A deeper look into the causes of off-flavor in orange juice affected by huanglongbing (HLB)

• Autor(a) principal: Bruno Martins Dala-Paula
• Data de Publicação: 2017
• Outros Autores: Smita Raithore, John Anthony Manthey, Anne Plotto, Jinhe Bai, Maria Beatriz de Abreu Glória, Elizabeth Amory Baldwin
• Tipo de documento: Artigo de conferência
• Idioma: eng
• Título da fonte: Repositório Institucional da UFMG
• Texto Completo: http://hdl.handle.net/1843/41981
• topic: Flavor; Orange; Huanglongbing; Ciência e Tecnologia de Alimentos; Laranja; Sabor; Huanglongbing

Huanglongbing (HLB) compromises citrus fruit and juice flavor resulting in reduced quality for citrus producers and the food industry. Stress caused by HLB induces the production of secondary metabolites associated with bitter and astringent tastes in orange juice. The objective of this study was to identify which compounds, aside from limonin and nomilin, are responsible for the bitterness and astringency in juice made with oranges harvested from trees symptomatic for HLB. Alcohol soluble compounds were extracted from healthy and symptomatic orange juice and fractionated using chromatography into five fractions. The experiment was performed with food grade equipment and the organic solvents were eliminated before tasting. Three subjects tasted each fraction and documented their observations. Harsh, bitter and astringent tastes were identified in the first two fractions. Both of these fractions included hydroxycinnamates, polymethoxylated flavones, flavanone rutinosides, limonin and nomilin. These fractions were further separated by HPLC into 13 and 11 sub-fractions, respectively. Each was tasted and the majority of the compound groups contained in the subfractions were identified. In general, the sub-fractions of healthy orange juice presented descriptors of a high quality juice, such as: flavors of citrus, caramel, honey, fruity, floral etc. On the other hand, the subfractions of juice made from oranges harvested from trees symptomatic for HLB presented descriptors such as: acrid, strong bitterness, smoky, astringent aftertaste and lingering irritation in the back of the throat.