Chemical Composition and Antioxidant Capacity of the Fruits of European Plum Cultivar Cacanska Lepotica Influenced by Different Rootstocks

We investigated the influence of different rootstocks on the content of sugars, organic acids, and antioxidant phenolic compounds in the whole fruit and fruit skin of the European plum cultivar Cacanska Lepotica. H-1 NMR of the fruit extracts allowed for the identification of sucrose, alpha- and beta-glucose, sorbitol, fructose, and malic and quinic acids, while LC-DAD-ESIMS showed the presence of neochlorogenic and chlorogenic acids, cyanidin-3-O-glucoside, cyanidin-3-O-rutinoside, peonidin-3-O-glucoside, peonidin-3-O-rutinoside, hyperoside, isoquercitrin, rutin, and unidentified quercetin-3-diglycoside. The quantitation of the sugars, malic and quinic acids by H-1 NMR and phenolic compounds by HPLC-DAD revealed that the rootstock significantly influenced the content of the individual compounds in the fruit skin and fruit. The fruit grafted on Wavit rootstock was characterized by significant amounts of neochlorogenic acid, peonidin-3-O-rutinoside, cyanidin-3-O-rutinoside, and sucrose, while the fruit on GXN-15 was characterized by high levels of sugars, cyanidin-3-O-glucoside, and malic and chlorogenic acids. The fruit skins of plums grafted on Wavit were the richest in sugars, organic acids, and phenolic compounds. A good correlation was observed between the content of total phenolics (TPC), flavonoids (TFC), anthocyanins (TAC), and individual phenolic compounds in the extracts of the fruit and the fruit skins and their antioxidant capacity (DPPH, ABTS, and FRAP).

Automated summary

This study investigated the influence of different rootstocks on the content of sugars, organic acids, and antioxidant phenolic compounds in the European plum cultivar Cacanska Lepotica. The results showed that the rootstock significantly affected the content of individual compounds in the fruit, and the fruit skins were rich in sugars, organic acids, and phenolic compounds.