Changes in Physical and Chemical Properties of Cornelian Cherry (Cornus Mas L.) Fruits in Dependence on Degree of Ripening and Ecotypes

Abstract

Cornelian cherry in Poland belongs to the alternative fruit species. The fruits are suitable for fresh consumption, however they can be used for processing: juice, jams, jellies, syrups, tinctures. Fruits are abundant in mineral elements, vitamin C, organic acids, iridoids, anthocyanins and due to that they have health-promoting significance. In this experiment, the fruit quality of several 16-year-old ecotypes in the Lublin region was compared. They were compared in terms of the beginning of fruit ripening and fruit size (length, diameter, mass), fruit shape index, share of stone in the fruit, SSC, TA, SSC/TA, reducing sugar, dry matter content and anthocyanins content. The color of fruit was evaluated in two dates, visually and using HanterLab spectrophotometer. Cornelian cherry fruits began to mature at the beginning of August and at the latest at the end of August. With the increase of the maturity degree, the SSC, reducing sugars, TA, dry matter and anthocyanins increased significantly. There was no difference in the taste of light red fruits and dark red fruits, which were characterized by similar ratio of SSC/TA. Ecotype No. 11, as the earliest maturing, with big round fruits, dark red colored with the highest content of anthocyanins, could be distinguished. As well as ecotypes No. 4 and 5, ripening in mid-August, and having a high ratio of SSC/TA, providing a good taste. Studied ecotypes could be used in breeding programs to incorporate a wide range of quality and agronomic characteristics into a final cornelian cherry cultivar.

Physico‐chemical characterization of Cornus kousa Burg. fruit: determining optimal maturity for fresh consumption

“…Pericarp namely contained the most moisture at GF stage and the parameter declined with maturation. Similar findings were reported by Szot et al 20 and Yarilgaç et al 29 for Cornus mas fruit. However, GF was characterized by significantly highest fruit firmness which decreased at later maturity stages.…”

“…Fruit length and width (maximum diameter of the equatorial section) were measured with a digital caliper (sensitivity 0.01 mm) on ten fruit per branch on each sampling. Fruit shape index was calculated according to the formula I = length 2 /width 2 20 . Fruit mass (sensitivity 0.0001 g) of ten fruit (two from each branch) was also recorded immediately after transport to the laboratory on each sampling date and relative water content was calculated by comparing the weight of lyophilized samples as reported previously by Cunja et al 21 .…”

“…Fruit shape index was calculated according to the formula I = length 2 /width 2 . 20 Fruit mass (sensitivity 0.0001 g) of ten fruit (two from each branch) was also recorded immediately after transport to the laboratory on each sampling date and relative water content was calculated by comparing the weight of lyophilized samples as reported previously by Cunja et al 21 Flesh firmness was measured on two sides on each fruit using a digital penetrometer (TR, Turini, Italy) with a 2 mm tip and 10 mm penetration.…”

“…Previously reported colour indices on other Cornus species revealed a comparable turnover of visual parameters analysed in the present study. 20,27,29 Primary metabolites The composition of primary metabolites in Cornus kousa fruit was studied for the first time and the data is summarized in Table 3. Fructose was the prevalent sugar in all stages of fruit ripeness, followed by glucose but the proportion of the latter increased by maturation.…”

Bioactive compounds and physical attributes of Cornus mas genotypes through multivariate approaches

“…In previous studies conducted with cornelian cherry fruits, Tural and Koca 2008 Considering the bioactive components of the genotypes, it was observed that yellow fruits generally had lower antioxidant activity and total phenolics; there were significant variations among the genotypes and present values were mostly greater than earlier reports. Although the differences are thought to be mainly caused by the variation of the examined varieties, differences in climate and soil characteristics, the geographical situation of the area where the cultivation is made, the type and time of harvest, the storage or processing of the crop, the method or periodic differences of the applied cultural processes, crop load, tree ages and fruit ripening levels cause significant differences on the final form and the amount of the phytochemical composition (Benvenuti et al, 2004;Yılmaz et al, 2009;Ercisli et al, 2011;Gündüz et al, 2013;Ersoy et al, 2018b;Sochorova et al, 2019;Szot et al, 2019b;Bolat and Ikinci, 2020;Mertoglu et al, 2020).…”