Comparative Evaluation of Volatile Organic Compounds in Two Bottle Gourd Accessions with Distinct Fruit Shapes

Bottle gourd (Lagenaria siceraria L.) belongs to the cucurbit family and has a long history of cultivation in tropical and subtropical regions worldwide, both for food and medicine. Popularized by its unique fruit shapes, gourds are used to make ornaments and musical instruments. However, there is limited information on volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in the bottle gourd fruit. In the present study, we conducted a comparative analysis of VOCs profiled in two accessions (USVL5 and USVL10) with distinct fruit shapes: bottle and cylinder. While USVL5 only produced long cylinder fruits, USVL10 produced two fruit types, cylinder (USVL10CYN) and bottle (USVL10A and USVL10B). VOCs in each line were analyzed using headspace solid-phase microextraction–gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (HS-SPME-GC/MS). Aliphatic aldehydes and alcohols were the most abundant compounds found in these bottle gourd accessions. Based on the functional profile of the identified VOCs, our results reveal the suitability of our tested line (USVL10), enriched in functionally important VOCs such as hexanal (abundance = 381.07), nonanal (abundance = 9.85), 2-methoxy-2-methylpropane (abundance = 21.26) and D-limonene (abundance = 31.48). The VOCs profiling and functional analyses support the notion that the bottle gourd accession USVL10 can be a good candidate for its use in agriculture, the health care industry and domestic uses.