Investigation of Physicochemical Properties, Antioxidant Activity and In vitro Bioaccessibility of Cornelian Cherry (Cornus mas. L.) Nectar Enriched

Abstract

Cornelian cherry (Cornus mas L.) fruit is a member of the cranberry family, which contains many bioactive components. However, because of its bitter taste, the number of products it can be processed is limited. In this study, beverages were prepared by adding five different herbal teas (linden, sage, chamomile, green tea, artichoke peel) to cranberry nectar sweetened with apple juice concentrate. Brix, pH, antioxidant capacity, (DPPH, FRAP, CUPRAC), total phenolic content, total monomeric anthocyanin, color (L*, a*, b*, C*, h°) and in vitro bioaccessibility analyzes were performed in the beverages. Results of antioxidant capacity analysis were determined between 129.00±11.85 µmol TE/g DM- 365.42±2.62 µmol TE/g DM; 56.61±16.42 µmol TE/g DM – 103.39±2.36 µmol TE/g DM; 157.97±25.35 µmol TE/g DM – 276.82±22.81 µmol TE/g DM with DPPH, CUPRAC and FRAP methods, respectively. The total phenolic content was found between 655.35±24.17 mg GAE/100 g DM and 1165.09±30.69 mg GAE/100 g DM. The beverages containing green tea infusion (4.13±1.69 mg/kg) had the lowest total monomeric anthocyanin content, while beverages containing artichoke peel infusion (6.33±0.67 mg/kg) had the highest. In the samples analyzed after in vitro gastric digestion, an increase was observed in the total monomeric anthocyanin amount compared to the pre-digested samples, while a decrease was found in the antioxidant capacity and total phenolic content, in general. By adding herbal teas to cornelian cherry nectar, not only improved sensorial and nutritional properties of the fruit nectar, but also a new functional beverage was developed.