Physical and chemical properties of pomegranate fruit accessions from Croatia
Introduction
Pomegranate (Punica granatum L.) has been cultivated since ancient times throughout various countries that comprise the Mediterranean and Middle East regions, which has led to the discovery and local production of numerous unique genotypes over the centuries (Ferrara et al., 2014). All parts of the tree (fruit, leaves, flowers, and roots) have been used for medical purposes (Lansky & Newman, 2007). The edible part of the pomegranate fruit, termed arils, contain considerable amounts of sugars, vitamins, polysaccharides, polyphenols, and minerals (Al-Said et al., 2009, Ercisli et al., 2007, Ozgen et al., 2008). The health benefits of consuming pomegranates have been attributed to the exceptionally high antioxidant capacity that strongly correlates with the high concentration and chemical composition of phenolic compounds (Gil, Tomas-Berberan, Hess-Pierce, Holcroft, & Kader, 2000), whose antimicrobial (Reddy, Gupta, Jacob, Khan, & Ferreira, 2007), anticancer and anti-arteriosclerotic effects have been confirmed (Aviram et al., 2008, Viuda-Martos et al., 2010).
From a consumer acceptance perspective, both the physical and chemical properties of the fruit contribute to the perceived value and quality of the pomegranate. Knowledge of these traits is essential for the proper selection, cultivation, harvest, and subsequent marketing of fruit with desirable attributes (Caleb et al., 2011, Opara, 2009). Drogoudi, Tsipouridis, and Michailidis (2005) describe how small fruit with soft seeds that produce an abundance of juice are desirable traits in pomegranate breeding programs that select for processing purposes. Furthermore, parameters for quality assessment due to the nutritive value and impact on product desirability for consumption are biochemical components, volatile constituents and polyphenol concentrations (Glew et al., 2003). Color is one of the most important sensory attributes, and is often associated with the presence of anthocyanins. In pomegranate, there have been six previous identified anthocyanins that account for the majority of the pigment peel and aril pigment (delphinidin 3-glucoside and 3,5-diglucoside, cyanidin 3-glucoside and 3,5-diglucoside and pelargonidin 3-glucoside and 3,5-diglucoside). While antioxidant capacity, which is correlated with the presence of phenolic compounds, are important in evaluating fruit for potential health benefits (Alighourchi and Barzegar, 2009, Gil et al., 2000).
When considering the important horticultural characteristics, there exists a large diversity between the numerous cultivars thus far characterized (Ruttanaprasert et al., 2014), thus, it is crucial to perform a comprehensive characterization of the commercially relevant horticultural characteristics of cultivars unique to each growing region (Otakar, Ercisli, Mlcek, Jurikova, & Hoza, 2014).
Extensive research work concerning the traits of pomegranate cultivar variability regarding genotype, growing region, climate, maturity and cultural practices has been carried out for many pomegranate producing regions (Drogoudi et al., 2005, Fawole et al., 2012, Ferrara et al., 2014, Gil et al., 2000, Schwarz et al., 2009, Zarei et al., 2010). Such a systemic work is lacking for cultivars grown in Croatia.
Thus, the objectives of the present research was aimed to investigate the physical properties, phenolic content, anthocyanin composition and antioxidant capacities of pomegranate accessions grown in Croatia, and to identify any relationships that may exist between the physical and chemical traits of the fruit. The results of this study will contribute to evaluation of pomegranate biodiversity, assist with future breeding efforts, and allow us to detect accessions with high fruit quality attributes for potential commercial production.
Section snippets
Plant material
Fruit samples of seven pomegranate cultivated accessions (‘Barski slatki’, ‘Ciparski rani’, ‘Crveni rani’, ‘Dividiš’, ‘Konjski zub’, ‘Sladun’ and ‘Šerbetaš’) and one wild pomegranate were collected from a orchard in Metković, Croatia (43°01′N;17°65′E) in 2009. Trees were healthy and trained to form a bush, with three to five main trunks and planted at a spacing of 3 × 4.5 m. The orchard was drip irrigated and other cultivation practice, such as plant protection, pruning and fertilization were
Physical properties
Fruit weight differed significantly among accessions (Table 1). ‘Dividiš’ and ‘Crveni rani’ had the highest fruit weight (595.9 and 553.7 g, respectively), while wild pomegranate had the lowest fruit weight. In another study, pomegranate fruit weight ranged from 197 to 315 g per fruit (Tehranifar, Zarei, Nemati, Esfandiyari, & Vazifeshenas, 2010).
Fruit length (L), diameter (D), and volume of ‘Crveni rani’ and ‘Dividiš’ were among the highest, while the lowest values were found in wild pomegranate
Conclusion
We have characterized for the first time the physical and chemical attributes of pomegranate accessions and a wild pomegranate from Croatia. Fruit size, aril number, aril weight and yield, juice yield, soluble solids content, and acidity varied significantly among accessions. High total phenolic content and significant positive correlation with antioxidant activity was found in all accessions. Significant differences in color and anthocyanin content, using HPLC-DAD analysis, were found. Five
Acknowledgements
Research was supported by grants from the United States Department of Agriculture and Ministry of Science, Education and Sports Republic of Croatia and was carried out on Research Project entitled “Croatia Agriculture Research and Educational Exchange” (grant number: USDA 2009-51160-05465). We appreciate the technical assistance of Ana Vidak, Radojka Plećaš, Blanka Anđelić, and the support of Dr. Dennis Phillips of the University of Georgia Proteomics and Mass Spectrometry (PAMS) Core Facility,
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These authors contributed equally to this work.