The Impact of Volatile Organic Compounds on Assessing Soybean Seed Quality during Storage

Background: Maintaining soybean seed quality during storage is crucial for sustaining profitable seed production. The weak seed coat and abundant fatty acid content in soybean causes seeds to lose viability more quickly and are very sensitive to the storage environment. The kinds of chemical reactions that take place during storage have been linked to emissions of volatile organic compounds (VOCs), suggesting that these reactions might be used as indicators of the seed quality. Hence, the present study was conducted to profile the VOCs emitted during storage and their relationship to the physiological and biochemical quality of soybean seeds. Methods: Soybean seeds were subjected to VOC profiling using gas chromatography-Mass Spectrometry (GC-MS/MS) and physiological and biochemical quality assessments at monthly intervals over an eight-month storage period. Result: GC-MS/MS identified sixty-eight volatile compounds in the soybean seeds stored over an eight-month period. The aldehyde (37.84%) contributed to the 1/3 of total emission of different groups of volatiles emitted from stored soybean seeds. Concurrently, seed germination, seedling dry weight and vigour declined, indicating deterioration in physiological quality. Biochemical analysis showed increased seed leachate electrical conductivity, lipoxygenase activity and lipid peroxidation, alongside decreased catalase, peroxidase and dehydrogenase enzyme activity, suggesting increased oxidative stress and lipid peroxidation in soybean seeds. The strong link between increased VOC emissions and the decline in seed quality parameters underscores the critical role of VOC in assessing the loss of seed viability of soybean during storage.