Abstract:
The therapeutic value of plums is provided by t
he contained bioactive compounds, but
in consumers choice an essential role is played by the product flavour in which volatile
compounds are important contributors. The content in bioactive compounds, the
antioxidant activity as well as the volatile profil
e of three plum cultivars were determined
during fruit development. In the analyzed samples, depending on cultivar, harvesting
time and the position of fruit in the tree crown, the determined total phenolic content
varied between 60.31
–
699.92 mg GAE 100 g
-
1
, while the flavonoids and anthocyanins
content ranged between 11.24
–
254.46 mg QE 100 g
-
1
, and 0.09
–
1.65
m
g CE 100 g
-
1
,
respectively. Using ITEX/GC
-
MS technique, there were 99 volatile compounds detected in
the samples of which 93 were tentatively identif
ied. The volatiles present in the plums
cultivars included alcohols, aldehydes, ketones, esters, terpenoids, lactones and others.
The most abundant class (in all plum cultivars and developmental phases) was that of
aldehydes (49.40
–
87.01%), the main repres
entatives being
hexanal, benzaldehyde,
nonanal, heptanal and 2
-
hexenal, with hexanal having the largest relative peak areas
.
The
identification and quantification of volatile compounds and knowing their accumulation
dynamic throughout the ripening process
may allow better valorising of fruits depending
on cultivar and harvesting time.
Keywords
: Antioxidant capacity, Phenolic compounds, ITEX/GC
-
MS Plums, Volatiles.
