Anthocyanin hybrid varieties

The anthocyanin pigments of native and hybrid varieties have been studied extensively. Much of the impetus for this work came from efforts to detect the addition of hybrid wine to vinifera wine in Europe and, conversely, the addition of vinifera grape concentrate to Concord concentrate, juice, and other grape products (48,49) in the United States. 

The color of hybrids of American and European species of grapes was studied by Violante (1948). Although his procedure was not critical, he believed that his transmission curves justified concluding that hybrids contained a mixture of anthocyanins of both parents. He noted particularly the blue color in V. rupestris hybrids. Sudario (1953) reported the red color of American species of grapes and of their hybrids to have a lower methoxy content than that of V. vinifera grapes. The methoxy content of the color of the wines was lower and the differences between species less. Variable rates of loss of color from wines by different varieties of grapes were reported by Amerine and Winkler (1947), who concluded that a mixture of pigments were probably present. 

The following phenolic compounds are present in the grape skin at maturity benzoic and cinnamic acid, flavonols and tannins. They are distribnted in the cells of the epidermis and the first snb-epidermal layers in both white and red grapes. In addition, the red grape skin contains anthocyanins, essentially located in the hypodermal cell layers. Exceptionally, in certain years, the cells adjacent to the pulp can be colored. The pulp itself is colored in the case of Tenturier varieties and some American vines or direct producer hybrids. Antho-cyanin composition varies from cultivar to cultivar, depending on the anthocyanidin substitution and heterosidic nature of the cultivar (see Volume 2, Section 6.2.3). 

Sweet cherries were known to the Egyptians and Chinese. Sour cherries were cultivated by the Greeks. Modern varieties are either pure-bred sweet (Prunus avium) or sour (Prunus cerasus) or hybrids of the two. Both contain anthocyanins, mainly cyanidin-3-O-rutinoside, with lower levels of other anthocyanins, including cyanidin-3-O-glucoside and peonidin-3-rutinoside (Wu and Prior 2005). Like peaches, they also contain hydroxycin-namates including 3-O-cafFeoylquinic add and 3-O-p-coumaroylquinic acid (Figure 7.26) (Mozetic etal. 2002). 

Plums were first cultivated by the Assyrians and were extensively hybridized by the Romans. They were introduced to Northern Europe by the crusaders. Prunes are plums that have been dried without being allowed to ferment. Numerous varieties of plums, mainly Prunus domestka, are cultivated world-wide and they are a rich source of anthocyanins in the form of cyanidin-3-O-glucoside and cyanidin-3-O-rutinoside which are also found in peaches. They also contain significant quantities of 3-0- and 5-O-caffeoylquinic add and procyanidins with degrees of polymerization up to and greater than ten (Tomas-Barberan et al. 2001 Gu etal. 2004). Dried plums lack anthocyanins but 3-0- and 5-O-calfeoylquinic acid... 

Balik, J., Kumsta, M., Rop, O., 2013. Comparison of anthocyanins present in grapes of Vitis vinifera L. varieties and interspecific hybrids grown in the Czech Repnbhc. Chem. Pap. 67,1285-1292. 

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