Skip to main content
Log in

Fruit Weight, Total Phenolics, Acidity and Sugar Content of Edible Wild Pear (Pyrus elaeagnifolia Pall.) Fruits

Fruchtgewicht, Gesamt-Phenolgehalt, Säure- und Zuckergehalt zum Verzehr geeigneter Früchte der Wildbirne (Pyrus elaeagnifolia Pall. = Ölweidenblättrige Birne)

  • Original Article
  • Published:
Erwerbs-Obstbau Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Wild pear (Pyrus eleagnifolia) is a naturally grown species mainly in inner Anatolia and its edible small fruits are traditionally consumed by local peoples and are called “Ahlat” in Turkey. Its seedlings are also used as rootstock for commercial pear cultivars. In this study, we reported first time pomological characteristics and biochemical compositions in fruits of a wide number selected wild pears genotypes (Pyrus eleagnifolia Pall.) from inner Anatolia. The obtained results revealed that there were significant differences among wild pear genotypes for all analyzed parameters. Fruit weight, total phenolics, total acidity and total sugar contents of the fruits varied from 4.71 to 27.09 g, 42.79 to 119.14 mg GAE/100 g, 0.20 to 1.40 g/100 g and 8.36 to 19.31 g/100 g, respectively. Considering these values, it was concluded that naturally grown wild pears of Anatolia with their rich salubrious biochemical compounds could reliably be used as a food source for humans.

Zusammenfassung

Die Ölweidenblättrige Birne kommt hauptsächlich im Inneren Anatoliens natürlich vor und ihre genießbaren, kleinen Früchte werden traditionell von den ortsansässigen Bewohnern verzehrt. Die Früchte werden in der Türkei „Ahlat“ genannt. Ihre Sämlinge werden ebenfalls als Unterlagen für kommerziell angebaute Birnensorten verwendet. In dieser Untersuchung berichteten wir erstmals über pomologische Eigenschaften und biochemische Zusammensetzungen einer umfangreichen Anzahl an Früchten ausgewählter Wildbirnen-Genotypen (Pyrus eleagnifolia Pall.) aus dem Inneren Anatoliens. Die gewonnenen Ergebnisse zeigten, dass es zwischen den Genotypen der Wildbirne bei allen untersuchten Parametern signifikante Unterschiede gab. Das Fruchtgewicht, der Gesamt-Phenolgehalt, die Gesamt-Säure und der Gesamt-Zuckergehalt der Früchte variierten jeweils zwischen 4,71 und 27,09 g, von 42,79 bis 119,14 mg GAE/100 g, von 0,20 bis 1,40 g/100 g und von 8,36 bis 19,31 g/100 g. Diese Werte lassen den Schluss zu, dass natürlich gewachsene Ölweidenblättrige Birnen aus Anatolien mit ihren gesunden, biochemischen Inhaltsstoffen zuverlässig als Nahrungsquelle für den Menschen genutzt werden könnten.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Baytop T (2004) Therapy with medicinal plants in Turkey (past and present). Nobel Press, Istanbul, p 353

    Google Scholar 

  • Buttner R (2001) Pyrus. In: Hanelt, P. Institute of Plant Genetics and Crop Plant Researches (ed) Mansfelds encyclopedia of agricultural and horticultural crops, pp. 462–471 Springer, Gaterslaben.

  • Cansaran A, Kaya OF, Yıldırım C (2007) A ethnobotany study in Ovabasi, Akpinar, Gulluce and Koseler villages in Gumushacikoy district/Amasya province. Firat Univ Sci Eng J 19(3):243–257

    Google Scholar 

  • Cemeroglu B (2007) Food analysis. Food Technol Union 34:535

    Google Scholar 

  • Chen J, Wang Z, Wub J, Wang Q, Hub X (2007) Chemical compositional characterization of eight pear cultivars grown in China. Food Chem 104:268–275

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Craig W, Beck L (1999) Phytochemicals: health protective effects. Can J Diet Pract Res 60:78–84

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Ercisli S (2004) A short review of the fruit germplasm resources of Turkey. Genet Res Crop Evol 51:419–435

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ercisli S, Orhan E (2008) Some physico-chemical characteristics of black mulberry (Morus nigra L.) genotypes from Northeast Anatolia region of Turkey. Sci Hort 116:41–46

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Ercisli S, Sengul, Yildiz H, Sener D, Duralija B, Voca S, Purgar DD (2012) Phytochemical and antioxidant characteristics of medlar fruits (Mespilus germanica L.). J Appl Bot Food Qual 85:86–90

  • Fourie PC, Hansmann CF, Oberholzer HM (1991) Sugar content of fresh apples and pears in South Africa. J Agric Food Chem 39:1938–1939

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Hussain S, Masud T, Ali S, Bano R, Ali A (2013) Some physico-chemical attributes of pear (Pyrus communis L.) cultivars grown in Pakistan. Int J Biosci 3(129):206–215

    Google Scholar 

  • Jurikova T, Rop O, Mlcek J, Sochor J, Balla S, Szekeres L, Hegedusova A, Hubalek J, Adam V, Kizek R (2011) Phenolics profile of edible honeysuckle berries (Genus Lonicera) and their biological effects. Molecules 17(1):61–79

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Jurikova T, Sochor J, Rop O, Mlcek J, Balla S, Szekeres L, Adam V, Kizek R (2012) Polyphenolics profile and biological activity of Chinese hawthorn (Crataegus pinnatifida BUNGE) fruits. Molecules 17(12):14490–14509

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Karadeniz F (1999) A research on the chemical composition of pear juice. Turk J Agric For 23:355–358

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Karadeniz F, Burdurlu HS, Koca N, Soyer Y (2005) Antioxidant activity of selected fruits and vegetables grown in Turkey. Turk J Agric For 29:297–303

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Keles H, Akca Y, Ercisli S (2014) Selection of promising walnut genotypes (Juglans regia L.) from inner Anatolia. Acta Sci Pol Hortorum Cultus 13(3):167–173

    Google Scholar 

  • Koc A, Bilgener S (2013) Morphological characterization of cherry rootstock candidates selected from Samsun Province in Turkey. Turk J Agric For 37(5):575–584

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Marinova D, Ribarova F, Atanassova F (2005) Total phenolics and total flavonoids in Bulgarian fruits and vegetables. J Univ Chem Tech Metal 40:255–260

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Ozturk I, Ercisli S, Kalkan F, Demir B (2009) Some chemical and physico-mechanical properties of pear cultivars. Afr J Biotechnol 8(4):687–693

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Radivojevic DD, Milivojevic JM, Oparnica CDj, Vulic TB, Djordjevic BS, Ercisli S (2014) Impact of early cropping on vegetative development, productivity, and fruit quality of Gala and Braeburn apple trees. Turk J Agric For 38(6):773–780

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Saldamli I (2007) Food chemistry. Hacettepe University Publication, Ankara, pp 463–492 (in Turkish)

    Google Scholar 

  • Salta J, Martins A, Santos RG, Neng NR, Nogueira JMF, Justino J, Rauter AP (2010) Phenolics composition and antioxidant activity of Rocha pear and other pear cultivars—A comparative study. J Funct Foods 2:153–157

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Sanchez GAC, Angel GI, Maria IG (2003) Comparative study of six pear cultivars in terms of their phenolics and vitamin C contents and antioxidant capacity. J Sci Food Agric 83:995–1003

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Schieber A, Keller P, Carle R (2001) Determination of phenolics acids and flavonoids of apple and pear by high-performance liquid chromatography. J Chromatogr 910:265–273

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Sengul M, Eser Z, Ercisli S (2014) Chemical properties and antioxidant capacity of cornelian cherry genotypes grown in Coruh valley of Turkey. Acta Sci Pol Hortorum Cultus 13(4):73–82

    Google Scholar 

  • Singleton VL, Rossi JA (1965) Colorimetry of total phenolics with phosphomolybdic-phosphotungstic acid reagents. Amer J Enol Vit 16:144–158

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Tanaka M, Kuei CW, Nagashima Y, Taguchi T (1998) Application of antioxidative maillrad reaction products from histidine and glucose to sardine products. Nippon Suisan Gakkaishi 54:1409–1414

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Yerliturk FU, Arslan O, Sinan S, Gencer N, Ozensoy GO (2008) Characterization of polyphenoloxidase from wild pear (Pyrus elaegnifolia). J Food Biochem 32:368–383

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Yildiz H, Sengul M, Celik F, Hegedus A, Ercisli S, Tosun M (2010) Some phytochemical and antioxidant characteristics of wild and cultivated blackberry (Rubus caucasicus) fruits. J Food Agric Environ 8(3&4):156–159

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Yilmaz KU, Ercisli S, Zengin Y, Sengul M, Kafkas E (2009) Preliminary characterisation of cornelian cherry (Cornus mas L.) genotypes for their physico-chemical properties. Food Chem 114:408–412

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgements

The authors are grateful to the Erciyes University Scientific Research Projects Unit (Project No: FBA-10-3302) for the financial support.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Sezai Ercisli.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Ugurtan Yilmaz, K., Ercisli, S., Cam, M. et al. Fruit Weight, Total Phenolics, Acidity and Sugar Content of Edible Wild Pear (Pyrus elaeagnifolia Pall.) Fruits. Erwerbs-Obstbau 57, 179–184 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10341-015-0246-6

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10341-015-0246-6

Keywords

Schlüsselwörter

Navigation