Study of agronomical and postharvest factors influencing qualitative and nutraceutical traits on blood orange and pomegranate fruits

Abstract

The awareness of consumers on the importance of food safety and of potential benefits of many fruit and vegetable derived products are, more and more, driving the interest of research institutes and food industries to deepen the knowledge on the quality of raw materials for fresh or processed use or to design food products enriched with nutraceutical substances. Several factors influence composition and quality of food products in pre- and post-harvest stages, such as cultivar and rootstock, agronomical techniques and storage conditions. The possibility to enhance the synthesis of some chemical compounds, in particular nutraceuticals (flavonoids, such as phenols and anthocyanins) is an important strategy in order to obtain foods with high functional activity. The overall aim of the PhD thesis is the evaluation of agronomical and postharvest factors that can influence the qualitative and nutraceutical traits of two important fruit products i.e. blood oranges and pomegranates. These fruits are characterized by a high anthocyanin content greatly appreciated by the consumers for their nutraceutical properties. The influence of several rootstocks on yield precocity and fruit quality and the effect of postharvest treatments on qualitative parameters were mainly considered in the case of blood oranges. As concerning pomegranate the investigation was focused on nutraceutical and physicochemical evolution observed in different studies regarding the comparison of international cultivars grown in Italy and Spain and the characterization of several Sicilian pomegranate accessions. On the whole, the results are interesting for their contribution to the comprehension of the many factors, from varietal choice up to fruit postharvest management, affecting the qualitative profiles of the products with a special emphasis on those compounds valuable for their nutraceutical properties.