Systematic Characterization of Flavor Profiles and Screening of Potential Key Aroma-Active Components in Prunus salicina var. cordata cv. ‘Younai’

Fu, Lijuan; Liu, Wenjing; Ren, Lihua; Lin, Xiangxin; Guo, Jia; Chen, Hao; Chen, Faxing; Yan, Sun’an

doi:10.3390/foods15101787

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Systematic Characterization of Flavor Profiles and Screening of Potential Key Aroma-Active Components in Prunus salicina var. cordata cv. ‘Younai’

by

Lijuan Fu

^1,2,†,

Wenjing Liu

^1,†,

Lihua Ren

¹,

Xiangxin Lin

¹,

Jia Guo

¹,

Hao Chen

³,

Faxing Chen

^2,*

and

Sun’an Yan

^1,*

¹

Institute of Quality Standards & Testing Technology for Agro-Products, Fujian Academy of Agricultural Sciences/Fujian Key Laboratory of Agro-Products Quality and Safety, Fuzhou 350003, China

²

College of Horticulture, Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University, Fuzhou 350002, China

³

Fujian Green Food Development Center, Fuzhou 350003, China

^*

Authors to whom correspondence should be addressed.

^†

These authors contributed equally to this research.

Foods 2026, 15(10), 1787; https://doi.org/10.3390/foods15101787

Submission received: 1 April 2026 / Revised: 29 April 2026 / Accepted: 15 May 2026 / Published: 18 May 2026

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sensory Detection and Analysis in Food Industry)

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Abstract

Prunus salicina var. cordata cv. ‘Younai’ is a characteristic stone fruit germplasm resource of Fujian Province, yet its core flavor components remain unclear. This study aimed to comprehensively characterize the flavor chemistry of Younai by determining the contents of sugar–acid components and volatile compounds, combined with untargeted metabolomics analysis. Results showed that fructose was the predominant sweet component, while malic acid was the dominant organic acid in Younai. (Z)-3-Hexen-1-ol, 1-Hexanol and (Z)-3-Hexen-1-yl acetate were screened as potential key aroma-active compounds based on odor activity values, and γ-Decalactone plus Linalool further enriched the fruit aroma hierarchy. Untargeted metabolomics identified 26 saccharides and 21 organic acids in the fruits. Additionally, Younai fruit metabolites were dominated by polyphenols, with flavonols and phenolic acids as the core polyphenol subclasses. This study provides a chemically grounded baseline characterization of Younai flavor. The screened potential aroma-active compounds and metabolite profiles provide a foundation for future sensory validation studies and the development of quality evaluation criteria.

Keywords: Prunus salicina var. cordata cv. ‘Younai’; flavor profiles; sugar–acid components; aroma-active compounds; metabolites

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MDPI and ACS Style

Fu, L.; Liu, W.; Ren, L.; Lin, X.; Guo, J.; Chen, H.; Chen, F.; Yan, S. Systematic Characterization of Flavor Profiles and Screening of Potential Key Aroma-Active Components in Prunus salicina var. cordata cv. ‘Younai’. Foods 2026, 15, 1787. https://doi.org/10.3390/foods15101787

AMA Style

Fu L, Liu W, Ren L, Lin X, Guo J, Chen H, Chen F, Yan S. Systematic Characterization of Flavor Profiles and Screening of Potential Key Aroma-Active Components in Prunus salicina var. cordata cv. ‘Younai’. Foods. 2026; 15(10):1787. https://doi.org/10.3390/foods15101787

Chicago/Turabian Style

Fu, Lijuan, Wenjing Liu, Lihua Ren, Xiangxin Lin, Jia Guo, Hao Chen, Faxing Chen, and Sun’an Yan. 2026. "Systematic Characterization of Flavor Profiles and Screening of Potential Key Aroma-Active Components in Prunus salicina var. cordata cv. ‘Younai’" Foods 15, no. 10: 1787. https://doi.org/10.3390/foods15101787

APA Style

Fu, L., Liu, W., Ren, L., Lin, X., Guo, J., Chen, H., Chen, F., & Yan, S. (2026). Systematic Characterization of Flavor Profiles and Screening of Potential Key Aroma-Active Components in Prunus salicina var. cordata cv. ‘Younai’. Foods, 15(10), 1787. https://doi.org/10.3390/foods15101787

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Systematic Characterization of Flavor Profiles and Screening of Potential Key Aroma-Active Components in Prunus salicina var. cordata cv. ‘Younai’

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