Volatile constituents of unripe and ripe kundang fruits (Bouea macrophylla Griffith)

Kundang, a seasonal, tropical fruit is consumed either as raw (unripe) or ripe in south-east Asia. Investigations performed by using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry revealed volatile constituent compounds in ripe fruits to be much higher than unripe fruits. Nearly 82 compounds (comprising 99.96% of the total volatiles) and 121 compounds (encompassing 97.33% of the total volatiles) were identified in unripe and ripe fruits, respectively. Results generated is envisaged to enhance the existing database on tropical fruits volatile profiles, as well as benefit local food industries (to exploit the unique fragrance character impact compounds for aroma essence production) for commercial usage.