FORMULATION AND CHARACTERIZATION OF A NEW NUTRACEUTICAL PRODUCT BASED ON SWEET CHERRIES (PRUNUS AVIUM L.) GROWN IN THE JERTE VALLEY OF SPAIN

The aim of this research was the identification of the best sweet cherry cultivars for the formulation of a nutraceutical cherry product.
In addition, we evaluated different additives and optimized the procedure for the semi-industrial production of the product.
To achieve these goals, we measured individual cultivar anthocyanin pigments, polyphenol compounds and the indolamines serotonin and melatonin for the following sweet cherry cultivars: ‘Burlat’, ‘Navalinda’, ‘Van’, ‘Pico Negro Limón’, ‘Sweetheart’, ‘Pico Negro’, ‘Ambrunés’ and ‘Pico Colorado’ grown in the Jerte Valley, of Spain.
The cultivars with the highest serotonin and melatonin concentrations (‘Burlat’, ‘Navalinda’, ‘Pico Negro’ and ‘Pico Colorado’) were selected for the formulated product.
The optimized nutraceutical product was composed of 94% fresh fruit mixture (fruit mixture was made by equal proportions of each culti¬var), 1% ascorbic acid, which was added to stabilize anthocyanin pigment coloration, and 5% maltodextrin, which was incorporated into the mixture to help in the freeze-drying process.

VI International Cherry Symposium

M. Garrido, A.B. Rodríguez, M. Lozano, M.T. Hernández , D. González-Gómez

melatonin, serotonin, phenolic compounds

https://doi.org/10.17660/ActaHortic.2014.1020.20