Biochemical Properties and Fruit Quality of "Jahangiri" (Prunus armeniaca L.) Apricot Fruit under Calcium Chloride Treatment

Worldwide, the nutritional value and health benefit of apricot fruit (Prunus armeniaca L., Rosaceae) has been known. The present study was therefore undertaken to assess the effects of CaCl2 pre harvest treatment on some of the biochemical properties and fruit quality of "Jahangiri" (Prunus armeniaca L.) apricot at harvest time and during four weeks cold storage at 0°C. The combined analysis of variances indicated that year had a significant influence on all studied parameters of "Jahangiri" cultivar. CaCl2 pre harvest treatments also affected significantly the most of studied parameters. The interaction between year and Ca treatment was also significant. Results of these tests showed that pre-harvest application of Ca foliar spray increased some of biochemical properties (protein, free amino acid and non protein) and fruit quality (fruit density) of apricot cultivar "Jahangiri". In addition, the contents of fruit-Ca, -Mg, -N, and vitamin C were higher than those in the control at harvest time and after four weeks storage at 0°C. The characteristics that correlated best with the fruit Ca content included fruit pH, fruit density, vitamin C of fruit and fruit Mg. The results also showed that the most effective pre-harvest CaCl2 application for apricot "Jahangiri " was found to be 0.5 % Ca Cl2 in 46 days after full bloom

Phenolic Compounds, Volatiles and Antioxidant Capacity of White Myrtle Berry Liqueurs

The aim of this research was to evaluate the antioxidant capacity and physical-chemical characteristics of commercial white myrtle berry (Myrtus communis L. var. leucocarpa DC) liqueur (WMBL). The total phenolic (TP) content was measured spectrophotometrically, applying a modified Folin-Ciocalteu's method, and phenolic compounds were identified by high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) coupled with electrospray mass spectrometry, and quantified by HPLC coupled with ultraviolet/visible detection. The antioxidant capacities were evaluated by FRAP, CUPRAC, DPPH(•), and ABTS(•+) assays. The volatiles were assessed by gas chromatography and mass spectrometry (GC-MS/FID) after headspace solid-phase microextraction (HS-SPME) and liquid-liquid extraction (LLE). WMBL showed lower TP levels (636.3 ± 39.2 mg GAE/L) than in purple myrtle berry liqueur (PMBL). Nevertheless, WMBL exhibited better antioxidant capacities, potentially due to high concentrations of gallic acid (294.2 ± 14.2 mg/L) and its derivatives (58.3 ± 2.1 mg/L). Other phenolic compounds detected by HPLC-DAD and LC-MS/MS were flavonols like myricetin and its derivatives (myricetin-3-O-galactoside and myricetin-3-O-rhamnoside) with concentrations similar to those found in PMBL. GC-MS/FID analysis revealed 44 compounds (terpenes, higher aliphatic compounds and shikimic acid pathway derivatives). 1,8-Cineole was the most abundant terpene in the liqueur (26.5% (HS-SPME) and 9.6% (LLE))