Determination of Aroma and Protein Contents in Organic Lycium barbarum L. and Lycium chinense Miller Fruits in Different Ripening Periods

Once the benefits to human health of the goji berry plant were understood, the popularity of goji products rapidly increased worldwide due to more studies by researchers and effective marketing strategies. For this reason, goji fruit and its fruit juice are marketed as healthy food products in many countries around the world. This study aimed to detect aroma compounds with a gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) device using two solid-phase microextraction (SPME) fibers for fruit harvested in different ripening periods from three Lycium barbarum L. genotypes (‘HZR1’, ‘HZR2’, ‘HZR3’) and compare them with dried fruit from the Lycium barbarum L. genotypes. Another aim was to detect the protein contents of fruit harvested in different ripening periods from the ‘HZR1’, ‘HZR2’, and ‘HZR3’ genotypes and the ‘M1 ALTUNİ’ genotype from the Lycium chinense species with the Micro-Kjeldahl method. The study identified 35 volatile aroma compounds. The highest protein amount was found in the ‘M1 ALTUNİ’ genotype in the green period.