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Comparing Physico-Chemical and Antioxidant Properties of White-Fleshed and Red-Fleshed Pitaya (Hylocereus spp.) Cultivars

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Abstract

Pitaya (Hylocereus spp.) is one of the fruit species that are beneficial for human health due to their high antioxidant capacity and other bioactive compounds. In this study, it was aimed to compare the physico-chemical and antioxidant properties of the fruits of white-fleshed (Hylocereus undatus, cv. ‘Vietnam White’) and red-fleshed (Hylocereus polyrhizus, cv. ‘Royal Red’) pitaya cultivars. For this, mature fruit samples were taken from pitaya plants grown under high plastic tunnel in Antalya/Turkiye, which is subtropical climate. Then, the fruit weight, fruit flesh weight, fruit peel weight, fruit length, fruit width, fruit flesh firmness, peel skin, fruit skin color (L*, a*, b*), total soluble solid (TSS), titratable acidity (TA), pH, total phenolic, total flavonoid and total antioxidant capacity were determined. According to obtained data, the highest the fruit weight (298.06 g), fruit length (100.58 mm), fruit flesh firmness (3.90 kg/cm2), fruit skin weight (90.27 g), peel skin (3.58 mm), L* (44.67) value and TA content (0.39%) was recorded in white-fleshed ‘Vietnam White’ cultivar, while the highest total phenolic (133.06 mg GAE/100 g), total flavonoid (63.13 mg catechin/100 g) and total antioxidant capacity (73.29%) was determined in red-fleshed ‘Royal Red’ cultivar. As a result, the study findings founded that the red-fleshed ‘Royal Red’ cultivar performed better than the white-fleshed ‘Vietnam White’ cultivar for antioxidant properties.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Agriculture Faculty, Department of Horticulturae, Isparta University of Applied Sciences, Isparta, Türkiye

    Ayşe Vildan Pepe, Fatma Yıldırım & Adnan Nurhan Yıldırım

  2. Agriculture Faculty, Department of Agricultural Biotechnology, Isparta University of Applied Sciences, Isparta, Türkiye

    Civan Çelik

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  1. Ayşe Vildan Pepe
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  2. Civan Çelik
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  4. Adnan Nurhan Yıldırım
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Correspondence to Ayşe Vildan Pepe.

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A.V. Pepe, C. Çelik, F. Yıldırım and A.N. Yıldırım declare that they have no competing interests.

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Pepe, A.V., Çelik, C., Yıldırım, F. et al. Comparing Physico-Chemical and Antioxidant Properties of White-Fleshed and Red-Fleshed Pitaya (Hylocereus spp.) Cultivars. Applied Fruit Science (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10341-024-01062-3

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