Comparison of Chemical Properties between Traditional and Commercial Vinegar

Sina Cosmulescu,Felicia Tuțulescu,Ana-Maria Stoenescu,Ion Trandafir

doi:10.3390/horticulturae8030225

Abstract

Fruits of wild fruit species are considered healthy foods with the potential to treat and prevent chronic diseases. In recent years, the food industry and consumers have become increasingly interested in the nutritional value and safety of food and ingredients. A traditional method of processing fruits from spontaneous flora is in the form of vinegar by simple and easy techniques. The aim of this paper was to analyze the chemical composition of homemade vinegars obtained by traditional methods from the fruits of some wild fruit species, compared with commercial vinegars. To evaluate the characteristics of the two types of vinegar, analyses were performed regarding the physicochemical properties (density, soluble dry matter, total titratable acidity, and pH) and the content of phenolic compounds using HPLC. In terms of pH, it varied between 2.58 and 3.67 for homemade vinegar and between 2.22 and 2.86 for commercial vinegar. The density of vinegar varied between 1015 and 1070 kg/m3 in the case of homemade vinegar and between 1013 and 1030 kg/m3 in the case of commercial vinegar. The phenolic compounds, gallic acid, neochlorogenic acid, catechin hydrate, chlorogenic acid, vanillic acid, caffeic acid, syringic acid, epicatechin, p-coumaric acid, ferulic acid, sinapic acid, salicylic acid, ellagic acid, rutin, and myricetin were found in homemade vinegar. Fewer phenolic compounds were identified in commercial vinegars. The data obtained highlight the high quality of homemade traditional vinegars compared with commercial ones. The biochemical composition of vinegars traditionally obtained from wild fruits, through simple recipes, demonstrates their role and importance for human well-being and the potentially beneficial effects on health.

Highlights

Wild fruit species are considered rich in bioactive compounds [1–3] such as anthocyanins and flavonoids, and fruits are considered healthy food with potential in the treatment and prevention of chronic diseases [4]
In order to highlight the nutritional value of traditional vinegars, determinations were made regarding the physicochemical characteristics [22,23] and the content of phenolic compounds
Compared with the results found in the literature, in this study, European crab apple vinegar (M. sylvestris) had a higher content of phenolic compounds and a more varied composition with the presence of neochlorogenic acid (19.88 mg L−1 ) and myricetin (92.87 mg L−1 )

Summary

Introduction

Wild fruit species are considered rich in bioactive compounds [1–3] such as anthocyanins and flavonoids, and fruits are considered healthy food with potential in the treatment and prevention of chronic diseases [4]. The food industry and consumers have become increasingly interested in the nutritional value and safety of food and ingredients, and in being natural, organic, or healthy [6,7]. Interest in consuming natural antioxidants has increased considerably thanks to their antiviral, anti-inflammatory, and antihypertensive properties, and daily intake of phenol-rich foods could prevent chronic, degenerative, and coronary diseases such as cancer and atherosclerosis [8,9]. A product frequently used in both food and therapeutic medicine is vinegar because of its antimicrobial properties, combating obesity, diabetes, cardiovascular diseases, and cancer [10]. Vinegar is a natural food product resulting from carbohydrate-rich products, as a result of an alcoholic fermentation process followed by an acetic fermentation [10]. According to Budak et al [11], traditional vinegars are produced

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