Abstract
The aim of this study was to determine the composition and content of phenolic compounds in extracts of plum fruit. Fruit of 17 plum cultivars were analyzed. Fruit samples were collected in 2019 from fruit trees with “Myrobalan” (P. cerasifera Ehrh.) and “Wangenheim Prune” (P. domestica L.) rootstocks. The following glycosides of the flavonol group were identified: avicularin, isorhamnetin-3-O-rutinoside, isoquercitrin, hyperoside, rutin, and an aglycone quercetin. Compounds of the flavan-3-ol group were identified, such as (+)-catechin, procyanidin C1, and procyanidin A2, along with chlorogenic acid attributed to phenolic acids and a non-phenolic cyclitol–quinic acid. Of all the analytes identified in plum fruit samples, quinic acid predominated, while chlorogenic acid predominated among all the identified phenolic compounds, and rutin predominated in the flavonol group. Hierarchical cluster analysis (HCA) and principal component analysis (PCA) revealed that fruit samples of “Kubanskaya Kometa”, “Zarechnaya Raniaya”, “Duke of Edinburgh”, “Jubileum”, and “Favorita del Sultano” cultivars had different quantitative content of phenolic compounds from that observed in other samples. The highest total amount of phenolic compounds was found in the European plum samples of the “Zarechnaya Rannyaya” cultivar, while the amount of quinic acid was the highest in plum fruit samples of the “Jubileum” cultivar.
Highlights
Plums are among the most popular fruit grown in Lithuania and used in the food chain
Scientific literature indicates that compounds of the flavonol group—especially quercetin and its glycosides—have a broad-spectrum biological effect: they reduce the risk of cardiovascular diseases [10,11], metabolic disorders [12], and certain types of cancer [13,14]
Quinic acid, which does not belong to the group of phenolic compounds, was identified and quantitatively evaluated in plum fruit of cultivars grown in Lithuania
Summary
Plums are among the most popular fruit grown in Lithuania and used in the food chain. Plums are used in the manufacturing of food products and are potentially valuable for the development and production of dietary supplements and functional food enriched with biologically active compounds. World plum production has been increasing slightly over the recent years. According to the production scale, plums were in the 7th position among the most cultivated fruit [1]. There are 19–40 species of plum, depending on taxonomies, which have originated in Plants 2020, 9, 1611; doi:10.3390/plants9111611 www.mdpi.com/journal/plants
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