Phytochemical and physicochemical studies of different apple varieties grown in Morocco

Abstract

The apple is an important part of the human diet and is one of the most popular fruits in Morocco, with varieties that are now suitable for human consumption. This study aims to clarify several aspects of apples, such as their physical and chemical compositions and nutrient profiles. Total polyphenols, flavonoids, tannins, and anthocyanins were determined using spectrophotometer and organic acid compounds were identified by high-performance liquid chromatography-ultraviolet. The results show a significant difference between the several varieties under study in terms of their physico-chemical and phyto-chemical characteristics. In general, the studied apples are juiciness, with a percentage ranging from 60 to 71%. The pH values demonstrate how acidic the apples are. The Brix parameter denotes values greater than 13°Brix. Total polyphenols and condensed tannins (1154.65 ± 13.54 µg EAG/g and 514.09 ± 32.40 µg EAT/g, respectively) are more present in the Ahjjani variety than they are in other varieties. This demonstrates their good nutritional quality while not being consumable. However, the Story variety has a predominance of flavonoids (75.074 ± 2.309 µg QE/g) and flavones (45.074 ± 2.09 µg QE/g). The detection of organic acids has shown that the acid succinic is the most abundant in all the varieties of studied apple fruits. These results allow us to infer that non-consumable varieties are also important dietary sources of bioactive molecules, notably for polyphenols. The fact that these kinds can be used to produce other byproducts is therefore highly intriguing.