Carbohydrates and mineral substances in sweet chestnuts (Castanea sativa Mill.) from important growing areas in Slovakia

Abstract

The cultivation of sweet chestnuts in Slovakia has a century-year-old tradition. However, just a few research publications provide more comprehensive information about the chestnuts’ chemical composition of different varieties in individual growing areas. Sweet chestnuts contain various nutrients, of which carbohydrates are very important for assessing their commercial quality. Simple carbohydrates are mainly represented by glucose, fructose, sucrose, and maltose. The content of glucose was 0.178–3.152, fructose 0.271–3.170, sucrose 9.355–29.890, and maltose 0.171–1.584 g/100 g DW in chestnut samples from 27 sampling points, which are part of Slovakia’s four largest growing areas of sweet chestnuts. Carbohydrate contents were determined by the high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC-RI) method. There are statistically proven differences in the content of individual carbohydrates depending on the sampling area of chestnuts. Potassium has a significant presence in sweet chestnuts as a mineral substance. Its content was determined in the 377–789 mg/100 g DW range. The content of sodium (calcium, magnesium, and phosphorus) was 0.65–6.90 (26.9–103, 58.7–101, and 96.5–179) mg/100 g DW. The contents of mineral substances were determined by the AAS method. The content of carbohydrates and mineral substances is mainly influenced by variety and age.