| Abstrakt: |
The peel of muscadine (Muscadinia rotundifolia Michx.) fruit is thick and is often discarded by consumers due to difficulty in chewing and swallowing. However, the peel contains valuable phytochemicals that are discarded. Freeze-drying halved, deseeded muscadines create an entirely crispy product that allows the peel and flesh to be conveniently consumed year-round. However, it is unclear whether this product retains the same level of nutritional value as frozen muscadines or if there is nutrient degradation during processing. We evaluated the total anthocyanin concentration (TAC), total phenolic content (TPC), and total antioxidant activity (TAA) of six popular muscadine cultivars ("Noble," "Supreme," "Paulk," "Carlos," "Granny Val," "Triumph") to assess the impacts of the freeze-drying process on these compounds. The results showed that unpeeled, deseeded purple cultivars ('Noble', 'Supreme', 'Paulk') had higher levels of bioactive compounds and antioxidant activity compared to bronze cultivars ('Carlos', 'Granny Val', 'Triumph'). Among the purple cultivars, 'Noble' had the highest TAC, TPC, and TAA, followed by 'Supreme' and 'Paulk', which also exhibited greater bioactive compounds and antioxidant activity. In contrast, 'Granny Val' had the lowest levels of bioactive compounds among all cultivars. Multivariate statistical analyses revealed that no compounds (TAC, TPC, and TAA) were affected by the freeze-drying process, as both frozen and freeze-dried fruit were located in the same cluster. This demonstrates that the freeze-drying process did not impact the total bioactive compounds or antioxidant activity of muscadine cultivars, making it a promising preservation process for the production of an appealing and healthy product. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] |
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