Relationship of colour with the phytocompounds present in Cornus mas cultivars

Abstract

Cornelian cherry (Cornus mas L.) fruits are a well-known source of antioxidants and other biologically active compounds, and these compounds depend on maturity. Ripeness is recognized by means of a visual assay of the growing fruit. The study aimed to determine the relationship between the color of the tested cultivars of Cornus mas and their content of the predominant compounds (i.e., flavonoids, anthocyanins, vitamin C, carotenoids and chlorophyll). The studied deviation between cultivars is based on the tested parameters and compared with the genetic profile of Cornelian cherry cultivars. Cornelian is a rich source of anthocyanins and flavonoids. Particularly valuable is the cv. Szafer variety, which color is the darkest and the richest in phenols, flavonoids and anthocyanins. However, the correlation between colorimetric and chemical parameters is found to be low for most variables. Genetic polymorphism analysis showed different distances between the cultivars than the values resulting from chemical analyses. The part of fruit, which was subjected to colorimetric measurement, did not affect the distance projection. Colorimetric parameters were poorly correlated with spectroscopic results, but did not change the distances between the samples. Differences in fruit color and composition, and genetic relationship can be drawn from the adaptation of different cultivars to the current study.