With more than 10.000 known structures, phenolic compounds are the broadest group of plant secondary metabolites. They play a key role in protecting plants form exogenuous factors (e.g. pests, weather, UV-radiation). Phenolic compounds are present in our diet on daily basis, and in recent years, they have been a subject of phytochemical reasearches, due to their biological activity. Fruit, leaves, blossoms are the most commonly included in research, while there is very little research involving branches of fruit plants. Therefore, the aim of the study was to qualitatively and quantitatively evaluate the content of phenolic compounds in the branches of apple and pear using the method of high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). We were interested in whether there were differences in the content of individual phenolic compounds in apple and pear branches. In addition, we were interested in wheter there are differences in the content of individual phenolic compounds between apple and pear varieties. We found that the profiles of phenolic compounds between apple and pear differ. Apple contained more different falvonols and their derivates and phenolic acids in comparison with pear, while pear contained more different falvanols and their derivates compared to apple. The variety influenced the content of individual phenolic compounds, both in apple and pear, in selected phenophases. We found that the content of the most phenolic compounds of both fruit species was the highest in either the hollow ball stage (right before blooming) or in phase where the fruit are larger than 20 mm, because in that period active biochemical processes (including the synthesis of phenolic compounds) are being held in response to exogenous factors.
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