Rapid Tomato Volatile Profiling by Using Proton-Transfer Reaction Mass Spectrometry (PTR-MS)

The availability of rapid and accurate methods to assess fruit flavor is of utmost importance to support quality control especially in the breeding phase. Breeders need more information and analytical tools to facilitate selection for complex multigenic traits such as flavor quality. In this study, it is shown that proton-transfer reaction mass spectrometry (PTR-MS) is a suitable method to monitor at high sensitivity the emission of volatiles determining the tomato aromatic profile such as hexanal, hexenals, methanol, ethanol, and acetaldehyde. The volatiles emitted by 14 tomato varieties (at red stage) were analyzed by 2 solvent-free headspace methods: solid-phase microextraction/gas chromatography MS and PTR-MS. Multivariate statistics (principal component analysis and cluster analysis) of the PTR-MS results allow an unambiguous separation between varieties, especially with a clear fingerprinting separation between the different tomato types: round truss, cocktail, and cherry tomatoes. PTR-MS was also successfully used to monitor the changes in volatile profiles during postharvest ripening and storage.