ANTIOXIDANT, PHYSICAL AND CHEMICAL CHARACTERISTICS OF CORNELIAN CHERRY FRUITS (Cornus mas L.) AT DIFFERENT STAGES OF RIPENESS

There has been growing interest for less utilized fruit species lately. Cornelian cherry is one of these species with significant antioxidant characteristics. In this study, several, chemical properties and antioxidant characteristics of cornelian cherry fruits at four ripeness stages were evaluated. The stages were light yellow, blush, light red and dark red. Several fruit characteristics (fruit width, length, weight), total soluble solids (TSS), total titratable acidity (TA), sugar/acid ratio (TSS/TA), pH, fruit external color, total phenolic compounds (TPC), total antioxidant capacity (AOC) by trolox equivalent antioxidant capacity (TEAC), total monomeric anthocyanins (TMA) and tannins were evaluated. The stages were found to be significantly different for all factors evaluated. There was an overall increase in fruit width, length, weight, TSS, and SSC/TA over time, while TA averages decreased as the fruit matured. Fruit color progressively turned to dark red as anthocyanin accumulates. TPC and TEAC averages were similar at light yellow (8033 mu g gallic acid equivalent GAE . g(-1) fresh weight (fw) and 55.0 mu mol trolox equivalent (TE) . g(-1) fw) and reduced at the dark red stages (4162 mu g GAE . g(-1) fw and 7.8 mu mol TE . g(-1) fw). Tannin content decreased from 0.45 to 0.19% from light yellow to dark red stages.