Abstract
There is a growing interest in Corema album (L.) D. Don fruits due to the unique white colour, mildly acidic lemony flavour and health-promoting properties associated with its bioactive composition. This study performs a physical–chemical characterisation of cultivated C. album fruits from a multi-origin clonal field. The field comprises ten wild populations with distinct geographical origins, grown under the same edaphoclimatic conditions. We analysed fruits CIELab colour parameters, texture profile (TPA), pH, acidity (TA, g.100 mL−1), soluble solids content (SSC, %) and total phenolic content (TPC, mg CAE.100 g−1). Our results showed differences between fruits physical–chemical attributes. Variation patterns in fruits SSC and hardness suggest that the differences might be related to the original geographical location of the populations. The determined TPC levels in all samples were very encouraging at a bioactive level, ranging from 185.3 to 355.6 mg CAE.100 g−1. Fruits from Mira and Pego populations stood out from the ten geographical provenances. Mira fruit samples had higher sweetness and lower acidity, while the Pego ones had firmer fruits and higher phenolic content. The multi-origin clonal field allowed us to offer an interesting scientific comparative background, highlighting the large potential of these berries for introduction in the commercial market. Not only our results support the potential of white crowberry as a new crop; the detected differences also indicate a hidden capacity for small fruit market diversification.
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Acknowledgements
Authors JJ, MG, CM and CA acknowledge financial support from Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia (FCT), through the strategic project UIDB/00329/2020 granted to the Centre for Ecology, Evolution and Environmental Changes, cE3c, Faculdade de Ciências, Universidade de Lisboa. Author CA also acknowledges the financial support from FCT, through a postdoctoral fellowship (SFRH/BPD/126703/2016). The white crowberry clonal field established at "Herdade Experimental da Fataca" was funded by the Operational Group ‘‘CompetitiveSouthBerries’’ (Partnership no. 21/Initiative no. 29/PDR2020-101-031721) which was co-financed by the PDR2020, Portugal 2020 and the European Commission.
Funding
Authors JJ, MG, CM and CA acknowledge financial support from Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia (FCT), through the strategic project UIDB/00329/2020 granted to the Centre for Ecology, Evolution and Environmental Changes, cE3c, Faculdade de Ciências, Universidade de Lisboa. Author CA also acknowledges the financial support from FCT, through a postdoctoral fellowship (SFRH/BPD/126703/2016). The white crowberry clonal field established at "Herdade Experimental da Fataca" was funded by the Operational Group ‘‘CompetitiveSouthBerries’’ (Partnership no. 21/Initiative no. 29/PDR2020-101-031721) which was co-financed by the PDR2020, Portugal 2020 and the European Commission.
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Jacinto, J., Giovanetti, M., Oliveira, P.B. et al. Quality attributes of cultivated white crowberries (Corema album (L.) D. Don) from a multi-origin clonal field. Euphytica 217, 40 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10681-021-02767-2
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10681-021-02767-2