Mineral composition and sensory characteristics of twenty pomegranate cultivars

Spain is the main European pomegranate producer. Pomegranate is a good source of micro- and macro-nutrients, organic acids and bioactive compounds and depending on the characteristics and composition, pomegranate fruits may be intended for fresh consumption, industrial processing or medicinal purposes. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the variability in mineral content and sensorial parameters of 20 pomegranate accessions in order to gain more knowledge about the potential of these fruits. Concentrations of Na, K, Mg, Ca, P, S, Al, B, Cu, Fe and Mn were determined by inductively coupled plasma-optical emission analytical spectrometry. Sensorial characteristics (taste, seed hardness and visual color) of pomegranate arils were evaluated by seven trained panelists. In general, the arils of the sour-sweet and sour cultivars had the highest content of macro elements. Potassium (1.19 g 100 g(-1) dry weight in PTO5 accession) was the highest macronutrient content. Aluminum (Al) boron (B) and iron (Fe) were the predominant microelement in the majority of the accessions. Sweet cultivars showed the lowest values in seed hardness. The results in the sensorial score of accessions were: i) good quality 3 for 'ME12', 'MEM', 'MEC' and 'MA5'; ii) acceptable quality 2.0 for cultivars 'ME14', 'ME17', 'MO2', 'MO5', 'MA3', 'VA6', 'VA11', 'PTO5', 'SM', 'MO6' and 'HZ'; iii) poor quality 1.0 for cultivars 'VA1', 'TO10', 'BA1', 'BBE1' and 'WOND'.