Volatile compounds associated to the loss of astringency in 'Rama Forte' persimmon fruit

The volatile profile of 'Rama Forte' persimmon fruit treated with high concentration of CO2 or ethanol, as well as the association of specific volatile organic compounds (VOC) to the loss of astringency given by sensory and chemical evaluation were investigated in our study. Fruit were harvested at the maturity stage showing crisp texture and commercial color, and exposed to different astringency removal treatments: 70% CO2 for 18 h or 1.70 mL kg(-1) ethanol for 6 h. Fruit were daily assessed for VOC, astringency, and soluble tannins content throughout eight days at room temperature. The HS-SPME/GC-MS analysis allowed to tentatively identify 31 volatile compounds and two fatty acids. A clear separation of the persimmon fruit from the beginning to the end of the post-treatment period was showed by PCA results, mainly from the fifth day for CO2-treated and the seventh day for ethanol-treated persimmon. The loadings from CO2 treatment highlighted the increase in the concentrations of a great number of compounds with the progression of the days. The compounds 2,4-di-tertbutylphenol and 1-pentadecanal were tentatively identified on fruit from both treatments after the longest periods and were absent on astringent non-treated fruit. These compounds are reported for the first time on persimmon fruit. Astringency tending to absent was noticed from the fifth and the seventh day after the fruit exposition to CO2 and ethanol vapor, respectively, when flesh soluble tannins concentrations close to 0.1% FW were found. Our study indicates a strong relationship between the astringency removal and the compounds 2,4-di-tert-butylphenol and 1-pentadecanal, supporting them as potential marker compounds for artificial deastringency in 'Rama Forte' persimmon fruit.