Evaluation of the Carbohydrate Composition of Crabapple Fruit Tissues Native to Northern Asia

Abstract

A comprehensive comparative analysis of the carbohydrate composition (soluble sugars and pectins) of fruit tissues of Malus baccata, Malus mandshurica, Malus chamardabanica, and Malus sachalinensis, characteristic of the vast territory of Eastern Siberia and the Far East, was carried out. It was shown that a large part of the soluble carbohydrates of the studied species were represented by transport sugars—sorbitol and sucrose. These compounds also provided the main variability in the carbohydrate composition of fruits in the studied material. The polymers pectins and protopectins isolated from the studied fruits were highly methoxylated (up to 60–70%), and their content averaged about 6% of dry weight. The greatest length of pectin polymers was found in the fruit tissues of M. chamardabanica and M. sachalinensis. Data on elemental analysis of fractions of pectins and protopectins of all studied species showed the absence of potentially toxic concentrations of heavy metals. Of note is the rather high content of calcium in both polymer fractions of the four studied species, while its content in protopectin is significantly higher. In addition, in all cases, the presence of low-molecular-weight oligosaccharide molecules with a low-dispersed linear structure was revealed in the tissues of the fruits. It is worth noting that the high content of ascorbic acid was observed in the fruits of all studied species. In addition to being of fundamental interest, information about the carbohydrate composition of the wild Malus species can be useful for apple breeding when choosing sources of genes underlying useful traits.