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Seed and juice characterization of pomegranate fruits grown in Tunisia: Comparison between sour and sweet cultivars revealed interesting properties for prospective industrial applications |
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| Authors: | Nejib Hasnaoui Messaoud MarsSana Ghaffari Mokhtar TrifiPablo Melgarejo Francisca Hernandez |
| Institution: | a U.R. Agrobiodiversity, Higher Agronomic Institute, 4042 Chott Mariem, Sousse, Tunisia b Laboratory of Aridland and Oases Cropping, Institute of Arid regions, Medenine, Tunisia c Laboratory of Molecular Genetics, Immunology & Biotechnology, Faculty of Sciences of Tunis, 2092 El-Manar, Tunis, Tunisia d Department of Plant Production and Microbiology, University of Miguel Hernández, Alicante, Spain |
| Abstract: | Tunisian pomegranate genetic resources consist of sweet and sour cultivars, showing large morphometric variability. In the present work we characterized seeds and juice contents of sugars and organic acids of 5 sour and 7 sweet pomegranate cultivars. Results showed that citric acid was predominant in sour pomegranates, while malic acid was the most prevalent in sweet ones. Paradoxically, sour cultivars have higher sugar content than the sweet ones. A strong correlation was found between sourness and citric acid content, which is assumed to be the major factor that determines sour taste in pomegranate fruits. Besides, some of the seed parameters showed a significant positive correlation with acidity. Sweet cultivars were appropriate for fresh consumption and juice production due to several attributes in addition to their sweetness. Equally, sour pomegranate showed several characteristics that could be of great interest for food and nutraceutical industries. |
| Keywords: | Punica granatum Arils Sugars Organic acids Sour Sweet |
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