A2 Refereed review article in a scientific journal
Regulation of phytochemicals in fruits and berries by environmental variation—Sugars and organic acids
Authors: Zheng J., Huang C., Yang B., Kallio H., Liu P., Ou S.
Publisher: Wiley
Publication year: 2019
Journal: Journal of Food Biochemistry
Journal name in source: Journal of Food Biochemistry
Article number: e12642
Volume: 43
Issue: 6
Number of pages: 18
ISSN: 0145-8884
eISSN: 1745-4514
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/jfbc.12642
Sugars and organic acids are important phytochemicals contributing to the nutrition and sensory properties of fruits and berries. Their contents are closely correlated to the genetic background of plants as well as to the environmental conditions during growth. This review focuses on the recent researches on the metabolism of these compounds in fruits and berries in response to the variation of environmental conditions, including temperature, radiation, and water supply. A great deal of investigations indicates that the influence of environmental factors on the composition of fruits/berries depended largely on the genetic background. Moreover, the metabolic regulation in response to environmental changes also varies between different plant developmental stages. Nevertheless, some general trends, like the positive correlation between light intensity and sugar content, were observed in most investigations. In grapes (Vitis viniferaL.), the content of malic acid always decreases as light intensity increases, and as the water supply decreases.