Influence of genotype, location and year factors on quality and health promoting compounds of Rubus fruit

Berry fruits such as blackberry (Rubus fruticosus, L.) and raspberry (Rubus idaeus, L.) are widely consumed because of tradition and taste and for their positive nutritional properties. Their composition is characterized by a low calory and fat content as compared to other types of foods. Moreover, they are characterized by a high content in nutraceutical compounds, such as polyphenols and anthocyanins, that are found active for their protective effect against an excess production of free radicals, due to their antioxidant capacity. Fruit quality firstly depends on the genotypic difference, and secondly on the non-genetic, environmental factors, such as crop location and year of production. This work aims at contributing to the knowledge of the factors influencing Rubus fruit quality, by the comparative analysis of different cultivars of blackberry and raspberry picked during the period 2006-2009 in four locations of Northern Italy with very different pedological and climatic features. A first part of the work is focused on some bio-morphological variables (fruit weight, dimensions, soluble solids and acid content and skin colour measurement. A second part regarded the nutraceutical characteristics of fruit (total polyphenol, ascorbic acid, anthocyanin content and the 2,2-diphenyl-1-pycrilidrazyl – DPPH – assay). Significant differences were found between the analyzed cultivars and the locations, and the work try to contribute to open a discussion on the possible causes involved in these quality changes.