Toussaint Barboni*, Nathalie Chiaramonti, Svetlana Petlitckaia, Jean-Valère Lorenzetti
In this study, the effects of storage, geographic origin, and distribution of sugars and vitamin C in kiwifruits were examined. Analyses were carried out using an HPLC-DAD system. The main sugars in Hayward and Kramer varieties of kiwifruits were fructose (34.8 and 41.1 g/L) and glucose (35.2 and 40.3 g/L), respectively. The sugar concentrations were higher in Hayward compared to the Kramer variety. Ascorbic acid concentrations were measured to be around 0.6, and there were no significant differences between Hayward and Kramer varieties. We demonstrated that the concentrations of sugars and vitamin C varied depending on the geographic origin of the samples. These compounds' concentrations were higher in the Sardinia and Tuscany regions compared to Corsica, suggesting that abiotic and biotic factors can influence the organoleptic characteristics of the product. We also observed that sugars and vitamin C were more concentrated in the outer part of the kiwifruits than the inner part. Lastly, kiwifruits appeared to be better preserved in a chamber at 0°C than at 4°C.