Comparative study of three cultivars of jaboticaba berry: nutrient, antioxidant and volatile compounds

Abstract

Jaboticaba is a tropical plant and its fruit rich in nutrients, volatile compounds, and biological activities, which considered to be an edible health benefits plant. Despite its popularity for fresh consumption, jaboticaba is rarely used in intensive processing in China. The content of nutrients and antioxidant in jaboticaba greatly impacts how it is processed healthy food. In this study, we evaluated the nutrients, antioxidant capacity, and volatile compounds of three jaboticaba cultivars including Sabara, Argentina, and Fukuoka, respectively. Our results revealed each variety has its merits. Sabara had an abundance of volatile compounds, a suitable acid-sugar ratio, and a slightly lower antioxidant capacity, making it suitable for fresh consumption. Argentina is the richest in volatile compounds in ripe fruit, but slightly lighter in taste and acid-sugar ratio, making it suitable for dry products. The large size, juicy flesh, low acid-sugar ratio, and less volatile compounds content of Fukuoka also make it suitable for juice processing. Three cultivars of jaboticaba berry exhibited different characteristics, providing reference evidence for the manufacturing and processing of jaboticaba health food.

Keywords: antioxidant; berry; jaboticaba; nutrient; volatile compounds.

Figure 1

Three cultivars of jaboticaba berry. Appearance of a jaboticaba (A); cross-sectional section of a jaboticaba (B). SU represent Sabara unripe, AU, Argentina unripe; FU, Fukuoka unripe; SR, Sabara ripe; AR, Argentina ripe; FR, Fukuoka ripe.

Figure 2

Physical and chemical characteristics of jaboticaba. (A–H) represent the total soluble solids, total sugar, total reducing sugar, total acid, total sugar to total acid ratio, total polyphenols, Vitamin B1 content, and Vitamin C content of different jaboticaba, respectively. Different lowercases indicate significant difference within the ripe and unripe groups. p<0.05.

Figure 3

Antioxidant capacity of jaboticaba. (A–E) represent the antioxidant capacity, hydroxyl radical inhibition capacity, DPPH radical scavenging rate, ABTS free radical scavenging activity, and ability to inhibition superoxide anion radicals of different jaboticaba, respectively. Different lowercases indicate significant difference within the ripe and unripe groups. p<0.05.

Figure 4

The volatile compounds of jaboticaba. Classification and proportion of total 41 volatile compounds detected in jaboticaba (A); PCA among samples of jaboticaba at different stages and periods (B); heat map displays the hierarchical clustering of volatile compound content in ug/L in the difference within the ripe and unripe groups, with red indicating high levels of content and blue indicating low levels. SU represent Sabara unripe, AU, Argentina unripe; FU, Fukuoka unripe; SR, Sabara ripe; AR, Argentina ripe; FR, Fukuoka ripe (C).