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Evaluation of physicochemical characteristics of pomegranate (Punica granatum L.) fruit during ripening

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  28 March 2011

Mehdi Zarei ,
Majid Azizi  and
Zeinolabedin Bashir-Sadr
Mehdi Zarei*
Affiliation:
Dep. Hortic. Sci., Fac. Agric., Ferdowsi Univ. Mashhad, Mashhad, P.O Box 91757-1163, Iran
Majid Azizi
Affiliation:
Dep. Hortic. Sci., Fac. Agric., Ferdowsi Univ. Mashhad, Mashhad, P.O Box 91757-1163, Iran
Zeinolabedin Bashir-Sadr
Affiliation:
Ind. Sci. Res. Inst. Iran, PO Box 37575-111, Tehran, Iran
*
∗ Correspondence and reprints
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Abstract

Introduction. Pomegranate fruit is a good source of bioactive compounds. Although data about the importance of pomegranates in human nutrition has increased extensively in the last years, the fruit physical and chemical characteristics of some Iranian pomegranate cultivars during fruit ripening have not been investigated in detail yet. Therefore, the evaluation of physicochemical characteristics of pomegranate fruit cv. ‘Rabbab-e-Fars’ at three different stages, from fruit set to ripening, was the aim of the present study. Materials and methods. Fruit fresh weight and volume, and peel, aril, juice and seed percentage were measured as physical features and total soluble solids, pH, titrable acidity, ascorbic acid, total sugars, anthocyanins, phenolics and tannins, condensed tannins, and antioxidant activity in the juice were evaluated as the chemical properties. Results. The highest percentage of aril (57.86%) and juice (48.01%) and lowest percentage of peel (42.13%) and seed (10.49%) were observed in 140-day-old fruits. A significant increase in concentrations of total soluble solids and total sugars were recorded during fruit ripening. The ascorbic acid content decreased significantly, while the amount of total anthocyanins increased significantly with fruit maturity. Ripe fruit, which had a low titratable acidity (1.35 g·100 g-1 of fruit juice), showed a correspondingly high pH (3.23). The levels of total phenolics, total tannins, condensed tannins and antioxidant activity declined significantly during fruit ripening. Conclusion. Our results provide important information on the changes in physical and chemical properties of pomegranate fruit during ripening, which is very useful for determination of the fruit quality.

Keywords

Iran Islamic RepublicPunica granatumfruitsproximate compositionphysicochemical propertiesantioxidantsIran République islamiquePunica granatumfruitscomposition globalepropriété physicochimiqueantioxydantIran República IslámicaPunica granatumfrutascomposición aproximadapropiedades fisicoquímicasantioxidantes
Type
Original article
Information
Fruits , Volume 66 , Issue 2 , March 2011 , pp. 121 - 129
Copyright
© 2011 Cirad/EDP Sciences

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