Changes in fruit quality parameters of four Ribes species during ripening

There are no defined maturity parameters for berry fruit which often results in harvesting and marketing of inedible, immature or over ripe berries. In the present study the changes in quality characteristics of different white-, red-, and black-currant cultivars as well as gooseberry and jostaberry fruit were investigated at three maturity stages. Colour parameters, berry juice pH level and the content of sugars, organic acids and phenolic compounds have been evaluated. A total of 65 different phenolic compounds were detected by HPLC–PDA/MS. The results indicate that, during the last 2–4 weeks of fruit ripening, significant changes occur in colour parameters, primary and secondary metabolites and radical scavenging activity. The results suggest that the average content of specific phenolic groups and sugars/acids ratio can be used as a simple and reliable maturity index for optimisation of harvest time.