POMOLOGICAL TRAITS, SENSORY CHARACTERISTICS, AND ANTIOXIDANT ACTIVITY IN FRUITS OF NINE LOQUAT CULTIVARS GROWN IN SICILY

Loquat cultivation in Italy currently aims at offering a wider choice of cultivars to growers. The present study determined commercial quality, characterized the antioxidant capacity, and quantified the major bioactive compounds of some local ('BRT 20', 'Claudia', 'Nespolone di Trabia', 'Sanfilippara') and international ('Algerie', 'El Buenet', 'Bueno', 'Golden Nugget' and 'Peluche') cultivars. Fruit was harvested at commercial ripening and chemical-physical determinations of weight, diameters, skin and flesh color, soluble solid content, tritable acidity, antioxidant activity and polyphenol content, and sensory analyses were carried out. Data showed a large variability among genotypes and …