Identification of organoleptic and functional quality profiles in Spanish traditional cultivars of tomato

Abstract

Despite the increasing importance of the internal quality in breeding programmes and marketing of tomato, little information is available regarding organoleptic and functional profiles of traditional cultivars of renowned quality. The aim of this study is to evaluate the internal quality of 51 traditional tomato accessions representative of the Spanish genepool. Total soluble solids, oxalic, malic, citric and glutamic acids, fructose, glucose and sucrose, vitamin C and lycopene were determined, thereby obtaining the respective organoleptic and functional profiles. These profiles will be very valuable in establishing breeding objectives, to provide the cultivars appreciated by consumers, willing to pay higher prices for them. A considerable high level of variability has been found in the profiles obtained and no clear groups could be identified with regards to fruit morphology or local name. Variability was higher in those traits affecting functional quality (coefficients of variation of 51.2% for vitamin C and 74.6% for lycopene content) than those affecting organoleptic quality (coefficients of variation ranged from 18% for total soluble contents to 38.8% for glutamic acid). Additionally, several accessions were selected on the basis of their higher individual contents for further studies of internal quality. These accessions were CDP8102 and CDP3547 for high malic acid, accession CDP6315 for high fructose and glucose levels, accession CDP1523 for its lycopene content and accessions CDP2226 and CDP336 for high vitamin C content. Considering previous correlations between individual contents and consumer preference, accessions CDP7554, CDP2666 and CDP3547 should be further evaluated for their overall flavour quality.