Organic Acid, Phenolic Compound and Antioxidant Contents of Fresh and Dried Fruits of Pear (Pyrus Communis L.) Cultivars

This study was conducted to determine the yield and physicochemical properties as well as the phenolic compounds, organic acids, antioxidant activity, proteins, and sugars in fresh and dried fruit samples of ‘Carmen’, ‘Etrusca’, ‘Santa Maria’, and ‘Williams’ cultivars, which have an important place in Turkish pear cultivation. Yields of cultivars varied between 12.28 and 23.09 kg/tree, while firmness varied between 4.45 and 9.42 kg, the number of seeds between 7.10 and 9.37 pieces, the amount of soluble solids between 12.22 and 13.40%, the fruit juice pH value between 3.51 and 7.01 and titratable acidity between 0.17 and 0.34%. Chlorogenic acid was found to be the primary phenolic compound in fresh and dried fruit samples, followed by syringic acid. The amount of chlorogenic acid was between 191.56 and 286.58 mg/100 g in fresh fruit samples and between 286.29 and 376.41 mg/100 g in dried fruit samples. It was determined that dried fruit samples had higher phenolic content than fresh fruit samples. The primary organic acid in the fresh and dried fruit samples was malic acid, followed by succinic acid, citric acid, tartaric acid, and fumaric acid. The amount of malic acid was determined between 2213.26 and 34.35.33 mg/100 g and 3070.84 and 5352.79 mg/100 g in fresh and dried fruit samples, respectively. Fresh fruit samples were found to be relatively low in terms of organic acid content compared to dried fruit samples. Glucose and fructose were dominant in both fresh and dried fruit samples. The amount of glucose was determined as 24.07–58.79 mg/kg in fresh samples and 41.30–127.19 mg/kg in dried samples. Antioxidant activity, protein, and vitamin C were higher in dried fruit samples. The antioxidant content varied between 31.74% and 66.55%, and the amount of vitamin C increased significantly with the drying of the samples. The results revealed that drying is preferable for consuming polyphenol-rich pears in the diet.