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ARS Home » Southeast Area » Charleston, South Carolina » Vegetable Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #409388
Research Project: Harnessing Genomic Technologies Toward Improving Vegetable Health in Field and Controlled Environments

Location: Vegetable Research

Title: Comparative evaluation of volatile organic compounds in two bottle guard accessions with distinct fruit shapes

Author
item ZIA, BAZGHA - Orise Fellow
item CHANDA,, BIDISHA - Orise Fellow
item Bai, Jinhe
item Gilliard, Andrea
item Ling, Kai-Shu

Submitted to: Foods
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 10/24/2023
Publication Date: 10/26/2023
Citation: Zia, B., Chanda,, B., Bai, J., Gilliard, A.C., Ling, K. 2023. Comparative evaluation of volatile organic compounds in two bottle guard accessions with distinct fruit shapes. Foods. 12:3921. https://doi.org/10.3390/foods12213921.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/foods12213921

Interpretive Summary: Bottle gourd (Lagenaria siceraria L.) has a long history of cultivation and is widely grown around the world for food and medicines, particularly popular in Asian countries. Bottle guard fruit characteristics are important to determine for its use in food industry and human health, including the volatile organic compounds (VOCs) which have gained attention as important modulators of human health, plant health and food industry. There is limited information available for bottle guard VOCs. In the present study, ARS scientists in Charleston, SC and Fort Pierce, FL conducted a comparative evaluation of VOLs profiling between the two accessions (USVL5 and USVL10) with distinct fruit shapes (bottle and cylinder). USVL10, was enriched in carbon six alcohols and aldehydes that offer nutritional and medicinal benefits with favorable flavors and fragrances in cooked food for human consumption. The VOCs identified in bottle gourd may also have potential human health benefits. The knowledge on enrichment of beneficial VOCs in bottle gourd may help to boost production and consumption of bottle gourd as a natural food medicine to improve human health.

Technical Abstract: Bottle guard (Lagenaria siceraria L.) belongs to the cucurbit family and has a long history of cultivation in tropical and subtropical regions in the world for food and medicines. Its unique fruit shapes also make them popular for ornaments, containers and musical instruments. However, there is very limited information on volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in the fruits of bottle guard. In the present study, we conducted a comparative analysis on VOCs profiling in two accessions (USVL5 and USVL10) with distinct fruit shapes: bottle and cylinder. While USVL5 produced long cylinder fruits, USVL10 produced two fruit types, cylinder (USVL10CYN) and bottle (USVL10A and USVL10B). The VOCs in each line were analyzed using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). Aliphatic aldehydes and alcohols were the most abundant compounds found in bottle guard accessions. Based on the functional profile of the identified VOCs, our results indicate the suitability of our tested line, USVL10, was enriched in carbon six alcohols and aldehydes that offer nutritional and medicinal benefits as food for human consumption. The VOCs identified in this study have an important role in flavors and fragrances for foods as well as with potential human health benefits.