Progress of Cryogenics and Isotopes Separation , ISSN: 1582-2575
2016, Volume 19, Issue 2

Changes in Polyphenolic Content of Berry Skins from Different Red Grapes Cultivars During Ripening

Violeta Niculescu 1 , Roxana Elena Ionete 1 , Elisabeta-Irina Geana 1 , Victoria Artem 2 , Aurora Ranca 2

1 National Research and Development Institute for Cryogenics and Isotopic Technologies - ICSI Rm. Valcea, Uzinei Street no. 4, PO Box Râureni 7, 240050, Râmnicu Vâlcea, Romania
2 Research Station for Viticulture and Oenology Murfatlar, Murfatlar 905100, Romania

*Corresponding author: Irina Geana, E-mail: irina.geana@icsi.ro

Published: October 2016


Abstract

High quality wines are now increasingly popular, with a high impact to consumers, especially due to the numerous beneficial effects that phenolic compounds have on human health because of their antioxidant activity. The phenolic compounds are found in grape skin, seeds, and pulp of the berry, from where are extracted into wine. To produce high quality wines, the harvesting of grapes at a high phenolic maturity is mandatory.

In this work the phenolic composition of five red wine grape cultivars (Vitis vinifera L.) namely Pinot Noir, Feteasca Neagra, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Mamaia, originated from Murfatlar viticultural region, South-East Romania, during one ripening season, was characterized and assessed. Individual polyphenol composition and total polyphenols (TP), at different harvest dates, were determined by HPLC-PDA analysis and Folin-Ciocalteu spectrophotometric analysis.

The results showed that (+)-catechin, (-)-epicatechin and rutin were the most representative phenolic compounds in the grape skins, with concentrations between 10.0 ÷ 104.8 µg/100 g, 5.5 ÷ 150.1 µg/100 g and 1.9 ÷ 225.9 µg/100 g, respectively. During grape ripening there were significant changes in phenolic content of the grape skins, and this is important to determine the optimal harvest time, which will ensure grapes with very good quality parameters. Thus, phenolic maturity was reached early for Mamaia and Pinot Noir grape variety, with a maximum of TP values about 6.74 and 20.21 mg GAE/g respectively, while for Cabernet Sauvignon, Feteasca Neagra and Merlot grape variety, the maturity was achieved after a week, with a maximum of TP values about 15.02, 12.53 and 9.71 mg GAE/g respectively.


Keywords

Phenolic compounds, grape skins, HPLC, UV-VIS.


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