Assessment of Physicochemical Quality, Antioxidant Content and Activity, and Inhibition of Cholinesterase between Unripe and Ripe Blueberry Fruit

Abstract

Five Korean blueberries (’’Nelson’’, ’’Duke ’’, ’’Bluejay ’’, ’’Toro’’, and ’’Elliot ’’) were harvested at two maturity stages (unripe and ripe) to evaluate fruit quality and antioxidant activities. The Hunter L, a, and b color of ripe blueberries was lower than that of unripe fruit. Soluble solid concentration (SSC) and pH increased, and titratable acidity (TA) and firmness decreased as the blueberries matured. The ripe blueberry fruits showed a higher SSC/TA ratio than the unripe fruits. Although total anthocyanin, flavonoids, phenolics content, and antioxidant activity were higher in ripe blueberries than in unripe fruit, the unripe fruit had higher acetylcholinesterase (AChE) and butyrylcholinesterase (BChE) inhibition activities than ripe fruit in all cultivars. Total antioxidant activity was highly correlated with total flavonoids and phenolics. The relationships between the total antioxidant activity and the AChE or BChE inhibitory activity are negative. There were several physicochemical quality and antioxidant activity differences in blueberries, depending on the cultivar and the maturity at harvest. Unripe fruits also contain potential health-promoting bioactive compounds as functional food ingredients.

Phytochemical screening and antioxidant capacity of two berry cultivars, ‘Ruben’ and ‘Duke’, depending on their harvesting time

“…The 'Duke' cultivar recorded lower RSA% at both ripening period compare with 'Ruben' cultivar. Similar results were obtained byHwang et al (2020), where the total antioxidant activities of five ripe Korean blueberries (including 'Duke' cultivar), determined by DPPH and ABTS tests, were higher than those of unripe fruits. Su et al (2017)investigated the antioxidant capacity by DPPH method of 14 blueberry varieties most belonging to Vaccinium corymbosum from different parts of China, including Duke variety, which weaker antioxidant activity compared to other varieties.The FRAP method is another method used for the evaluation of antioxidant capacity of fruits, although it was first used for antioxidant activity of plasma (Benzie, I.F., Strain, J.J. 1996).…”

Valorization of Taiwan's Citrus depressa Hayata peels as a source of nobiletin and tangeretin using simple ultrasonic-assisted extraction

“…Apart from the instrument conditions, the plant nature also affects the yield of extracted phenolic compounds. A steady decrease or increase of phenolic content were two distinct phenomena during fruit ripening ( Hwang et al, 2020 ; Mokhtar et al, 2021 ).…”

Comprehensive Utilization of Thinned Unripe Fruits from Horticultural Crops

“…In recent years, many researchers have found bioactive compounds, such as polyphenols, organic acids, monosaccharides and starches. These are important parts of unripe fruits, and are potential beneficial resources in many industries such as human health, food preservation, functional foods, and industrial materials ( Figure 2 ) [ 25 , 26 , 27 , 28 , 29 , 30 , 31 ]. Thinned unripe fruit utilization opens new paths for orchard management and would increase the economic benefits for agricultural workers [ 32 ].…”