Pineapple is a tropical fruit widely cultivated in South America which can either be consumed fresh or processed into various food products. It is ranked third in production of tropical fruit after banana and citrus. The pineapple market has been growing extensively due to the attractive aroma compounds and nutritional values as well as huge demand and competitive retail prices (Abu Bakar et al., 2013, Martínez et al., 2012). The top five pineapple producers worldwide in 2017 were reported as Costa Rica (3056.45 metric tons), Philippines (2671.71 metric tons), Brazil (2253.90 metric tons), Thailand (2153.18 metric tons), and India (1891.00 metric tons) (Statista, 2020). Pineapple is mainly cultivated in the tropical and sub-tropical regions due to the temperate climate and rainfall distribution. The crop can bear fruits at an early stage after flowering, allowing yield production throughout the year (Shamsudin, Zulkifli, & Kamarul Zaman, 2020). The shelf life of pineapple can be prolonged by storing the fruit under specific conditions and storage temperature as well as specific treatments to avoid microorganism contamination (Ismail, Abdullah, & Muhammad, 2018). In this context, a well-reasoned anticipation is to transform perishable fruits into staple products with a longer shelf life has been developed to reduce the qualitative quality deterioration of the fruit during storage.

Due to the high recognition of the nutritional and beneficial values in pineapples, it is a golden opportunity for fruit growers to gain access to domestic and international markets for the fruit. Maturity level, type of cultivar, climate conditions as well as postharvest handling are several factors that contribute to the chemical and biochemical properties present in pineapple (Ancos et al., 2016, Chaumpluk et al., 2012). Pineapple that is planted with good agricultural practice will produce fruit with excellent taste and aroma while fruit that is infected by pests and disease will produce fruits with off-flavours (Sipes & Wang, 2016). In recent years, pineapple has gained much attention since the nutritional composition has contributed to the potential uses as functional food and various pineapple-based products. A previous study done by Lasekan and Hussein (2018) identified that pineapples are rich in ester compounds including methyl-2-methylbutanoate, methyl hexanoate, methyl-3-(methylthiol)-propanoate, methyl octanoate, and 2-methoxy-4-vinyl phenol which are associated with the flavour quality of different types of pineapple varieties. In this sense, different maturity levels in pineapple results in changes in the chemical composition and different aroma profiles of the fruit, especially during storage.

Based on the physicochemical composition and nutritional values, pineapple can be considered as one of the most useful fruits for manufacturing value-added compounds such as antioxidants, organic acids, bromelain, and phenolic compounds. Barretto et al. (2013) extracted volatile compounds from the pineapple flesh to be utilised as aroma enhancing products as well as the production of natural essences. Likewise, the health benefits of pineapple are also associated with different phytochemicals and functional bioactivity to maintain the metabolism and improve human health (Hossain & Rahman, 2011). The typical bioactive compounds of pineapple are mainly phenolic compounds and flavonoids that are present in the morphological parts of the fruit (Lobo & Yahia, 2016). The health aspects involving the nutrient attributes of pineapple are the main consideration in developing the food-based and waste processing products. By taking advantage of the complete utilisation of pineapple, the potential for profitable goods either in the food industries and other sectors could provide a wide variety of food-based and waste processing products with high economic importance. Thus, the overall purpose of this review is to provide a comprehensive overview of the chemical composition, nutritional values, volatile compounds, health benefits, and potential uses of pineapples. With these findings, the food manufacturers and researchers may gain fundamental knowledge to explore new perspectives for pineapple products.