Valore funzionale di ciliegie da varie cultivar

Sweet cherries (Prunus Avium L.) are highly appreciated fruits for their excellent nutritional and functional values, and the “Ciliegia di Vignola” trademark is well known in region Emilia Romagna as well as in Italy. Between the various cultivars grown in the area, traditional ones such as Anellone, Nero I, Nero II and Moretta are the most important. The chemo-physical characterization of sweet cherries and the research of component of particular interest has been carried out by others authors in the recent past. For these reason we have decided to study some functional properties of sweet cherries coming from the Vignola area. Samples belonging to nine different cultivars, grown in an experimental camp, were harvested during years 2006-2010 at commercial ripening. For each cultivar samples grown with both organic (O) and conventional (C) farming were harvested. Total phenolic substance, total anthocyanins, Fe2+ chelating activity, antioxidant and reducing power were determined in each sample. The extracts were obtained using acidified methanol from 20g of exactly weighted of edible matter. Total phenolic determination has been carried out using the Folin-Ciocalteu method and expressed as mg of gallic acid per 100g of edible matter. Total anthocyanins determination has been carried out using the colorimetric pH differential method, measuring the absorbance at 510 nm at pH 1 and 4.5. The difference between measured absorbance is proportional to the anthocyanins content, expressed as mg of cyanidine per 100g of edible matter. Antioxidant power has been evaluated measuring the inhibition of a constant quantity of a stable radical (DPPH, 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl), expressed as trolox µeq per g. Reducing power and Fe2+ chelating activity are two useful properties for the evaluation of antioxidant properties: the former has been measured using Oyaizu method, while the latter has been evaluated using Dinis method. For these determination, measured absorbance of a standardized volume of sample has been used as an activity index. Results obtained with these analysis are generally in agreement with those reported in literature. In some cases standard deviation is considerably high: this is due to the difference in the climatic condition during the ripening process in the considered years. There are no significant differences between samples grown with conventional and organic farming, thus confirming that the organic approach can produce fruits with the same functional properties than the conventional one. The most interesting cultivar, because of its high phenolic contents and superior antioxidant activity, is certainly Moretta. The cultivar Nero II also shows interesting functional properties, while cultivar Sweetheart is characterized by the lowest measured values. Reported results confirm the good functional properties of sweet cherries in general and of Moretta cultivar in particular. It is therefore possible to say that the consumption of those fruits in a balanced diet can have a positive effect on the health of the consumer.