Baptistella, J.L.C.; Assoni, G.; da Silva, M.S.; Mazzafera, P. Variation in Soluble Sugars in Arabica Coffee Cherry Fruits. Plants2024, 13, 1853.
Baptistella, J.L.C.; Assoni, G.; da Silva, M.S.; Mazzafera, P. Variation in Soluble Sugars in Arabica Coffee Cherry Fruits. Plants 2024, 13, 1853.
Baptistella, J.L.C.; Assoni, G.; da Silva, M.S.; Mazzafera, P. Variation in Soluble Sugars in Arabica Coffee Cherry Fruits. Plants2024, 13, 1853.
Baptistella, J.L.C.; Assoni, G.; da Silva, M.S.; Mazzafera, P. Variation in Soluble Sugars in Arabica Coffee Cherry Fruits. Plants 2024, 13, 1853.
Abstract
The maturation process of Arabica coffee fruits is influenced by plant endogenous and external factors. The maturation stage of the fruits affects the bean's chemical composition, which is related to coffee beverage quality. During fruit maturation, the colour of the peel changes from green to red (cherry), which indicates the harvest time and supposedly that the fruits have high quality. However, many tones of red may define fruit maturity. This work aimed to study the dynamics of soluble sugar accumulation related to fruit redness in coffee fruit tissues. We classified the ripe fruits into six ripeness classes based on the intensity of the red colour of the epicarp using a colourimeter. Total soluble sugar, sucrose and starch were analyzed in the coat (exocarp+mesocarp), coat juice (obtained by squeezing the coat), and beans. We showed that endosperm sugar dynamics do not follow changes in the coat, indicating a separate control of sugar accumulation, mainly related to sucrose, an essential component of coffee quality. Our data show that there is no transfer of sucrose and reducing sugars from the red coat to the bean.
Keywords
coffee quality, sucrose, Coffea arabica
Subject
Biology and Life Sciences, Agricultural Science and Agronomy
Copyright:
This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
