The comparison of gooseberry biochemical composition in different ripening stages

Though gooseberries are still considered as a minor berry crop, there is an increasing interest of growers, processors, and consumers in gooseberries and their products. However, there is still not enough information about the nutritional value of gooseberry cultivars in different ripening stages and products. The aim of this study was to evaluate the biochemical composition and nutritional value of 10 gooseberry cultivars and hybrids in two different ripening stages. The experiments were done at the Faculty of Food Technology, Latvia University of Agriculture (LLU), and the samples were collected from farm “Mucenieki” at technical maturity and fully ripen stages. The contents of ascorbic acid, total phenols, carotenoids, soluble solids, titratable acids, and pH of fresh gooseberry hybrid 323/09, 'Hinnomaki strain', 'Kolobok', 'Lada', 'Lielas Dzeltenas', 'Masheka', 'Nezhnii', 'Russkii', 'Sadko', and 'Tukuma Konfeksu' were analysed. There were significant differences between the total carotenoids composition of the gooseberry samples in the technical and fully ripen stages: the carotenoids significantly increased during ripening. The highest carotenoid content, in both ripening stages, was detected in the gooseberry 'Masheka' (1.23 and 2.30 mg 100 g^-1, respectively). The soluble solid content during ripening increased significantly, while the titratable acid content decreased. The highest soluble solid content was detected in 'Russkii', meanwhile the lowest titratable acid content was observed in the ripen 'Lielas Dzeltenas'. There were no significant differences between the ascorbic acid and total phenolic content between the two ripening stages, although a tendency was observed that berries in fully ripen stage contained more phenols than in the technical maturity stage. The highest ascorbic acid content was found in the 'Masheka' and 'Tukuma Konfeksu' gooseberries, but the highest phenolic content was detected in the 'Tukuma Konfeksu' gooseberry.