Effect of mixing different kinds of fruit juice with sour cherry puree on nutritional properties

The main objective of this study was to investigate the effect of mixing sour cherry puree with apple, pear, quince and flowering quince juices on characteristics of 17 different products (12 smoothies and 5 semi-products). Compounds (phenolic compounds, vitamin C, sugar, pectin), antioxidant activity (ORAC, ABTS, FRAP), and physicochemical parameters (titratable acidity, soluble solids, viscosity, colour) of different products were evaluated. Depending on the type of product, 8 to 20 phenolic compounds, belonging to the anthocyanins, flavan-3-ols, flavonols, hydroxycinnamic acids, and dihydrochalcone, were identified by liquid chromatography/quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry (LC/QTOF-MS). The highest content of polyphenols was observed in the sour cherry-flowering quince smoothie, while the lowest was observed in the sour cherry-pear smoothie. The study showed that the major polyphenols compounds in the smoothies were polymeric procyanidins, which were positively correlated with antioxidant activity. In addition, some kind of synergistic effect was observed between some compounds of sour cherry and flowering quince which could increase the antioxidant activity of the final product. The mixing of various fruit products could be interesting from a nutritional as well as commercial perspective.