Fatty acid composition in the peel of four blood orange cultivars ('Moro', 'Tarocco', 'Sanguinello', and 'Sanguine') was identified and quantified by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS), in order to find its correlation with chilling susceptibility at harvest time and after 180 days of storage at 2 and 5 °C (2 days at 20 °C for shelf life). Twelve fatty acids were detected including 6 saturated (SFA) and 6 unsaturated (UFA), from which 4 monounsaturated (MUFA) and 2 polyunsaturated (PUFA) fatty acids occurred. The major fatty acids were palmitic, linoleic, and linolenic acids. The chilling injury (CI) index was significantly higher at 2 than 5 °C for all cultivars, with 'Sanguinello' being the more tolerant cultivar. The multivariate statistical analyses showed that 'Sanguinello' had the highest UFA, UFA/SFA ratio, and the lowest SFA, while 'Moro' as a cold sensitive cultivar had the highest SFA, the lowest UFA, and UFA/SFA ratio. Our findings revealed that the higher level of PUFAs (linoleic and linolenic acids) and enhancement of the UFA/SFA ratio are considered the most main adaptive mechanism under low temperatures of storage.
Keywords: Blood orange; Chilling injury; GC-MS; Linoleic acid; Unsaturated fatty acid.
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