Flavor Profile of Tomatoes Across Different Cultivation Times Based on GC × GC-Q/TOFMS

Volatile compounds greatly affect tomato aroma, but systematic analysis of volatiles in tomatoes is limited by detection techniques. Here, HS-SPME Arrow-GC × GC-Q/TOFMS was employed to analyze tomato flavor profiles across different cultivation times. To investigate the effects of light and temperature on aroma profiles, three tomato samples across different cultivation periods, including S1 (harvested on May 30th, with lowest temperature and light conditions), S2 (harvested on August 10th, with the highest temperature and light), and S3 (harvested on June 27th, with moderate temperature and light), were analyzed. Overall, 227 volatiles were identified, belonging to 9 aroma categories. Hexanal, <i>(E)</i>-2-hexenal, nonanal, <i>(E)</i>-2-Octenal, <i>trans</i>-geranylacetone, 6-methyl-5-hepten-2-one, 3,4-Octadiene, 7-methyl-, and citral were found to be the key volatiles contributing most significantly to differentiating the samples across cultivation periods, imparting grassy and floral-fruity notes, respectively. The S1 tomatoes had a distinct grassy aroma, whereas the S3 tomatoes had a floral/fruity fragrance. Most differential metabolites were correlated with fatty acid, amino acid, and isoprenoid pathways. S1 tomatoes were characterized by fatty aldehydes (mainly C6/C9), and S2 tomatoes contained high concentrations of fatty alcohols. S3 tomatoes were positively correlated with isoprenoid-derived volatiles. These variations might be caused by the fluctuations in daily temperature and light intensity. This work establishes a foundational reference for assessing environmental effects on tomato flavor profiles.