Morphological and Biochemical Diversity in Fruits of Rowanberry (Sorbus aucuparia L.) Genotypes; [Morphologische und biochemische Vielfalt in Früchten von Genotypen der Vogelbeere (Sorbus aucuparia L.)]

The world is presently over-dependent on a few fruit species. Diversification of production and consumption habits to include a broader range of fruit species, particularly those currently identified as underutilized, could significantly contribute to improve human health and nutrition, livelihoods and ecological sustainability. Rowanberry or Mountain ash (Sorbus aucuparia) is one of the neglected fruit species and needs to be studied on it. In present study wild grown rowanberry genotypes in Coruh valley located Northeastern part of Turkey were evaluated first time for some important human health and nutrient content. Results indicated that fruit color indices, pH, organic acids, specific sugars, total phenolic content, vitamin C and antioxidant activity of rowanberry fruits significantly differed among genotypes. L, chroma and hue values of genotypes were found between 30.12–41.04; 27.07–32.81 and 30.44–44.06, respectively. Glucose was the dominant sugar in rowan fruits and among organic acids, Malic acid was found to be the highest. Total phenolic content, vitamin C and antioxidant activity varied from 161–204 mg GAE per 100 g, 28.4–38.2 mg per 100 g and 2.93–5.68 mM trolox equivalent per 100 g fresh weight basis. Results indicated that developing the market potential for rowan fruits depend on better marketing and reliable supply of the end product. Because rowanberry fruits rich in nutrients and vitamins, more detailed research and scientific investigation needed to explore those properties. © 2021, Springer-Verlag GmbH Deutschland, ein Teil von Springer Nature.