Actinidia arguta, known for its distinctive flavor and high nutritional value, has seen an increase in cultivation and variety identification. However, the characterization of its volatile aroma compounds remains limited. This study aimed to understand the flavor quality and key volatile aroma compounds of different A. arguta fruits. We examined 35 A. arguta resource fruits for soluble sugars, titratable acids, and sugar–acid ratios. Their organic acids and volatile aroma compounds were analyzed using high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) and headspace gas chromatography–ion mobility spectrometry (HS-GC-IMS). The study found that among the 35 samples tested, S12 had a higher sugar–acid ratio due to its higher sugar content despite having a high titratable acid content, making its fruit flavor superior to other sources. The A. arguta resource fruits can be classified into two types: those dominated by citric acid and those dominated by quinic acid. The analysis identified a total of 76 volatile aroma substances in 35 A. arguta resource fruits. These included 18 esters, 14 alcohols, 16 ketones, 12 aldehydes, seven terpenes, three pyrazines, two furans, two acids, and two other compounds. Aldehydes had the highest relative content of total volatile compounds. Using the orthogonal partial least squares discriminant method (OPLS-DA) analysis, with the 76 volatile aroma substances as dependent variables and different soft date kiwifruit resources as independent variables, 33 volatile aroma substances with variable importance in projection (VIP) greater than 1 were identified as the main aroma substances of A. arguta resource fruits. The volatile aroma compounds with VIP values greater than 1 were analyzed for odor activity value (OAV). The OAV values of isoamyl acetate, 3-methyl-1-butanol, 1-hexanol, and butanal were significantly higher than those of the other compounds. This suggests that these four volatile compounds contribute more to the overall aroma of A. arguta. This study is significant for understanding the differences between the fruit aromas of different A. arguta resources and for scientifically recognizing the characteristic compounds of the fruit aromas of different A. arguta resources.

To investigate the volatile components of Schisandra chinensis (Turcz.) Bail (commonly known as northern Schisandra) of different colors and to explore their similarities and differences, to identify the main flavor substances in the volatile components of the branch exudates of northern schisandra, and finally to establish a fingerprint map of the volatile components of the dried fruits and branch exudates of northern Schisandra of different colors, we used GC-IMS technology to analyze the volatile components of the dried fruits and branch exudates of three different colors of northern Schisandra and established a fingerprint spectra. The results showed that a total of 60 different volatile chemical components were identified in the branch exudates and dried fruits of Schisandra. The components of germplasm resources with different fruit colors were significantly different. The ion mobility spectrum and OPLS-DA results showed that white and yellow fruits were more similar compared to red fruits. The volatile components in dried fruits were significantly higher than those in branch exudates. After VIP (variable importance in projection) screening, 41 key volatile substances in dried fruits and 30 key volatile substances in branch exudates were obtained. After screening by odor activity value (OAV), there were 24 volatile components greater than 1 in both dried fruits and branch exudates. The most important contributing volatile substance was 3-methyl-butanal, and the most important contributing volatile substance in white fruit was (E)-2-hexenal.

Genetic and environmental factors influence the growth and quality of medicinal plants. In recent years, rhizosphere microorganisms have also emerged as significant factors affecting the quality of medicinal plants. This study aimed to identify Schisandra resources with high lignan content and analyze the microbial diversity of the rhizosphere soil. High-performance liquid chromatography was used to measure the lignan content in nine Schisandra fruits. High-throughput sequencing was used to analyze the 16S rDNA sequences of rhizosphere bacteria to identify bacterial species diversity. The total lignan content of the nine Schisandra resources ranged from 9.726 mg/g to 14.031 mg/g, with ZJ27 having the highest content and ZJ25 the lowest. Among the six lignan components, Schisandrol A had the highest content, ranging from 5.133 mg/g to 6.345 mg/g, with a significant difference between ZJ25, ZJ27, and other resources (p < 0.05). Schizandrin C had the lowest content, ranging from 0.062 mg/g to 0.419 mg/g, with more significant differences among the resources. A total of 903,933 sequences were obtained from the rhizosphere soil of the nine Schisandra resources, clustered into 10,437 OTUs at a 97% similarity level. The dominant bacterial phyla were Actinobacteriota, Acidobacteriota, Proteobacteria, Chloroflexi, Gemmatimonadota, and Verrucomicrobiota. The dominant bacterial genera were Candidatus_Udaeobacter, Candidatus_Solibacter, RB41, Bradyrhizobium, Gaiella, and Arthrobacter. ZJ27 is the Schisandra resource with the highest lignan content, and the rhizosphere bacteria of Schisandra are rich in diversity. Schisandra B is negatively correlated with Bryobacter, Candidatus_Solibacter, and unnamed genera of Gaiellales.

Actinidia arguta wine is a low-alcoholic beverage brewed from A. arguta with a unique flavor and sweet taste. In this study, the basic physicochemical indicators, color, organic acid, and volatile aroma components of wines made from the A. arguta varieties ‘Kuilv’, ‘Fenglv’, ‘Jialv’, ‘Wanlv’, ‘Xinlv’, ‘Pinglv’, ‘Lvbao’, ‘Cuiyu’, ‘Tianxinbao’, and ‘Longcheng No.2’ were determined, and a sensory evaluation was performed. The findings show that ‘Tianxinbao’ produced the driest extract (49.59 g/L), ‘Kuilv’ produced the most Vitamin C (913.46 mg/L) and total phenols (816.10 mg/L), ‘Jialv’ produced the most total flavonoids (477.12 mg/L), and ‘Cuiyu’ produced the most tannins (4.63 g/L). We analyzed the color of the A. arguta wines based on CIEL*a*b* parameters and found that the ‘Kuilv’ and ‘Longcheng No.2’ wines had the largest L* value (31.65), the ‘Pinglv’ wines had the greatest a* value (2.88), and the ‘Kuilv’ wines had the largest b* value (5.08) and C*_ab value (5.66) of the ten samples. A total of eight organic acids were tested in ten samples via high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC), and we found that there were marked differences in the organic acid contents in different samples (p < 0.05). The main organic acids were citric acid, quinic acid, and malic acid. The aroma description of a wine is one of the keys to its quality. A total of 51 volatile compounds were identified and characterized in ten samples with headspace gas chromatography-ion mobility spectrometry, including 24 esters, 12 alcohols, 9 aldehydes, 3 aldehydes, 2 terpenes, and 1 acid, with the highest total volatile compound content in ‘Fenglv’. There were no significant differences in the types of volatile compounds, but there were significant differences in the contents (p < 0.05). An orthogonal partial least squares discriminant analysis (OPLS-DA) based on the odor activity value (OAV) showed that ethyl butanoate, ethyl pentanoate, ethyl crotonate, ethyl isobutyrate, butyl butanoate, 2-methylbutanal, ethyl isovalerate, and ethyl hexanoate were the main odorant markers responsible for flavor differences between all the A. arguta wines. Sensory evaluation is the most subjective and effective way for consumers to judge A. arguta wine quality. A quantitative descriptive analysis (QDA) of the aroma profiles of ten grapes revealed that the ‘fruity’ and ‘floral’ descriptors are the main and most essential parts of the overall flavor of A. arguta wines. ‘Tianxinbao’ had the highest total aroma score. The flavor and quality of A. arguta wines greatly depend on the type and quality of the A. arguta raw material. Therefore, high-quality raw materials can improve the quality of A. arguta wines. The results of the study provide a theoretical basis for improving the quality of A. arguta wines and demonstrate the application prospects of HS-GC-IMS in detecting A. arguta wine flavors.

Actinidia arguta is a fruit crop with high nutritional and economic value. However, its flavor quality depends on various factors, such as variety, environment, and post-harvest handling. We analyzed the composition of total soluble sugars, titratable acids, organic acids, and flavor substances in the fruits of ten A. arguta varieties. The total soluble sugar content ranged from 4.22 g/L to 12.99 g/L, the titratable acid content ranged from 52.55 g/L to 89.9 g/L, and the sugar–acid ratio ranged from 5.39 to 14.17 at the soft ripe stage. High-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) showed that citric, quinic, and malic acids were the main organic acids in the A. arguta fruits. Headspace gas chromatography–ion mobility spectrometry (HS-GC-IMS) detected 81 volatile compounds in 10 A. arguta varieties, including 24 esters, 17 alcohols, 23 aldehydes, 7 ketones, 5 terpenes, 2 acids, 1 Pyrazine, 1 furan, and 1 benzene. Esters and aldehydes had the highest relative content of total volatile compounds. An orthogonal partial least squares discriminant analysis (OPLS-DA) based on the odor activity value (OAV) revealed that myrcene, benzaldehyde, methyl isobutyrate, α-phellandrene, 3-methyl butanal, valeraldehyde, ethyl butyrate, acetoin, (E)-2-octenal, hexyl propanoate, terpinolene, 1-penten-3-one, and methyl butyrate were the main contributors to the differences in the aroma profiles of the fruits of different A. arguta varieties. Ten A. arguta varieties have different flavors. This study can clarify the differences between varieties and provide a reference for the evaluation of A. arguta fruit flavor, variety improvement and new variety selection.

Schisandra chinensis, as a traditional Chinese herbal medicine, has clear pharmacological effects such as treating asthma, protecting nerves and blood vessels, and having anti-inflammatory properties. Although the Schisandra chinensis fruit contain multiple active components, the lignans have been widely studied as the primary pharmacologically active compound. The volatile chemical components of Schisandra chinensis include a large amount of terpenes, which have been proven to have broad pharmacological activities. However, when to harvest to ensure the highest accumulation of pharmacologically active components in Schisandra chinensis fruits is a critical issue. The Schisandra chinensis fruit trees in the resource nursery were all planted in 2019 and began bearing fruit in 2021. Their nutritional status and tree vigor remain consistently good. The content of lignans and organic acids in the fruits of Schisandra chinensis over seven different harvest periods was tested, and the results of high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) indicated that the lignan content was higher, at 35 mg/g, in late July, and the organic acid content was higher, at 72.34 mg/g, in early September. If lignans and organic acids are to be selected as raw materials for pharmacological development, the harvest can be carried out at this stage. Using HS-GC-IMS technology, a total of 67 volatile flavor substances were detected, and the fingerprint of the volatile flavor substances in the different picking periods was established. It was shown by the results that the content of volatile flavor substances was the highest in early August, and 16 flavor substances were selected by odor activity value (OAV). The variable importance in projection (VIP) values of 16 substances were further screened, and terpinolene was identified as the key volatile flavor substance that caused the aroma characteristics of Schisandra chinensis fruit at different harvesting periods. If the aroma component content of Schisandra chinensis fruit is planned to be used as raw material for development and utilization, then early August, when the aroma component content is higher, should be chosen as the time for harvest. This study provides a theoretical basis for the suitable harvesting time of Schisandra chinensis for different uses, and promotes the high-quality development of the Schisandra chinensis industry.