The Influence of Fruit Size on Quality Attributes and Bioactive Compounds of Sweet Cherry Fruit

The study was carried out to determine the effect of different fruit sizes on the quality and bioactive compounds of sweet cherry (Prunus avium L. cv. '0900 Ziraat'). The fruit was harvested on the basis of Centre Technique Interprofessionnel des Fruits et Legumes (CTIFL) color category 5, mahogany. The fruit was separated for analysis according to the CTIFL scale: S21 (21 mm), S22 (22 mm), S24 (24 mm), S25 (25 mm), and S26 (26 mm). As the size of the fruit increased, the firmness decreased. The fruit color values varied depending on fruit size. It was determined that the increase in size of the fruit reduced the color values. The soluble solids content and vitamin C values occurred the differences with effect of fruit size. The increasing of fruit size occurred the decreasing in vitamin C content and the increase in the amount of soluble solids. The effect of fruit size on total phenolics, flavonoids, and antioxidant activity was significant. While the highest value of total phenolic content was obtained in S25, the lowest value was determined in S26. In both DPPH and ferric reducing antioxidant power assays, the lowest antioxidant activity was obtained in S26-sized fruit. The individual phenol with the highest concentration in sweet cherry was catechin, and p-coumaric was the individual phenolic with the lowest concentration. There were differences in the concentrations of individual phenolics between fruit sizes. However, it cannot be stated that fruit size had an effect on individual phenolic concentration because this effect was inconsistent.