Variations in the phenolic composition of fruit juices with different treatments

Abstract

 In this work we have determined the variations in the composition of phenolic compounds of natural peach and apple juice with different thermal and enzymatic treatments. The following phenolic compounds were identified and quantified in samples of treated and untreated fruit juices: cinnamic acids (caffeic, p-coumaric and ferulic acids), cinnamic derivatives (chlorogenic and p-coumarylquinic acids and feruloylglucose), flavonols (quercetin glycosides), dihydrochalcones (phloretin glycosides), flavan-3-ols [(+)-catechin and (−)-epicatechin], and procyanidins (dimer B₂, trimer C₁ and tetramer T₄). Furfural derivatives, compounds widely used as indicators of prior thermal treatment, were also studied using these samples. The results indicate that the different processes tested gave rise to a series of changes in composition that may make it possible to identify the type of treatment employed on the basis of the composition of phenolic compounds in the fruit juices.