Assessment of Mineral Content and some Biochemical Properties in 8 Local Pomegranate Juice Cultivars

Pomegranate is one of the important and an oldest fruit that is grown in vast regions. In recent years pomegranate juice is became a popular beverage. This study was carried out to investigate the mineral elements and some biochemical properties of juice in eight local Iranian pomegranate cultivars. The results showed a significant difference in the studied traits in all cultivars. The potassium content in pomegranate juice was higher than other elements, followed by calcium, sodium, phosphorus, magnesium, iron, manganese, zinc and copper. Potassium, calcium and iron was found the highest in chr('39')Golabichr('39'), meanwhile the highest amount of  magnesium and sodium measured in chr('39')Sorahichr('39') cultivars. chr('39')Aliakbarichr('39') had the highest amount of manganese and zinc and chr('39')Lopsorkhichr('39') and chr('39')Mirzaeichr('39') had the highest value of phosphorus and copper, respectively. The lowest amount of potassium and iron was observed in chr('39')Lopsorkhichr('39') and chr('39')Aliakbarichr('39') cultivars, respectively. For other elements, chr('39')Garchr('39') had the lowest concentration. In terms of biochemical properties such as total soluble solids (TSS), maturity index (MI) and acidity (pH) of juice, chr('39')Golabi, Lopsorkhi and Sorahichr('39') cultivars had the highest value. chr('39')Sorahichr('39') and chr('39')Aliakbarichr('39') cultivars with the highest amount of titrable acid were sour and suitable for industries pomegranate production, which require sour taste. Other cultivars were introduced due to the proper amounts of mineral elements and sweet and sour taste for fresh consumption and pomegranate juice production industry. The two-dimensional graph, based on the principal components analysis, confirmed the results of grouping the cultivars based on the comparison of the mean.