Flavor chemistry and bioactivity studies on sweet cucumber (Solanum muricatum) pulp fruit

Abstract

Odor-active volatile compounds of sweet cucumber (Solanum muricatum) fruit were extracted by using the solvent-assisted flavor evaporation (SAFE) technique and analyzed, by gas chromatography coupled to olfactometry (GC-O) and gas chromatography coupled to mass spectrometry (GC-MS), and compared with standards. The most relevant compounds in the aroma of this fruit were determined by the aroma extract dilution analysis (AEDA) technique. Based on the odor activity value (OAV) the following key-aroma compounds were identified: (E)-6-nonenal (aqueous odor note), (E)-2-nonenal (green, cucumber-like odor note), hexanal (green odor note), nonanal (green, vegetable odor note), and 1-penten-3-one (ethereal note). Some biofunctional properties of the fruit were studied in vitro. Antihypertensive and anti-hypercholesterolemic activities were measured by using the angiotensinconverting enzyme inhibition (ACE-I) and the 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl-coenzyme A (HMG-CoA) reductase inhibition assays, respectively. The fruit exhibited a promising ACE-I inhibitory activity (IC50=3.72 ± 0.19 ppm) but lower than that of the positive control (lisinopril). The fruit extract inhibited the activity of the HMG-CoA reductase over time with similar kinetics to the positive control (pravastatin). Based on these results, S. muricatum fruit could be considered a potential candidate for the development of functional foods.