THE INFLUENCE OF EXTERNAL FACTORS ON THE CHEMICAL COMPOSITION OF FRUITS AND VEGETABLES

Abstract

All the properties of fruits, namely taste, color, aroma, etc., appear during their ripening. Therefore, the study of the biochemical processes occurring during this period is of great importance. The chemical composition of fruit nodules formed from flowers is similar to the chemical composition of leaves, but they contain much less sugar, acids, and other substances. According to S. Grebensky, during the development of fruit nodules, the amount of organic acids and tannins in them increases. During this period, the fruit becomes sour and tart. The hardness of raw fruits depends on the high content of water-insoluble protopectin and fiber in them. During the formation of fruits, the amount of starch in them also increases.
Before the fruits ripen, all the polysaccharides in them are hydrolyzed. In well-ripened fruits, there is almost no starch left. Although partially, other polysaccharides are also broken down. Due to this, the sugar concentration in ripe fruits increases somewhat. Changes in the amount of carbohydrates have been detected in ripening apricots. The main part of the substance in apricots is sucrose. It is equal to 70-76% of the total sugar. However, the amount of sugar in all fruits does not increase due to sucrose. For example, when fruits such as grapes, cherries, and cherries ripen, the total amount of sugar substances in their content increases by 5-10 times, while the amount of fructose increases by 15-20 times. One of the characteristics of ripe fruits is a decrease in the amount of acids in them and, as a result, an increase in the sugar-acid coefficient [1].