Abstract:

Aroma volatiles in fruit of five Xinjiang apricot cultivars were determined by Gas Chromatograph–Mass Spectrometer（GC–MS）method. Totally，154 aroma volatiles were identified from these fruit tested，among them，58 aroma volatiles were the rich compounds. The composition and contents of Xinjiang apricot fruit were significantly regulated by ripening. The content levels of linalool，α-terpineol，geraniol，β-myrcene，ocimene，2-hexenol，phenylacetaldehyde and hexanal decreased remarkably throughout the whole development and ripening period，while the content levels of β-ionone，geranyl acetone，γ-decalactone，δ-decalactone and γ-dodecalactone increased rapidly with fruit ripening. During the early development period，apricot fruit mainly accumulated alcohols，aldehydes，terpenoids and terpenes，but ketones and lactones predominated in fruit at the ripening stage. Significantly higher levels of  terpenoids，terpenes，alcohols，aldehydes and lactones were found in apricot peels than those in pulps，however，significantly lower levels of ketones were found in peels than those in pulps. Based on orthonasal odor thresholds（OOT）method，a total of 22 aroma volatiles were identified as the characteristic aroma components of Xinjiang apricot fruit，linalool，γ-decalactone，γ-dodecalactone，β-damascenone，(E,Z)-2,6-nonadienal，phenylacetaldehyde，hexanal，α-terpineol，hexyl acetate，geraniol and β-myrcene were the most important contributors to aroma quality of Xinjiang apricot fruit.

Key words: apricot, fruit development, ripening, aroma volatiles, flavor