Varietal and Interspecific Influence on Micronutrient Contents in Citrus from the Mediterranean Area

Abstract

To specify the genotypic variation of Mediterranean Citrus juices, the contents of carotenoids, flavonoids, and vitamin C were determined by high-performance liquid chromatography. A selection of orange varieties and Mandarin species from the Mediterranean area (Citrus sinensis, Citrus deliciosa Ten, and Citrus clementina Hort. ex Tan) was evaluated using carotenoid profiles and flavanones contents. Among the eight varieties of orange (Salustiana, Hamlin, Shamouti, Pera, Valencia, Maltaise, Sanguinelli, and Cara-cara) and two Mandarin species, only three cultivars (Pera, Sanguinelli, and Shamouti) and the two Mandarin species displayed a high content of vitamin A (374, 381, and 272 ER L(-1) for the three orange cultivars and 1156 and 960 retinol equivalent (RE) L(-1) for the Mandarins) due to a high content of beta-cryptoxanthin. These same Citrus were also rich in hesperidin (502, 537, 552, 767, and 754 mg L(-1), respectively). Principal component analysis allowed the Mediterranean orange varieties and Mandarin species to be differentiated on the basis of nutritional criteria. Strong correlations were observed between beta-cryptoxanthin and hesperidin (r = 0.92) and between beta-cryptoxanthin and beta-carotene (r = 0.98). In contrast, vitamin C content was not correlated with carotenoids and flavanone glycosides. The Mandarin and orange group was quite distinct. The orange varieties could be divided in two groups. In addition, a diversity tree allowed a genetic approach to differentiating Citrus cultivars on the basis of Euclidian distances. This representation showed that the hybrid Clementine was nearer to its parent Mandarin than to its parent orange, suggesting that beta-cryptoxanthin was a dominant genetic factor. With regard to vitamin A, Mandarin and its hybrid Clementine appeared to be the best Citrus species.

Hydrophilic antioxidant compounds in orange juice from different fruit cultivars: Composition and antioxidant activity evaluated by chemical and cellular based (Saccharomyces cerevisiae) assays

“…Total phenolic compounds determined as the sum of individual compounds ranged from 308.06 AE 30.62 to 476.10 AE 26.10 mg/L, with the highest amounts being recorded in SV variety. These results are in agreement with those reported in OJs from different varieties (Dhuique-Mayer et al, 2005;Kebelek et al, 2009;Rapisarda et al, 2008).…”

“…The AscA contents of Valencia varieties ranged from 42.52 to 63.30 mg/100 mL, in accordance with other studies which reported 45-64 mg/100 mL (Dhuique-Mayer et al, 2005;Rapisarda et al, 2008).…”

“…Besides phenolic compounds, Vitamin C is considered the most important water-soluble antioxidant that contributes to the antioxidant cellular defence against oxidative stress. The profile of the antioxidant compounds in OJ shows quantitative and qualitative differences related to the genotype (variety), environmental conditions (sunlight, rain, temperature), agronomic practices (type of crop and harvesting conditions), fruit maturity and technological processes (thermal, mechanical) and storage (Klimczak et al, 2007), all of which affect compound content and consequently antioxidant capacity (Dhuique-Mayer et al, 2005;Gil-Izquierdo et al, 2002;Mouly et al, 1997).…”

Carotenoid contents during ripening of banana hybrids and cultivars grown in Cameroon

“…Carotenoids were analyzed according to an already published method [22]. The residue was dissolved in 1 mL [dichloromethane:tertmethyl-buthyl-ether:methanol] (50:40:10, v/v/v).…”

Different Citrus rootstocks present high dissimilarities in their antioxidant activity and vitamins content according to the ripening stage

“…With regard to chemical composition, orange is typically considered as one of the products with high contents of antioxidants and vitamins (Del Caro et al, 2004;Dhuique-Mayer et al, 2005). It is well known that the intake of antioxidant compounds is associated with the prevention of various human oxidative stress-related diseases such as neurodegenerative and cardiovascular diseases, stroke, cataractogenesis, diabetes and cancer (Halliwell, 2011;Mateos et al, 2005;Schreckinger et al, 2010).…”