AMINO ACID, SUGAR, POLIPHENOL, VITAMIN C AND VITAMIN E CONTENTS IN FRESHLY HARVESTED FRUITS OF PLUM LANDRACES OF CAMPANIA REGION (ITALY)

AMINO ACID, SUGAR, POLIPHENOL, VITAMIN C AND VITAMIN E CONTENTS IN FRESHLY HARVESTED FRUITS OF PLUM LANDRACES OF CAMPANIA REGION (ITALY) IANNUZZI F., MIRTO A., WOODROW P., CARILLO P., FUGGI A. Department of Environmental Biological and Pharmaceutical Sciences and Technologies, II University of Naples, Via A. Vivaldi 43, 81100 Caserta (Italy) plum biodiversity, sugars, poliphenols, vitamins, free amino acids The characterization of traditional cultivars (landraces), selected by farmers and particularly adapted to the environment in which they evolved is fundamental in the conservation and enhancement of the Agro-biodiversity. Morphological, phenological and genetic methods, actually are integrated by proteomics and metabolomics ones. Such methods evaluate phenotypic traits modulated by the environmental conditions (abiotic and biotic stress). In food products they allow the quality assessment at harvest, during postharvest storage and/or treatments. Metabolic profiling can proved fingerprints of typical products useful to define, protect and track them along their lifestory. In this work sugars, organic acids, polyphenols, anthocyanins, Vitamin C (ascorbic acid and dehidroascorbic acid) and vitamin E (α-tocopherol and γ-tocopherol), free amino acids, were determined in fruits from plum landraces of Campania (Italy). Fruits from sixteen plum landraces cultivated at "CRAA-Azienda Agricola Sperimentale Improsta" of Campania Region were analysed. The edible part of freshly harvested fruits were cutted in small pieces, frozen in liquid nitrogenand saved at -80°C. Three samples of cutted materials were powedered in liquid nitrogen and used to prepare extracts for the analyses. The results were expressed on a fresh weight basis as means and standard error. The plum fruits showed a huge variability in the distribution of soluble sugars: they were about 4% of fresh weight (FW) In the landrace "Sila", while in "Del Carmine" and "Pezza Rossa" it was less than 1% of FW. Sorbitol content, on average, was about 18% of the soluble sugars. The polyphenol contents were at least 100% higher than the USDA one. Higher levels of poliphenols occurred in "Santa Paola", "Coglie e Astad Bianca” and “Santangiolese”, while the lower one was found in "San Rafele" and "Pappacona". Among the analysed landraces the anthocyanins occurred mainly in the skin, and, therefore, the amounts were, generally, lower than 1% of total polyphenols. The Vitamin E (α, γ tocopherols) was similar to USDA average data in most of the landraces, while they were more than 100% higher in "Santa Paola" and "Santangiolese". Only in some landraces γ tocopherol content was higher than the α one. However Vitamin E was highly correlated to polyphenol content. Among the free amino acids asparagine occurred at the highest concentration followed by GABA, aspartate and glutamate. Proline was at the highest level in “Sila” and “Del Carmine”. Organic acids and Vitamine C were also analysed. PCA analysis of all data evidenced a main cluster with 12 landraces of the 16 analysed ones. Such data can integrate the genetic and agronomic ones for a better characterization of plum landraces. The work was funded by "Regione Campania, PSR 2007/2013, Measure 214, Action f2, project Agrigenet".