abouzar hashempour

Antioxidants are diverse groups of biological compounds, including phenolic compounds, flavonoids, alkaloids, and terpenoids, which act as free radical scavenging. Fruits are the natural antioxidant resources that constitute principal dietary components. Therefore, identifying the type and amount of antioxidant compounds in different fruits and the factors affecting them is crucial to achieving a diet rich in antioxidants. The quality and quantity of antioxidant compounds in fruits are influenced by various factors such as climate, species and cultivars, fruit developmental stage, processing methods, and storage conditions. In horticulture, fruits are divided into three categories based on climatic origin, including temperate fruits (rich in anthocyanins and phenolic acids) such as apples, grapes, and berries, subtropical fruits (rich in flavonoids and phenolic acids) such as pomegranate and olives, and tropical fruits (rich in flavonoids and carotenoids) such as bananas and mangoes. Also, there is a significant variation in the quantity and quality of antioxidant compounds in a specimen of fruits, which can be the basis for selecting parents by breeders to achieve antioxidant-rich cultivars. The amount of phenolic compounds in fruits is related to the degree of fruit maturity or ripening, and usually, with increasing age, the amount of phenolic compounds increases. From a processing point of view, recently, the use of wine and olive industry waste products has been considered as a potential source of dietary or food preserving antioxidants. In this review, various antioxidant compounds in different fruits have been considered, and the factors affecting their quality and quantity are discussed.

In this study, the quantitative and qualitative characteristics of the olive oil of three promising genotypes (T2, T7 and T18) and two cultivars (Zard and Koroneiki) from Tarom olive collection in Zanjan province were evaluated during two crop years (2017-2018). The results showed that T18 genotype with 70.96% and 69.58% oil in flesh dry matter had the highest amount of oil during 2017 and 2018, respectively, compared to other cultivars and genotypes. Also T18 genotype had the highest percentage of oleic acid and total unsaturated fatty acids with a double bonds. The oleic acid content of T18 genotype in 2017 and 2018 was 80.3% and 79.8%, respectively. In addition, the amount of palmitic acid in T18 genotype (9.5% and 10.3% in 2017 and 2018, respectively) was also lower than other cultivars and genotypes. T7 genotype had higher linoleic acid (14.2 and 18.67% in 2017 and 2018, respectively) and lower oleic acid (66.8 and 60.5% in 2017 and 2018, respectively). Based on principal component analysis (first four components), the first component was mostly associated with the traits of positive effect on the olive oil quality such as oleic acid and unsaturated fatty acids and increasing the oil percentage. In general, according to the results of this experiment, T18 genotype was superior to other cultivars and genotypes in terms of quantity and quality of oil and can be included in the cultivar introduction program.

Witches’ broom disease of lime (WBDL), caused by ‘Candidatus Phytoplasma aurantifolia’, is major limiting factor for Mexican lime (Citrus aurantifolia Swingle) production in southern Iran. In this investigation, biochemical composition profiling of the healthy and infected rooted Mexican lime wasmonitored during WBDL progression (90-330 days) as well as to distinguish infected from healthy Mexican limes under greenhouse conditions. For this aim, stem cuttings is taken from healthy Mexican lime. After three months, half of Mexican lime cutting were inoculated by bark-grafting from WBDL-affected Mexican. Six healthy and infected plants were sampled 90, 150, 210, 270 and 330 days after inoculation with Phytoplasma. Pigments, total phenol, antioxidant capacity, soluble carbohydrate and starch content in leaves were measured. Results showed Phytoplasmal infection caused growth inhibition and reduced stem and root dry mater. Moreover, infection mostly caused to a marked decrease in pigments and significantly increased soluble carbohydrates and starch. In Mexican lime leaves, phenol contents and antioxidant capacity were increased after inoculation with Phytoplasma. In addition, the principal components analysis (PCA) revealed a clear distinction between the leaf biochemical profiles of healthy and infected plants during the progression of WBDL. In conclusion, this study provides new insights into the lime response to phytoplasma infection during the progression of WBDL. Finally, we showed that healthy plants can be isolated from infected plants using biochemical profiles.

In this study the pomological characteristics and antioxidant compounds of 13 genotypes of ber fruit collected from the Hormozgan province were evaluated. Ber fruits harvested at commercial maturity stage and their quantitative and qualitative characteristics were studied. The results showed that there is a significant difference between ber genotypes for these traits. The highest fruit and flesh weight, fruit diameter and fruit flesh percentage was related to genotype G3. The highest fruits and seeds were belonged to genotype G11. The level of total soluble solids (TSS), titratable acidity (TA) and TSS/TA ratio were higher respectively in the G9, G3 and G10 genotypes than others. Biochemical measurement results showed that the total phenolics and flavonoids content and antioxidant capacity of fruits is the highest in the genotype G5, while the highest amount of vitamin C obtained from genotype G4. Amount of catechin and quercetin of flavonoids were maximum, respectively in the genotypes G3 and G10. Positive correlation was observed between the amount of antioxidant activity with vitamin C, total phenolics and flavonoids content of ber fruit genotypes. Overall, the results of this study demonstrated that sensory attributes in the G10 and quantitative properties and antioxidant compounds in G3 genotype were higher and ber could be cultivated as a fruit with high nutritional values in the appropriate areas.