Physical and chemical properties of the pepino fruit and fruit juice

The large areas that tropical climate conditions are seen and closeness to a big market like Europe are important advantages of Turkey. Tropical and subtropical fruits made up 90-95 percent of the European Union countries fresh fruit import is noteworthy for Turkey agriculture and export. Tropical fruits have an important place in nutrition due to their mineral and vitamin contents. Pepino (Solanum muricatum), one these tropical exotic fruits is being cultivated widely in Turkey in recent years.This study was performed to determine the physical and chemical properties and quality parameters of Miski type that is grown in Turkey. Pepino fruits were harvested in the greenhouses located in Sakarya and Antalya. The objective of the present study was to achieve basic knowledge about chemical composition of fruits at different ripening stages (green, turning and ripe). Changes in those components during ripeness were also evaluated in different stages.The juice yield (%) of ripe pepino was ranging from 51 to 53. The yield of fruit juice and the general properties of pepino fruits (width, length, weight) did not differ significantly from each other depending on the growing region.SSC (obrix, total soluble solids) values increased during maturation and ripening and content was ranged from 4 to 7 % (oB) and total acidity from 0.06 to 0.08 g/100 mL. Because of low total acidity value, Maturity index values were calculated as high values.Light transmittance (T%) values did not vary significantly between those areas. This characteristic was changed from 65 to 78 and increased during ripening. Citric acid was the predominant nonvolatile organic acid in pepino (46-62 ppm). Concentration of ascorbic acid content in pepino fruit was approximately 3.2 ppm. Total amounts of sugar were between 3.54 to 4.96 g/100 mL and increased during ripenig.The major carotenoid of pepino fruit was xantophyll. Then, ß-carotene and ?- carotene were found as high amounts.Key Words: Pepino, Miski, HPLC, organic acid, sugar