Between the Time of Blooming and Harvest and Compositions of Japanese Apricot (Prunus mume Sieb.et Zucc.) ‘Nanko’ Fruit, and Effects of Those Factors to Qualities of Processed Ume Liquor

Abstract

SummaryEffects of the time of flowering and harvest as well as the size of the fruit on the compositions of the fruit and the processed Japanese apricot liqueur (ume liqueur) were determined in the Japanese apricot (Prunus mume Sieb.et Zucc.) 'Nanko'. Concentrations of citric acid and sorbitol in the flesh with skin increased until just before the day of full ripening and dropping stage. Growth of fruit that bloomed early was later than that of fruit that bloomed late. The fruit that bloomed early had lower concentrations of citric acid and sorbitol in the flesh with skin than fruit that bloomed late. Concentrations of citric acid and phenolics, antioxidant activity, and browning strength of the ume liqueur increased when the harvest time was delayed to just before the full ripening stage. When fruit was harvested on the same day, the larger fruit showed greater concentrations of citric acid, malic acid, sorbitol and β-carotene in the flesh with skin. Concentrations of citric acid and sorbitol and the browning strength of ume liqueur were higher when fruit above 2L size were processed. These results show that harvest time and fruit size influence the concentrations of components and the quality of both the fruit and the ume liqueur, suggesting that wellgrown and enlarged fruit are most suitable for making ume liqueur.

Changes of Quality in the Fruits of Prunus mume during Deacidification by Fermentation with Lactobacillus Fermentium

“…The fresh P. mume fruits are unsuitable for direct consumption because of high acidity and amgydalin (bitter taste). Thus, it often was pickled with salt for decreasing the acidity and bitter taste and also inhibiting the rot of fruits, and the pickled P. mume fruits can be processed into prune or sauces after being immersed in the running water for removing the salt (Odaka and others ; Shirasaka and others ; Oe and others ; Sun and others ). The consumption of products prepared from pickled P. mume fruits is constantly raising with the increasing of consumers’ demand for healthy foods.…”

Relationships between Surface Blushing and Qualitative Components of Japanese Apricot (Prunus mume Sieb. et Zucc.) ‘Nanko’ Fruit

“…Average of blushed area (%) acid content increases, and the malic acid content decreases with maturity (Kakiuchi et al, 1985;Oe et al, 2006), and larger fruit have higher contents of citric acid and malic acid than smaller fruit on the same harvest day (Oe et al, 2006). Blushed fruit exposed to sunlight from an early growth stage may be rich in citric acid and total organic acid.…”

“…In previous studies, we reported that organic components, such as citric acid, sorbitol, β-carotene, and phenolics, and antioxidant activity in the Japanese apricot fruit were influenced by the blooming day, harvest time, fruit size, and ripening period (Oe, 2006(Oe, , 2007(Oe, , 2008. Generally, the phenolics of fruit are influenced by the soil conditions (Kubota and Kudo, 1992), temperature (Tomana et al, 1979;Yamada et al, 1988), rootstock (Kubota et al, 1993a), girdling (Kubota et al, 1993b), tree vigor (Kubota et al, 1993c), use of plant growth regulator (Kondo and Gemma, 1993;Kondo et al, 2001;Matushima et al, 1989), and light conditions.…”

“…Ten grams of flesh (with skin) were collected evenly from fruit of each category and stored at −28°C until analysis. The contents of organic acid, sorbitol, β-carotene, and phenolics and the antioxidant activity were then analyzed using the method previously reported (Oe et al, 2006). Ten grams of frozen sample were homogenized with 80% aqueous ethanol and adjusted to 100 mL.…”

“…Since active oxygen is the cause of many diseases, antioxidant activity is expected to have a protective effect against lifestyle-related diseases (Aoyagi, 2008). In a previous study, we clarified that the content of these components and the antioxidant activity are influenced by a number of factors, such as the timing of harvest, fruit size, and the ripening period of Japanese apricot fruit (Oe et al, 2006(Oe et al, , 2007(Oe et al, , 2008. The content of phenolics in fruit, which are responsible for antioxidant activity, is influenced by soil conditions (Kubota and Kudo, 1992), temperature (Tomana et al, 1979;Yamada et al, 1988), and cultivation management (Kubota et al, 1993a, b).…”