Time-dependent changes of fruit metabolites studied by 1H NMR

The browning phenomenon of fruits can be easily observed when fruits or vegetables (apples, pears, bananas, potatoes, etc.) are cut with a knife and the part turns brown. When this browning occurs, changes in taste, color, and nutrients usually are introduced. The cause of this browning phenomenon has been well studied for a long time, but these studies have mainly focused on preventing deterioration of processed foods during food processing or storage. Resultantly, there are few studies on how much changes in nutrients (saccharides, amino acids, fats, water-soluble low molecular weight ammonium ions, etc.) are caused by browning. The purpose of this study is to determine the change in nutrients during browning using apple as a model fruit. We conducted a comparative study on how much the nutrient fluctuations differ depending on the presence or absence of pretreatment such as the application of heat. All analysis was conducted using 1H NMR. The ANOVA analysis showed that the concentrations of 4 amino acids (alanine, asparagine, isoleucine, and valine), 3 types of sugars (fructose, glucose, and xylose), 1 type of organic acid (lactate) and choline were significantly increased in samples showing browning. In addition, the groups before and after browning were clearly separated using multivariate statistical analysis methods (PCA, PLS-DA), which was greatly contributed by two sugar components (fructose and glucose) present in high concentrations in apples.