LC-Q-TOF-MS/MS data of phyllobilins in apple peels cv. 'Gala' during ripening under shelf-life conditions.

During senescence and ripening, higher plants degrade the green pigment chlorophyll to linear tetrapyrrols, referred to as phyllobilins (PBs). This dataset provides chromatograms and mass spectral data of PBs acquired from methanolic extracts of cv. Gala apple peels at five different shelf life (SL) stages.

Chlorophyll breakdown during fruit ripening: Qualitative analysis of phyllobilins in the peel of apples (Malus domestica Borkh.) cv. 'Gala' during different shelf life stages.

Chlorophyll (Chl) degradation is an important process of fruit ripening, mediated by the pheophorbide a oxygenase/phyllobilin (PaO/PB) pathway. Chl is catabolized to linear tetrapyrrolic phyllobilins that resemble the bile pigments. Determining the optimal harvest date is of pivotal importance for the fruit industry.