Fatty acid, vitamina E and sterols composition of seed oils from nine different pomegranate (Punica granatum L) cultivars grown in Spain

[EN] The present study was conducted to determine the major bioactive lipid components of the seed oils of nine pomegranate (Punica granatum L.) cultivars grown in Spain, namely fatty acids, vitamin E and sterol compositions. The seeds yielded oil contents ranging from 4.44% to 13.70% of dry matter and showed high contents of polyunsaturated fatty acids (86.7.2–90.3%). The predominant fatty acid was 9,11, 13-octadeca-trienoic acid (punicic acid), a conjugated linolenic acid characteristic from pomegranate seeds, with contents between 3523 and 10,586 mg/100 g of seeds. Total tocopherol contents ranged from 135 to 525 mg/100 g of oil, with g-tocopherol as the main component, and with different compositional ratios between varieties. Concerning sterols in the oil, total amounts ranged from 364 to 553 mg/100 g, with a predominance of b-sitosterol. After performing principal component analysis, intercultivar differences were found, a potential tool for cultivar authenticity purposes. Moreover, the ingestion of pomegranate arils, with their seeds, increases their beneficial health properties.Authors are grateful to POCTEP - Programa de Cooperacao Transfronteiriga Espanha - Portugal for financial support (Project "RED/AGROTEC-Experimentation network and transfer for development of agricultural and agro industrial sectors between Spain and Portugal) as well as to the European Union (FEDER funds through COMPETE) and National Funds (FCT, Fundacao para a Ciencia e Tecnologia) through project Pest-C/EQB/LA0006/2013.Fernandes, L.; Pereira, JA.; López Cortés, I.; Salazar Hernández, DM.; Ramalhosa, E.; Casal, S. (2015). Fatty acid, vitamina E and sterols composition of seed oils from nine different pomegranate (Punica granatum L) cultivars grown in Spain. Journal of Food Composition and Analysis. 39:13-22. doi:10.1016/j.jfca.2014.11.006S13223

Total phenolic distribution of juice, peel, and seed extracts of four pomegranate cultivars

The total phenolic distribution of juice, peel, and seed extracts of four Turkish pomegranate, Punica granatum L., cultivars (“Lefan,” “Katirbasi,” “Cekirdeksiz-IV,” and “Asinar”) was investigated. Total phenolic compounds were determined with the Folin–Ciocalteu colorimetric method. The results showed that the levels of total phenolic compounds changed depending on cultivars and fruit parts. In all cultivars, the highest levels of total phenolic content were obtained from the peel extracts. The total phenolic content ranged from 1775.4 to 3547.8 mg gallic acid equivalent (GAE)/L among the cultivars. However, the total phenolic content of pomegranate juice and seed extract ranged from 784.4 to 1551.5 mg GAE/L and 117.0 to 177.4 mg GAE/L, respectively. “Lefan” displayed the highest amount of the total phenolic content among the four popular cultivars tested

Changes in Sugar Contents of Fig Fruit (Ficus carica l. Cv. Bursa Siyahı) During Development

This experiment was carried out in Akdeniz University, Agricultural Faculty, Horticulturae Department and samples were taken from 10 years old fig (Ficus carica L. cv. Bursa Siyahı) trees. The aim of this study was to determine the sugar contents of fig fruits, which were harvested at different growing stages, by High-Performance Liquid Chromatography technic. Changes in major and minor sugars of fruits were investigated during different fruit development stages. Amount of fructose and galactose were found to be the highest and predominant in all growing stages, while glucose and sucrose followed them, respectively. Sucrose concentration in the first and third fruit growing stages was found to be higher than second stage. Ribose, xylose, arabinose, maltose and lactose were also determined in trace amounts

Phenotypic and Bioactive Diversity on Medlar Fruits (Mespilus germanica L.)

Mespilus germanica, known as the medlar, is a large shrub or small tree. The fruit has been cultivated since Roman times, and is unusual in being available in winter, and in being eaten when bletted. In this study twelve medlar (Mespilus germanica L.) genotypes were harvested at commercial maturity stage (skin brownish, pulp white, fruit hard) from Rize provinces located eastern black sea region and were analyzed for their some important fruit phenotypic (fruit mass, shape index, fruit firmness, ostiole diameter and fruit flesh ratio) and bioactive characteristics (total phenolic content, total antioxidant capacity, vitamin C and phenolic compounds). A wide variation among genotypes on most of the searched parameters was found. Fruit mass and flesh ratio varied from 12.3 g (KRD-1) to 23.6 g (KRD-8) and 83.6 % (KRD-2) to 93.0 % (KRD-4) indicating high variability among genotypes. The total phenolic contents of twelve medlar genotypes varied from 157 to 227 mg gallic acid equivalent in 100 g fresh weight basis. Chlorogenic acid, rutin and p-coumaric acid were dominant in medlar fruits. © 2016, Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg

Studies on the yield and quality characteristics of Myrtle (Myrtus communis L.) grown in two different ecologies

Myrtle is a typical Mediterranean plant. Myrtles plants with white colored and large fruit sized are cultivated in southern coasts of Turkey and named as Hambeles. Black myrtles are naturally grown in the forests and they have smaller fruit size when compared to Hambeles. Main objective of this study was to investigate the yield and quality parameters of some newly selected 3 black myrtle ecotypes (Yakup, Yumaklar, Islangıc) and one white myrtle cultivar (Hambeles) in upland and lowland ecological conditions in Antalya. Yields, physical and chemical characters of fruits and essential oil composition of leaves were recorded for all plants. Two experimental orchards were established in coastal and highland conditions in Antalya. Highest fruit weight of black myrtles was measured as 0.76 g fruit-1 in Yakup ecotypes in highland and as 0.92 g fruit-1 in Yumaklar ecotypes in lowland. There were no differences among ecotypes in terms of fruit removal force. Fruit yield per tree increased up to 9.2 kg in black myrtle in lowland. Highest perfect seed numbers in myrtle plants were measured in Hambeles ecotype as 19.83 seeds fruit-1. Fruit juice yield ranged from 29.6 to 35.0%. Amount of malic acid in fruit was higher than that of other organic acids. α-pinene and 1,8-cineole were main essential oil components of myrtle leaves