Compositional characteristics and antioxidant components of cherry laurel varieties and pekmez

Cherry laurel is a popular fruit in the Black Sea region of Turkey. Two native cherry laurel varieties, namely kiraz and findik, together with pekmez (made from concentrated juice of the kiraz variety by boiling/ heating) were examined for their proximate composition, antioxidant activity, total anthocyanins, phenolics, and carotenoids, as well as phenolic acids and sugar composition. A linear correlation existed between antioxidant activity and total content of phenolics (r(2) = 0.99). The antioxidant activity and total content of phenolics were the highest in pekmez, followed by findik, and kiraz. A significant (P < 0.01) proportion of anthocyanins and carotenoids was lost during heat processing in the production of pekmez. Ten phenolic acids (free and bound) and 6 sugars were identified among samples. These results suggest that cherry laurel varieties and pekmez serve as a good source of natural antioxidant, which could potentially be used in food and nutraceutical supplement formulations.