Enantioselective effects of imazalil on banana postharvest ripening aroma revealed by integrated volatilomics, lipidomics and metabolomics

Imazalil (IMZ) is the most widely used postharvest fungicide during banana storage and transport, yet its potential impact on banana quality remains largely unknown. In this study, integrated volatilomics, targeted lipidomics, and untargeted metabolomics were applied to investigate how different enantiomers of IMZ affect aroma in the postharvest banana yellow ripening stage. Results showed that Rac-IMZ and R-(−)-IMZ disrupted fatty acid and branched-chain amino acid metabolism, significantly lowering precursor pools of linoleic acid, α-linolenic acid, leucine, and valine required for ester formation via the lipoxygenase and amino acid pathways. S-(+)-IMZ exhibited minimal interference with these pathways, thereby maintaining aroma quality comparable to untreated fruit. These findings highlight an impact associated with the use of racemic imazalil in banana postharvest preservation and provide multi-omics evidence that replacing the racemate with the single S-(+)-enantiomer can achieve effective postharvest disease control while largely preserving the characteristic aroma of banana. • Imazalil (IMZ) enantiomers exert significant enantioselective effects on banana aroma formation during postharvest ripening. • S-(+)-IMZ shows minimal interference with aroma-related metabolites and better maintains the original flavor quality of banana fruit. • Rac-IMZ and R-(−)-IMZ significantly disrupt fatty acid and branched-chain amino acid metabolism, reducing key precursors for banana characteristic ester aroma. • Integrated volatilomics, lipidomics, and metabolomics reveal the mechanism of IMZ enantioselectively regulating banana aroma quality.