Preliminary evaluation of nutritional and medicinal components of Crataegus azarolus fruits

Azarole (Crataegus azarolus L.) is a fruit and ornamental tree cultivated for centuries in the Mediterranean area, which is presently becoming rare in Italy. Programs directed to the collection and characterisation of its genetic resources have been started, in order to contribute to the exploitation of this species. The main pomological traits and the content of sugars, acids and total polyphenols were determined in fruits at the ripening stage of five azarole accessions collected in two regions of Italy. The accessions were clearly differentiated by both biometric and chemical fruit characteristics. GHI4 and GHI7 were distinguished by bigger fruits and more tasty flesh than the other accessions. Sugar profiles of these two accessions were clearly differentiated by the high levels of sucrose, whereas this sugar was almost absent in the other accessions. Similar contents of total polyphenols, flavonoids and procyanidins were measured in all the accessions. The presence of good levels of these components with medicinal properties makes azarole fruits susceptible to exploitation in the field of food with nutraceutical interest. INTRODUCTION Azarole (Crataegus azarolus L.) is a multipurpose fruit tree cultivated or naturalised in the Mediterranean region and in Italy, with good potential as an ornamental, fruit and medicinal plant (Ker’y et al., 1989; Bignami and Kurzmann, 1998; Bignami and Kurzmann, 2000). Similarly to Crataegus monogyna, flowers and leaves are considered able to exert antioxidant activities and a positive action on the heart, due to the content of flavonoids and procyanidins (Twaij et al., 1987; Ker’y et al., 1989), but their medicinal properties are still not fully understood and not yet exploited. Furthermore, little research has been devoted to the composition and the presence and function of bioactive compounds in azarole fruits (Twaij et al., 1987; Ker’y et al., 1989; Schussler et al., 1991). In Italy azarole has become very rare. Presently a few specimens are still cultivated in domestic orchards and gardens and their fruits are sometimes sold in the market. A program of conservation and characterisation of these threatened genetic resources started in 1996 within a EU project (Resgen 29), dealing with the exploitation of minor fruit tree species. Accessions of Crataegus azarolus have been individualised and collected in different regions of Italy and preliminarily described (Bignami and Kurzmann, 2000). The presence of flavonoids in leaf and flowers has been revealed by chemical analysis directed to the chemotaxonomy of these Italian ecotypes (Bignami and Kurzmann, 1998), but the composition of their fruits is still unknown. The use of food as a medicine has gained increasing attention in the last years. The evaluation of the nutritional and medicinal value of the fruits could then support the exploitation of azarole. The pomological and analytical characterisation of the fruits of some accessions collected in Lazio and Emilia-Romagna was carried out in order to evaluate the potential for fresh consumption and for medicinal purposes. MATERIAL AND METHODS Samples of fruits were harvested at ripening time in 1998-1999. The pomological traits were described or measured on 20-30 fruits per accession. Titratable acidity and the Proc. Int. Conf. on MAP Eds. J. Bernath et al. Acta Hort. 597, ISHS 2003