title: A taste of sweet pepper: Volatile and non-volatile chemical composition of fresh sweet pepper (Capsicum annuum) in relation to sensory evaluation of taste.
abstract: In this study volatile and non-volatile compounds, as well as some breeding parameters, were measured in mature fruits of elite sweet pepper (Capsicum annuum) lines and hybrids from a commercial breeding program, several cultivated genotypes and one gene bank accession. In addition, all genotypes were evaluated for taste by a trained descriptive sensory expert panel. Metabolic contrasts between genotypes were caused by clusters of volatile and non-volatile compounds, which could be related to metabolic pathways and common biochemical precursors. Clusters of phenolic derivatives, higher alkanes, sesquiterpenes and lipid derived volatiles formed the major determinants of the genotypic differences. Flavour was described with the use of 14 taste attributes, of which the texture related attributes and the sweet-sour contrast were the most discriminatory factors. The attributes juiciness, toughness, crunchiness, stickiness, sweetness, aroma, sourness and fruity/apple taste could be significantly predicted with combined volatile and non-volatile data. Fructose and (E)-2-hexen-1-ol were highly correlated with aroma, fruity/apple taste and sweetness. New relations were found for fruity/apple taste and sweetness with the compounds p-menth-1-en-9-al, (E)-β-ocimene, (Z)-2-penten-1-ol and (E)-geranylacetone. Based on the overall biochemical and sensory results, the perspectives for flavour improvement by breeding are discussed.
authors.affiliation: Rijk Zwaan Breeding B.V., P.O. Box 40, 2678 ZG De Lier, The Netherlands; Graduate School Experimental Plant Sciences, Wageningen, The Netherlands. Electronic address: m.eggink@rijkzwaan.nl.
authors.forename: P M
authors.initials: PM
authors.lastname: Eggink
authors.affiliation: Wageningen UR Plant Breeding, Wageningen University & Research Centre, P.O. Box 386, 6700 AJ Wageningen, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Maliepaard
authors.affiliation: Wageningen UR Plant Breeding, Wageningen University & Research Centre, P.O. Box 386, 6700 AJ Wageningen, The Netherlands; Centre for BioSystems Genomics, P.O. Box 98, 6700 AB Wageningen, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Y
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Tikunov
authors.affiliation: Rijk Zwaan Breeding B.V., P.O. Box 40, 2678 ZG De Lier, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: J P W
authors.initials: JP
authors.lastname: Haanstra
authors.affiliation: Wageningen UR Plant Breeding, Wageningen University & Research Centre, P.O. Box 386, 6700 AJ Wageningen, The Netherlands; Centre for BioSystems Genomics, P.O. Box 98, 6700 AB Wageningen, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: A G
authors.initials: AG
authors.lastname: Bovy
authors.affiliation: Wageningen UR Plant Breeding, Wageningen University & Research Centre, P.O. Box 386, 6700 AJ Wageningen, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: R G F
authors.initials: RG
authors.lastname: Visser
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001557:Benzenesulfonates; D002212:Capsicum / Q000737:chemistry*; D005638:Fruit / Q000737:chemistry*; D006801:Humans; D055442:Metabolome; D055432:Metabolomics; D008875:Middle Aged; D015999:Multivariate Analysis; D012903:Smell; D013649:Taste / Q000502:physiology*
chemical_list: D001557:Benzenesulfonates; C056082:4-sulfophenylmethallyl ether
keywords: Biochemical profiling; Metabolomics; Multivariate analysis; Random Forest; SPME-GC–MS; Sensory evaluation