4.6 Article

Metabolomic Characterization of Commercial, Old, and Red-Fleshed Apple Varieties

Journal

METABOLITES
Volume 11, Issue 6, Pages -

Publisher

MDPI
DOI: 10.3390/metabo11060378

Keywords

metabolomics; antioxidant activity; polyphenols; mass spectrometry

Funding

  1. European Region Tyrol South Tyrol Trentino, project EUREGIO EFH
  2. European Regional Development Fund Program [5-1a-238]
  3. Autonomous Province of Bolzano-South Tyrol

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This study investigated the correlation between single polyphenolic compounds in apple pulp and quality characteristics, such as antioxidant activity and content of phenolic compounds and anthocyanins in apple skin. Results showed that parameters measured in old apple varieties were higher than in commercial and red-fleshed varieties, with variable profiles of flavan-3-ols and anthocyanins amongst commercial and red-fleshed varieties. The PLS method revealed the highest coefficients of determination in prediction for compounds quantified in old cultivars.
In this study, a metabolomic investigation was presented to correlate single polyphenolic compounds in apple pulp with quality characteristics such as antioxidant activity and content of phenolic compounds and anthocyanins in apple skin. Since the concentration of these compounds is influenced by environmental factors, the twenty-two apple cultivars originate from the same site. The polyphenolic compounds were analyzed by ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography coupled with triple quadrupole mass spectrometry (UHPLC-QqQ-MS/MS). The antioxidant activity, phenolic content, and anthocyanins were evaluated on the sunny and the shady sides of apple skin by spectrometric assays. In old apple varieties, the measured parameters were higher than in the commercial and red-fleshed varieties. By contrast, the profile of flavan-3-ols and anthocyanins was variable amongst commercial and red-fleshed varieties. The partial least square (PLS) method was applied to investigate the association between the skin proprieties and the metabolic profile of the pulp. The highest coefficients of determination in prediction (Q2) were obtained for compounds quantified in old cultivars. These results provided information to define the old apple varieties as a reliable group based on the pathway of the antioxidant compounds and anthocyanins content. Our results show the possibility to find cultivars with promising health features based on their content of polyphenols suitable for commercialization or breeding.

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