Phytochemical Properties and Volatile Composition P rofile of Nine Early Maturing Mandarins Cultivated in South-E ast Spain

Abstract

Many new varieties of mandarins have not been chara cterized from the nutritional and organoleptic point of view. It is important to know this information in order to select the cultivars of the highest quality. We characterized the physicochemical properties of 9 commercial early-maturing mandarins from south-east Spain: Four "Traditional Clementines" (Clemenules, Orogrande, Arrufatina, Or onules), 4 "New Clementines" (Loretina, Mioro, Clemenpons and Clemenrubí or Prim -23) and one "Satsuma" (Iwasaqui). ‘Oronules’, ‘Clemenules’ and ‘Iwasaki’ were the varieties that had the highest fresh weight (>120 g). The “Mioro” variety had the highest acidity (12.50 g L -1 ), and the juices from “Loretina” and “Mioro” showed the highe st values of total soluble solids: 12.77 and 12.57 (ºBrix), respectively. “Loretina” a nd “Oronules” showed the most elevated values of total phenolic compounds, with 7 8.75 and 75.56 mg L -1 respectively. The main volatile compound was the monoterpene limo nene. Following limonene in concentration was β ββ β -myrcene (25 μ g L -1 ). “Clemenrubí” was the best variety for fresh consumption among the 9 examined, due to its high c ontent of total phenols and ascorbic acid. Limonene was the main aroma of the mandarin j uice, and the “Mioro” cultivar showed a different profile from the rest of cultiva rs studied according to the principal component analysis performed. Keywords: Citrus, Clementines, Physicochemical properties, S atsumas.