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Abstract

In this paper, characteristics and chemical composition of chaenomeles fruit juice are reported for different taxa in the genus Chaenomeles (C. japonica, C. speciosa, C. cathayensis, C. japonica x C. speciosa, and C. x superba). Average fruit weight was 27–211 g and the juice yield was 42–50% based on fresh weight of fruits. The chaenomeles juice was very acidic, with a pH of 2.5–2.8, and the titratable acidity was at most 4.2% calculated as anhydrous citric acid. The content of vitamin C and phenols was in general high, 45–109 mg ascorbic acid and 210–592 mg phenol per 100 ml juice, respectively. Three main organic acids were detected in the juice: malic acid, quinic acid and succinic acid. Of the organic acids malic acid was present in the highest amount, at most 5.1 g/100 ml. Ten amino acids were detected: phosphoserine, aspartic acid, threonine, serine, asparagine, glutamic acid, alanine, phenyalanine, γ- aminobutyric acid and lysine. The most abundant amino acid was glutamic acid (up to 14 mg/100 ml), followed by phosphoserine and aspartic acid (6 mg/100 ml). Five cations were detected: sodium, ammonium, potassium, magnesium and calcium. Of the cations, potassium was present in the highest amount (up to 241 mg/100 ml). Two inorganic anions were present in high amounts: fluoride (up to 139 mg/100 ml) and chloride (9 mg/100 ml). Nine carbohydrates were detected: stachyose, raffinose, sucrose, glucose, xylose, rhamnose, fructose, inositol and sorbitol. Of the carbohydrates, fructose (up to 2.3 g/100 ml), glucose (up to 1.1 g/100 ml) and sorbitol (up to 0.5 g/100 ml) were present in the highest amounts. Due to its characteristics and composition, chaenomeles juice is considered a potential source of valuable compounds and an interesting ingredient for the food industry.