Red-fleshed apple as a source for functional beverages

Abstract

The potential of anthocyanin pigments in fruits and vegetables to provide protection against oxidative damage is well known. Cyanidin-3-O-galactoside is a naturally occurring red pigment commonly found in skin of apples but also present in flesh of certain crab apple and apple genotypes. The purpose of this study was to investigate the cyanidin-3-O-galactoside concentration and antioxidant capacity of juice made from 14 genotypes of red-fleshed apples in comparison to three white-fleshed apple cultivars and three commercial apple juices. Cyanidin-3-O-galactoside was found only in the juice made from red-fleshed apple genotypes with the highest concentrations (39 mg L-1) in a crab apple Roberts Crab. The antioxidant capacity measured using the Folin-Ciocalteu, the ferric reducing antioxidant power (FRAP), and the oxygen radical absorbance capacity (ORAC) assays were the greatest in juice prepared from the red-fleshed genotypes Babine and Malus pumila Niedzwetzkyana, a red-fleshed crab apple genotype. The antioxidant capacity measures were strongly correlated with each other; however, there was no correlation between the concentration of cyanidin-3-O-galactoside and the antioxidant capacity measures. The juice quality parameters °Brix and titratable acidity values were not significantly different among the juices made from the red-fleshed apples, commercial apples and commercial apple juice products.Key words: Red-fleshed apple, Malus species, antioxidants, cyanidin-3-O-galactoside, Folin-Ciocalteu, FRAP, ORAC, functional beverage