Determination of quantitative composition of phloridzin and chlorogenic acid in ornamental apple fruit samples

Apples are a rich source of biologically active compounds, particularly phenolic compounds such as phloridzin and chlorogenic acid. Phloridzin is found in both the peel and flesh of apples, but their concentration is much higher in the peel, while chlorogenic acid is more abundant in the flesh than in the peel, highlighting their distinct distribution within the fruit. These phenolic compound can inhibit cancer cell proliferation, decrease lipid oxidation and lower cholesterol, providing potential health benefits, including the prevention of chronic diseases such as diabetes, asthma, cancer, neurodegenerative disorders and chronic cardiovascular conditions [1,2]. The aim of this research was to determine the quantitative composition of phloridzin and chlorogenic acid in ornamental apple fruit samples. Fruit samples of 19 ornamental apple cultivars were used for this research. An amount of 2.5 g of lyophilized apple powder (exact weight) was weighed, added to 30 mL of ethanol (70 %, v/v) and extracted in ultrasonic bath for 20 minutes at 40∘C using 1130 W of ultrasonic power at a frequency of 80 kHz. The apple lyophilizate on the filter was washed twice with 10 mL of ethanol (70%, v/v) in a 50 mL flask. The extract was filtered through a membrane filter with a pore size of 0.22 μm (Carl Roth GmbH, Karlsruhe, Germany). The qualitative and quantitative determination of phloridzin and chlorogenic acid was performed using Liaudanskas et al. developed and validated technique [3]. The results were analyzed using MS Excel 2023 (Microsoft, Redmond, WA, USA) and SPSS Statistics 21 (IBM, Chicago, IL, USA). In this research, phloridzin and chlorogenic acid contents in apple cultivars were determined. The highest amount (7640.82 µg/g) of chlorogenic acid was determined in Malus domestica Borkh. cultivar ’Rylio’ fruit sample while the lowest amount (135.48 µg/g) was determined in Malus ’173224’ fruit sample. The highest concentration of phloridzin (5041.40 µg/g) was ascertained in the Malus baccata (L.) Borkh. cultivar ’Vaja’ fruit sample. In contrast, the lowest amount (245.71 µg/g) was determined in the Malus ’144845’ fruit sample. Chlorogenic acid amount in the tested apple fruit samples varied widely, with a calculated coefficient of variation of 82.73% Similarly, phloridzin amount in the tested apple fruit samples also showed significant variation, with a calculated coefficient of variation of 88.96 %. This research evaluated the qualitative and quantitative composition of samples from different ornamental apple cultivars, revealing significant variations in chlorogenic acid and phloridzin amounts. M. baccata cultivar ’Vaja’ fruit samples had the highest phloridzin amount, while the chlorogenic acid amount was highest in M. domestica cultivar ’Rylio’ fruit samples.