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Article

Comparative Analysis of Volatile Compounds from Four Radish Microgreen Cultivars Based on Ultrasonic Cell Disruption and HS-SPME/GC–MS

1
State Key Laboratory of Aridland Crop Science, Gansu Agricultural University, Lanzhou 730070, China
2
College of Science, Gansu Agricultural University, Lanzhou 730070, China
*
Authors to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2023, 24(19), 14988; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms241914988
Submission received: 13 September 2023 / Revised: 5 October 2023 / Accepted: 6 October 2023 / Published: 8 October 2023

Abstract

:
The ultrasonic cell disruption method was used to efficiently extract isothiocyanates and other volatile compounds from radish microgreens. A total of 51 volatiles were identified and quantified by headspace solid-phase micro-extraction and gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (HS-SPME/GC–MS) in four radish microgreen cultivars, mainly including alcohols, aldehydes, isothiocyanates, sulfides, ketones, esters, terpenes, and hydrocarbons. The correlation between cultivars and volatile compounds was determined by chemometrics analysis, including principal component analysis (PCA) and hierarchical clustering heat maps. The aroma profiles were distinguished based on the odor activity value (OAV), odor contribution rate (OCR), and radar fingerprint chart (RFC) of volatile compounds. This study not only revealed the different flavor characteristics in four cultivars but also established a theoretical basis for the genetic improvement of radish microgreen flavors.

1. Introduction

Microgreens, an emerging category of edible cotyledonary leafy greens, are tender seedlings produced from the seeds of different species of vegetables, herbaceous plants, and aromatic herbs [1,2,3]. This category of potential functional foods is generally more flavorful and nutrient-dense than sprouts, baby greens, and mature vegetables [4,5]. In recent years, microgreens have gained increasing popularity as food ingredients by consumers because of their pleasing palette of colors, aromas, flavors, and textures [6,7].
Radish (Raphanus sativus L.), a root vegetable of the Brassicaceae family, is not only a common vegetable crop but also an important source of medicinal compounds [8]. Radish microgreens have a short production cycle of usually 5–10 days from seed germination to the edible stage [9,10]. To date, several studies have focused on nutrients and functions compared to their mature counterparts. Radish microgreens contain 2–4 times more ascorbic acid, 4.5 times more carotenoids, 4–5 times more isothiocyanates, and 976 times more α-tocopherol than mature vegetables [5]. They contain higher amounts of Mg, K, Ca, Se, P, and omega-3 fatty acids than those in mature vegetables [5]. However, to the best of our knowledge, there is no research on the flavor components and volatile compounds in radish microgreens.
Ultrasound technology has attracted considerable interest in food science and technology [11,12]. Bath sonicators provide indirect sonication, whereby the formation and distribution of cavities are nonuniform and weak, resulting in a longer metabolite extraction time [13]. By contrast, probe sonicators provide direct sonication, whereby the formed cavities, upon collapsing, result in an intensified vibration and uniform homogenous matrix, thereby reducing the extraction time and improving the overall efficiency of the process [14]. Ultrasound with a horn-type probe can result in efficient extraction and higher yields of metabolites in a shorter time compared to an ultrasound bath [15].
In this study, an ultrasonic cell disruption methodology was used to efficiently extract volatile compounds and accelerate the myrosinase-catalyzed breakdown of glucosinolates into bioactive isothiocyanates from radish microgreens (Figure 1). To understand the aromatic flavor characteristics and differences of volatile compositions, we determined the volatile compounds of four commercially available cultivars by using headspace solid-phase micro-extraction and gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (HS-SPME/GC–MS) combined with chemometrics analysis, including principal component analysis (PCA) and hierarchical clustering heat maps. Among the obtained volatiles, the odor activity value (OAV), odor contribution rate (OCR), and radar fingerprint chart (RFC) of volatile compounds were calculated to show the aroma profiles. Moreover, this study revealed that radish microgreens have more volatile compounds and aroma features compared to mature vegetables, as well as being rich in sulfides and glucosinolates. This work provides a theoretical basis for the eventual improvement of radish flavor and crop quality.

2. Results and Discussion

2.1. Detection of Volatile Compounds among Four Radish Microgreen Cultivars

A total of 51 different volatile compounds were detected in four radish microgreen cultivars by the HS-SPME/GC–MS methodology, including seven alcohols, ten aldehydes, thirteen isothiocyanates, four sulfides, two ketones, three esters, three terpenes, six hydrocarbons, and three miscellaneous compounds (Table 1). Of all these volatiles, the most abundant components were 4-methylthio-3-butenyl isothiocyanate (raphasatin), its trans- and cis-isomers (ranging from 5133.06 μg/kg in CRR to 13,968.25 μg/kg in HR), a breakdown product of glucodehydroerucin reported to be the main volatile constituent of radish roots responsible for their pungency [16,17,18,19]. Meanwhile, a high content of 4-(methylthio)butyl isothiocyanate (erucin) was also detected in all radish microgreen varieties. Therefore, the most salient characteristic was that most of the composition contained isothiocyanates, which endowed radish microgreens with a unique pungent odor and anti-cancer nutritional value. In addition, the volatile compounds 2-hexenal, nonanal, and decanal were the major aldehydes, and 6,10-dimethyl-5,9-undecadien-2-one was also well represented in ketones. The results showed that 25 kinds of volatiles were common to all varieties. The cultivars with the largest and lowest numbers of volatile compounds were HR (46 kinds) and WR (28 kinds), respectively. From a quantitative perspective, the total content of volatiles identified in the four cultivars was analyzed: 26,371.50 μg/kg in (HR), 13,801.56 μg/kg (CRR), 16,858.26 μg/kg (WR), and 13,959.40 μg/kg (CR). It could be concluded from the above analysis that the volatiles were greatly dependent on the cultivars.

2.2. Analysis of Volatile Compounds and Aroma Profile

Principal component analysis (PCA) was also an unsupervised clustering method requiring no prior knowledge of the dataset [20,21]. It could be observed from the two-dimensional PCA in Figure 2A,B that the four radish microgreen cultivars and their 51 volatile compounds formed corresponding groupings. The sum of the first two principal components reached 71.55%, of which PC1 represented 41.21% of the total variance, and PC2 represented 30.34% of the total variance, and the four radish microgreen varieties were divided into three clusters (Figure 2A). CR was located on the far-left side of PC1 (negative side), and HR exhibited both positive PC1 and PC2 score values. Two varieties, CRR and WR, were clustered tightly to the bottom side of the horizontal line representing PC2. Inspection of the corresponding loading plot in Figure 2B revealed that CR had higher contents of dimethyl trisulfide, 3-methyl-1-(methylthio)butane, 2-methyl-4-pentenal, and 4-(2,6,6-trimethyl-1-cyclohexen-1-yl)-3-buten-2-one, which accounted for its segregation. Moreover, HR showed higher contents of phenethyl isothiocyanate, 6,10-dimethyl-5,9-undecadien-2-one, dimethyl disulfide, trans-Raphasatin, and nonyl isothiocyanate, segregated towards the upper-right side of the score plot. WR and CRR displayed the highest contents of 4-methylpentyl isothiocyanate, segregated at the lower side of the loading plot.
The hierarchal clustering of the volatile compound profile of four radish microgreen cultivars was performed, and the results are shown in a heatmap (Figure 2C). According to the dendrogram, there were three clusters in the pattern of metabolite accumulation. These results were consistent with those derived from the above PCA analysis, indicating the significant differences in four radish microgreen cultivars. Future studies are needed to explore the molecular mechanisms regulating the variations of volatile compounds in different varieties.
Each category of volatiles was further compared with those in mature plants, as determined in a previous study [22]. As shown in Figure 2D, isothiocyanates had the highest contribution (approximately 25%), followed by aldehydes (19%) and alcohols (14%), and were the main components in radish microgreens in this study. These results are significantly different from those of the leaves and roots of radish in a previous study (Figure 2E), which may explain the special flavors of radish microgreens.

2.3. Odor Characteristics of Radish Microgreens Based on Odor Activity Value (OAV), Odor Contribution Rate (OCR), and Radar Fingerprint Chart (RFC)

The contribution of a volatile to the comprehensive flavor rested on the ratio of its actual concentration in the matrix to its odor threshold, which is known as the OAV [23]. As summarized in Table 2, the characteristic flavor of radish microgreens was approximately constituted by 24 important odorants. These 24 characteristic volatiles were divided into six aroma categories, including fresh, fatty, floral, fruity, sweet, and pungent. The radar fingerprint chart composed of them is depicted in Figure 3 [24]. The fatty odor was the strongest scent of radish microgreens, mainly including waxy, oily, soapy, woody, balsamic, and seedy aromas. All cultivars also possess an intensely fresh and floral odor, benefiting from aroma compounds 4-(2,6,6-Trimethyl-1-cyclohexen-1-yl)-3-buten-2-one and β-Ionone, which have extremely low odor threshold concentrations (0.007 μg/kg). Straight and longer chain aldehydes such as nonanal, decanal, and undecanal, oxidized from oleic acid in plants [25], had fresh, fatty, floral, and fruity characteristics and an especially high OCR in HR (6.2%, 26.7%, and 6.9%, respectively). Additionally, the odor descriptions of isothiocyanates (3-methylthiopropyl isothiocyanate, erucin, phenethyl isothiocyanate, and berteroin) and sulfides (dimethyl disulfide, dimethyl trisulfide, and dimethyl tetrasulfide) were roughly defined as a sulfurous aroma, including the aroma of horseradish, cabbage, mustard, gooseberry, watercress, onion, cabbage, alliaceous and garlic, all of which played an indispensable role in the pungent fragrance of radish microgreens.

2.4. Characteristic Volatile Isothiocyanates

Glucosinolates are hydrophilic and sulfur-containing plant secondary metabolites with over 130 variants, and they are particularly found in Brassica plants [32]. Although the primary function of glucosinolates in plants is not known, tissue disruption initiates a myrosinase-catalyzed breakdown, which yields glucose, unstable sulfate, and isothiocyanates (Figure 4A). Meanwhile, medical studies have highlighted the usefulness of combined glucosinolates and their breakdown products for supplementary health benefits, especially anti-inflammatory and antioxidant purposes. Four isothiocyanates, reported in some other plants (pentyl isothiocyanate in rocket leaves or kale, nonyl isothiocyanate in red sorrel, and heptyl isothiocyanate and 1-isothiocyanato-3-methylhexane in turnip) were newly found in radish microgreens (Figure 4B) [33,34,35,36]. Seven isothiocyanates were found in radish microgreens and mature plant tissue, such as sprouts, leaves, and roots (Figure 4C) [37,38,39].

3. Materials and Methods

3.1. Chemicals and Reagents

Ultrapure water was prepared by a Milli-Q ultrapure water machine (Millipore, Boston, MA, USA). The compound 2-octanol (Standard for GC, ≥99.5%) purchased from Aladdin Biochemical Technology Co., Ltd. (Shanghai, China) was used as an internal standard for quantitative analysis. Calcium chloride anhydrous (CaCl2) was supplied from Sinopharm Chemical Reagent Co., Ltd. (Shanghai, China).

3.2. Plant Materials

Four varieties of commercially available radish seeds were purchased from Cangzhou Jinke Lifeng Seedlings Co., Ltd., including Champion Radish (CR), Hailstone Radish (HR), China Rose Radish (CRR), and White Radish (WR). Radish microgreens were grown in an unheated greenhouse and under ambient light in Lanzhou, Gansu, China (36°03′ N, 103°73′ E). During the first 2 days, the trays were covered, and the seeds were germinated in the dark. For the next 7 days, the seedlings were exposed to light until harvesting.

3.3. Sample Preparation with Ultrasonic Cell Disruption Treatment

A total of 1.0 g of fresh radish microgreens was weighed, cut into pieces, and put into a 20 mL headspace reaction vial containing 4 mL of ultrapure water. Subsequently, 0.5 g of calcium chloride anhydrous was added to the vial. The sonication treatments were performed using a horn-type probe sonicator (6 mm diameter, 150 W, 20 kHz, JY96-IIN, Scientz, Ningbo, China) in a pulse mode. The parameters were set with the following conditions: ultrasound amplitude of 90%, durative time of 2 s, interval time of 2 s, total time of 5 min, and probe depth of 1 cm.

3.4. HS-SPME and GC–MS Analysis

After the ultrasonic cell disruption treatments, the internal standard 2-octanol (2 μL, 7.371 g/L in ethanol) was added. The mixture was placed with a magnetic stir bar and capped with a PTFE/silicone septum, followed by homogenization for 10 s in a water bath at 60 °C under stirring. The extraction and concentration of radish microgreen volatiles were performed by headspace solid-phase microextraction (HS-SPME) on the previous ultrasonicated extracts. Subsequently, HS-SPME extraction was carried out by exposing a 2-cm 50/30 μm DVB/CAR/PDMS fiber (Supelco, Bellefonte, PA, USA) to the headspace of the extracts for 40 min, at 60 °C, and under stirring. At the end of the extraction time, the fiber was immediately inserted into the GC split injection port for 5 min of thermal desorption, and the GC run was started. The same fiber was used for all the analyses.
The isolation and identification of volatile compounds were carried out using a gas chromatographer (GC-2030, Shimadzu, Kyoto, Japan) equipped with a mass spectrometry detector (GCMS-QP2020 NX, Shimadzu, Kyoto, Japan). The volatile compounds were separated on a DB-5 quartz capillary column (30 mm × 0.25 mm, 0.25 μm film thickness, Agilent Technologies, Santa Clara, CA, USA) with helium (≥99.999% purity) as the carrier gas at a flow rate of 1.0 mL/min. The split injection mode (split ratio = 5:1) was adopted during volatile insertion at 250 °C. The temperature program was initially set at 40 °C for 1 min and increased to 180 °C at a rate of 4 °C/min. It finally raised to 260 °C at 7 °C/min and was held for 3 min, with the entire procedure taking 50.43 min. The mass spectrometer was operated by the electron impact (EI) method with an ionization energy of 70 eV and a source temperature of 250 °C. Mass spectrometry uses the full-scan mode with a mass range from 35 m/z to 500 m/z. The filament current and quadrupole temperature were 150 μA and 250 °C, respectively.

3.5. Qualitative and Quantitative Analysis of Volatile Compounds

After the GC–MS analysis, every composition was analyzed by the computer workstation’s mass spectrometry library (NIST 17-1, NIST 17-2, and NIST 17s) according to its mass fragmentation pattern from the spectra database [40]. Only substances with an MS matching score greater than 75% were maintained. The concentration of each compound in the radish microgreens was calculated by the internal standard method, and the calculation formula was as follows: the content of each composition/(μg/kg) = (A1/A2) × (M1/M2) × 1000. A1 and A2 are the component areas of the detected composition and internal standard, respectively. M1 and M2 are the amounts of the internal standard and sample, respectively.

3.6. Statistical Analysis

All data were generated from three experiments, and analysis of variance was used to compare the volatile content of the radish microgreen cultivars. SPSS 26.0 software and Microsoft Excel 2019 were used for statistical analysis. The hierarchical clustering heat map was obtained using Metware Cloud, a free online platform for data analysis “https://cloud.metware.cn (accessed on 6 May 2023)”.

4. Conclusions

Aroma is an important characteristic of microgreens’ flavor. In this study, the ultrasonic cell disruption method was used to efficiently extract isothiocyanates and other volatile compounds from radish microgreens in a short time. A total of 51 types of volatile compounds were identified and quantified in four cultivars of radish microgreens by HS-SPME/GC–MS, mainly including alcohols, aldehydes, isothiocyanates, sulfides, ketones, esters, terpenes, and hydrocarbons. This study aimed to identify the correlation between cultivars and volatile compounds by chemometrics analysis, including PCA and heat maps. Among the obtained volatiles, the OAV and OCR of aroma compounds in the four cultivars of radish microgreens were calculated to reveal the aroma profiles. The fatty aroma was the strongest odor, followed by fresh and floral aromas. The evaluation of radish microgreen aroma composition helped to select varieties with special aroma characteristics and promote the breeding program. Moreover, four isothiocyanates were newly found in radish microgreens, and further investigations focused on the glucosinolates metabolic pathway of these characteristic isothiocyanates are warranted.

Author Contributions

Y.Z., conceptualization, methodology, data curation, writing—original draft, writing—review and editing, funding acquisition; Z.J., resources, writing—review and editing; H.Z., data curation, validation; D.Z., formal analysis; G.L., visualization; J.Y., supervision, project administration. All authors have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript.

Funding

This research was financially supported by the Research Program sponsored by the State Key Laboratory of Aridland Crop Science of China, Gansu Agricultural University, China (GSCS-2020-5); the Scientific Research Start-up Funds for Openly-recruited Doctors, Science and Technology Innovation Funds of Gansu Agricultural University, China (GAU-KYQD-2018-12); the Youth Science and Technology Fund of Gansu Province (21JR7RA833); and the Developmental Funds of Innovation Capacity in Higher Education of Gansu, China (2022B-095).

Institutional Review Board Statement

Not applicable.

Informed Consent Statement

Not applicable.

Data Availability Statement

Not applicable.

Conflicts of Interest

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

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Figure 1. Flowchart for experimental design.
Figure 1. Flowchart for experimental design.
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Figure 2. PCA score plot of four radish microgreen cultivars (A). The respective loading plot for PC1 and PC2 (B). Hierarchical clustering heat map analysis of volatile compounds (C). Classification and proportion of the 51 total volatile compounds detected in radish microgreens (D). Classification and proportion of the 51 total volatile compounds detected in the leaves and roots of radish (E).
Figure 2. PCA score plot of four radish microgreen cultivars (A). The respective loading plot for PC1 and PC2 (B). Hierarchical clustering heat map analysis of volatile compounds (C). Classification and proportion of the 51 total volatile compounds detected in radish microgreens (D). Classification and proportion of the 51 total volatile compounds detected in the leaves and roots of radish (E).
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Figure 3. The aroma profiles of four radish microgreen cultivars.
Figure 3. The aroma profiles of four radish microgreen cultivars.
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Figure 4. Structure of characteristic volatile isothiocyanates in radish microgreens.
Figure 4. Structure of characteristic volatile isothiocyanates in radish microgreens.
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Table 1. The composition and content of volatile compounds in four cultivars of radish microgreens by HS-SPME/GC–MS methodology.
Table 1. The composition and content of volatile compounds in four cultivars of radish microgreens by HS-SPME/GC–MS methodology.
No.Compounds aCASRT b (min)The Content of Volatile Compound in Different Cultivars c of Radish Microgreens (µg/kg) dCharacteristic Ions (m/z) e
HRCRRWRCR
Alcohols
11-Octanol111-87-520.30 13.30 47.18 --56, 70, 84, 112
2trans-2-Dodecen-1-ol69064-37-522.35 -18.01 --57, 82, 95, 109, 138, 166, 184
31-Nonanol143-08-823.85 25.04 79.18 --56, 70, 83, 126
4trans-2-Undecen-1-ol75039-84-826.97 17.90 26.01 16.79 23.09 57, 68, 82, 109, 152, 170
53,7,11-Trimethyl-3-dodecanol7278-65-129.94 24.78 232.04 22.02 65.10 43, 73, 83, 111, 139, 199, 213
62,4-Dimethyl-4-octanol33933-79-834.54 19.36 --31.48 57, 59, 101, 111, 143
71-Tridecanol112-70-936.11 14.03 ---55, 69, 83, 111, 139, 154, 182
Aldehydes
82-Methyl-4-pentenal5187-71-39.19 14.26 --51.77 41, 69, 83
93-Hexenal4440-65-79.73 16.82 46.03 --41, 69, 98
102-Hexenal505-57-711.96 160.91 374.90 299.24 897.95 41, 69, 83
11Nonanal124-19-621.58 453.96 548.23 269.86 365.36 57, 70, 98, 114, 142
12Decanal112-31-225.30 490.84 322.46 311.43 256.83 57, 70, 83, 112, 138, 156
13Undecanal112-44-728.84 47.44 33.60 19.62 46.80 57, 82, 96, 126, 142
14Tridecanal10486-19-831.54 20.27 26.23 23.85 32.34 57, 68, 82, 110, 154, 180
15Dodecanal112-54-932.16 35.76 32.85 -30.34 41, 67, 82, 110, 140, 156, 184
16Pentadecanal2765-11-933.70 10.91 ---57, 68, 82, 110, 138, 154, 182, 208
175,9,13-Trimethyl-4,8,12-tetradecatrienal66408-55-742.24 22.97 32.16 -40.87 41, 69, 93, 124, 136, 161, 179, 205, 248
Isothiocyanates
18Pentyl isothiocyanate629-12-921.31 37.45 7.46 -24.04 43, 72, 101, 129, 131
194-Methylpentyl isothiocyanate17608-07-023.69 169.02 202.84 263.39 140.52 43, 72, 101, 128, 143
20Nonyl isothiocyanate4430-43-723.78 15.17 ---41, 72, 96, 115, 152, 156, 184
21Hexyl isothiocyanate4404-45-925.06 399.11 248.27 508.09 224.60 43, 72, 100, 115, 143
224-Methylthio-3-butenyl isothiocyanate (Raphasatin)51598-96-025.73 12.97 ---45, 72, 87, 112, 159
23Heptyl isothiocyanate4426-83-927.31 44.33 36.77 82.31 38.10 43, 72, 100, 124, 142, 157
241-Isothiocyanato-3-methylhexane206761-72-027.60 6.22 14.23 --43, 72, 100, 114, 142, 156
253-Methylthiopropyl isothiocyanate (Iberverin)505-79-329.08 130.44 98.71 151.84 -41, 72, 101, 147
26(Z)-4-Methylthio-3-butenyl isothiocyanate (cis-Raphasatin)123954-93-832.54 2390.87 1959.88 2911.14 1736.70 45, 72, 87, 112, 159
274-(Methylthio)butyl isothiocyanate (Erucin)4430-36-833.05 8212.93 5049.85 6142.74 3741.82 55, 61, 85, 115, 146, 161
28(E)-4-Methylthio-3-butenyl isothiocyanate (trans-Raphasatin)13028-50-733.14 11,564.41 3173.18 4483.32 4453.34 45, 72, 87, 112, 142, 159
29Phenethyl isothiocyanate2257-09-233.96 12.00 25.17 -37.61 51, 65, 91, 128, 135, 163
301-Isothiocyanato-5-(methylthio)pentane (Berteroin)4430-42-636.54 502.58 218.24 174.79 57.01 41, 61, 101, 129, 142, 175, 178
Sulfides
31Dimethyl disulfide624-92-08.48 38.44 --10.70 45, 79, 94
32Dimethyl trisulfide3658-80-816.58 16.10 14.10 15.96 19.40 45, 79, 82, 126, 130
333-Methyl-1-(methylthio)butane13286-90-322.71 62.74 34.73 48.23 159.19 55, 70, 103, 118
34Dimethyl tetrasulfide5756-24-126.49 8.32 ---45, 79, 94, 111, 143, 158
Ketones
356-Methyl-5-hepten-2-one110-93-016.18 ---20.35 43, 69, 83, 108
366,10-Dimethyl-5,9-undecadien-2-one689-67-833.35 576.27 206.14 333.40 399.23 43, 69, 93, 107, 136, 161, 194
Esters
373-Hydroxy-2,2,4-trimethylpentyl isobutyrate 77-68-931.07 58.03 ---56, 71, 89, 113, 143, 173
382,2,4-Trimethyl-1,3-pentanediol diisobutyrate6864-50-037.66 37.72 27.42 26.76 41.53 43, 71, 83, 111, 143, 159, 185, 215, 243
39Diisobutyl phthalate84-69-544.30 35.34 25.09 135.12 23.05 57, 76, 104, 121, 149, 167, 195, 223, 278
Terpenes
40β-Cyclocitral432-25-724.29 ---23.98 41, 67, 91, 123, 137, 154
414-(2,6,6-Trimethyl-1-cyclohexen-1-yl)-3-buten-2-one14901-07-633.55 50.34 17.82 58.62 102.52 43, 77, 91, 121, 135, 177, 192
42β-Ionone79-77-633.68 -41.73 37.93 75.42 43, 77, 91, 107, 135, 177, 192
Hydrocarbons
43Naphthalene91-20-324.93 149.27 105.57 92.73 86.23 51, 64, 102, 128
44Hexadecane544-76-338.37 38.98 40.48 -23.34 57, 71, 85, 113, 141, 155, 183, 226
45Heptadecane629-78-740.45 -13.15 25.59 30.64 57, 71, 85, 113, 141, 169, 183, 211, 240
462,6,10,15-Tetramethylheptadecane54833-48-640.94 44.29 ---57, 71, 85, 113, 141, 155, 183, 211, 239, 267, 296
47Octadecane593-45-342.75 57.23 78.92 38.57 32.75 57, 71, 85, 113, 141, 155, 183, 211, 226, 254
48Docosane629-97-043.09 43.02 77.93 --57, 71, 85, 113, 141, 155, 183, 211, 239, 253, 281, 310
Miscellaneous
49Cyclohexanone oxime100-64-124.81 20.99 58.73 22.30 44.17 41, 59, 98, 113
502,6-Di-tert-butyl-1,4-benzoquinone719-22-233.93 15.43 12.70 16.91 39.41 41, 67, 91, 121, 135, 177, 178, 220
512,6-Di-tert-butyl-4-methylphenol128-37-035.16 232.94 193.57 325.71 531.82 57, 81, 105, 119, 145, 177, 189, 205
The total number of volatile compounds 46392837
The total content of volatile compounds (μg/kg) 26,371.50 13,801.56 16,858.26 13,959.40
a Volatile compounds were integrated with the GC–MS automatic deconvolution system and compared with the standard mass spectrum in the mass spectrometry library (NIST 17-1, NIST 17-2, and NIST 17s). All category volatile compounds are listed in order of retention time. b RT: retention time. c HR: Hailstone Radish; CRR: China Rose Radish; WR: White Radish; CR: Champion Radish. d Each value is the mean of triplicate biological samples taken from the same radish microgreen cultivar; “-”, not detected. e The characteristic ion (m/z) was employed for selecting the corresponding compound to avoid possible interference by other volatiles.
Table 2. OAV and OCR of the 24 most potent volatile compounds in the four radish microgreen cultivars.
Table 2. OAV and OCR of the 24 most potent volatile compounds in the four radish microgreen cultivars.
Group (No.) aVolatile CompoundCASOTS b μg/kgHRCRRWRCRFlavor Description e
OAV cOCR dOAVOCROAVOCROAVOCR
11-Octanol111-87-5420.32 0.001 1.12 0.006 -0-0green, herbaceous, waxy, oily, sweet
31-Nonanol143-08-8340.74 0.003 2.33 0.012 -0-0green, clean, oily, orange rose
93-Hexenal4440-65-70.12140.17 0.609 383.58 1.899 -0-0leafy, grassy, weedy, melon, apple, fatty
102-Hexenal505-57-7179.47 0.041 22.05 0.109 17.60 0.073 52.82 0.146 sweet, almond, apple, plum, green, leafy
11Nonanal124-19-60.321418.63 6.163 1713.22 8.480 843.31 3.508 1141.75 3.147 waxy, orange rose, citrus, green, lemon peel, cucumber
12Decanal112-31-20.086135.50 26.654 4030.75 19.952 3892.88 16.193 3210.38 8.850 sweet, citrus, orange, waxy, green
13Undecanal112-44-70.031581.33 6.870 1120.00 5.544 654.00 2.720 1560.00 4.300 soapy, waxy, watermelon, pineapple
14Tridecanal10486-19-882.53 0.011 3.28 0.016 2.98 0.012 4.04 0.011 clean, soapy, waxy, citrus, grapefruit peel
15Dodecanal112-54-90.13275.08 1.195 252.69 1.251 -0233.38 0.643 soapy, waxy, woody, violet
16Pentadecanal2765-11-9430<10 -0-0-0fresh, waxy
253-Methylthiopropyl isothiocyanate505-79-3526.09 0.113 19.74 0.098 30.37 0.126 -0sulfurous, radish, horseradish, cabbage, mustard
274-(Methylthio)butyl isothiocyanate (Erucin)4430-36-832737.64 11.893 1683.28 8.332 2047.58 8.517 1247.27 3.438 cabbage, radish
29Phenethyl isothiocyanate2257-09-262.00 0.009 4.20 0.021 -06.27 0.017 horseradish, gooseberry, watercress
301-Isothiocyanato-5-(methylthio)pentane (Berteroin)4430-42-6800<10 <10 <10 <10 cabbage, radish
31Dimethyl disulfide624-92-00.16240.25 1.044 -0-066.88 0.184 sulfurous, onion, cabbage
32Dimethyl trisulfide3658-80-80.0062683.33 11.657 2350.00 11.632 2660.00 11.065 3233.33 8.913 sulfurous, alliaceous, onion
34Dimethyl tetrasulfide5756-24-10.02416.00 1.807 -0-0-0garlic, sulfurous
356-Methyl-5-hepten-2-one110-93-050-0-0-0<10 apple, creamy, cheesy, banana, bittersweet
366,10-Dimethyl-5,9-undecadien-2-one689-67-8609.60 0.042 3.44 0.017 5.56 0.023 6.65 0.018 magnolia, lavender, rose, leafy, green, apple, banana
40β-Cyclocitral432-25-73-0-0-07.99 0.022 green, herbal, sweet
414-(2,6,6-Trimethyl-1-cyclohexen-1-yl)-3-buten-2-one14901-07-60.0077191.43 31.241 2545.71 12.601 8374.29 34.835 14,645.71 40.372 violet, woody, green
42β-Ionone79-77-60.007-05961.43 29.509 5418.57 22.540 10,774.29 29.700 balsamic, rose, violet, woody, seedy
43Naphthalene91-20-31149.27 0.648 105.57 0.523 92.73 0.386 86.23 0.238 pungent
512,6-Di-tert-butyl-4-methylphenol128-37-01000<10 <10 <10 <10 musty
a The serial numbers of the volatile compounds are consistent with Table 1. b OTS: odor threshold. The OTS of volatile compounds was obtained from the following report [26,27,28,29,30,31]. c OAV: odor activity value, OAV = odorant concentration/odorant threshold, “-”, not detected. d OCR: odor contribution rate, OCR (%) = the OAV of each odorant/total OAVs of all odorants. e Flavor description, respectively, obtained from the online database “http://www.thegoodscentscompany.com (accessed on 20 April 2023)”.
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Zhong, Y.; Jia, Z.; Zhou, H.; Zhang, D.; Li, G.; Yu, J. Comparative Analysis of Volatile Compounds from Four Radish Microgreen Cultivars Based on Ultrasonic Cell Disruption and HS-SPME/GC–MS. Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2023, 24, 14988. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms241914988

AMA Style

Zhong Y, Jia Z, Zhou H, Zhang D, Li G, Yu J. Comparative Analysis of Volatile Compounds from Four Radish Microgreen Cultivars Based on Ultrasonic Cell Disruption and HS-SPME/GC–MS. International Journal of Molecular Sciences. 2023; 24(19):14988. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms241914988

Chicago/Turabian Style

Zhong, Yuan, Zhilong Jia, Hailong Zhou, Dan Zhang, Guichen Li, and Jihua Yu. 2023. "Comparative Analysis of Volatile Compounds from Four Radish Microgreen Cultivars Based on Ultrasonic Cell Disruption and HS-SPME/GC–MS" International Journal of Molecular Sciences 24, no. 19: 14988. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms241914988

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