hexanal, (E)-2-hexenal, limonene, a-cubebene, a-copaene, and (E)-caryophyllene. Most genotypes contained most of the volatiles. ‘Monroe’ lacked C6 aldehydes, and ‘Pflume’, ‘Bernecker-43’, ‘Lula’ and ‘35707’ lacked some or all sesquiterpenes.