Assessing the RP-LC-MS-Based Metabolic Profile of Hass Avocados Marketed in Europe from Different Geographical Origins (Peru, Chile, and Spain) over the Whole Season

Abstract

Spain dominates avocado production in Europe, with the Hass variety being the most prominent. Despite this, Spanish production satisfies less than 10% of the overall avocado demand in Europe. Consequently, the European avocado market heavily relies on imports from overseas, primarily sourced from Peru and Chile. Herein, a comprehensive characterization of the metabolic profile of Hass avocado fruits from Spain, Peru, and Chile, available in the European market throughout the year, was carried out. The determination of relevant substances was performed using high- and low-resolution RP-LC-MS. Remarkable quantitative differences regarding phenolic compounds, amino acids, and nucleosides were observed. Principal component analysis revealed a natural clustering of avocados according to geographical origin. Moreover, a specific metabolic pattern was established for each avocado-producing country using supervised partial least squares discriminant analysis. Spanish fruits exhibited high levels of coumaric acid malonyl-hexose II, coumaric acid hexose II, and ferulic acid hexose II, together with considerably low levels of pantothenic acid and uridine. Chilean avocado fruits presented high concentrations of abscisic acid, uridine, ferulic acid, succinic acid, and tryptophan. Fruits from Peru showed high concentrations of dihydroxybenzoic acid hexose, alongside very low levels of p-coumaric acid, ferulic acid, coumaric acid malonyl-hexose I, and ferulic acid hexose II.