especially to honey bee (Apis mellifera) who is the most common pollinator.
Nectar is predominantly an aqueous solution of sugars, proteins, and free amino
acids among which sugars are the most dominant. Trace amounts of lipids,
organic acids, iridoid glycosides, minerals, vitamins, alkaloids, plant hormones,
non-protein amino, terpenoids, glucosinolates, and cardenolides can be found in
nectar too. Cherry flower may secrete nectar for 2–4 days and, depending on the
cultivar, produces up to 10 mg nectar with sugar concentration from 28% to 55%.
Detailed chemical analysis of cherry nectar described in this chapter is focused on
sugar and phenolic profile in sour cherry. The most abounded sugars in cherry
nectar was fructose, glucose, and sucrose, while arabinose, rhamnose, maltose,
isomaltose, trehalose, gentiobiose, turanose, panose, melezitose, maltotriose,
isomaltotriose, as well as the sugar alcohols glycerol, erythritol, arabitol,
galactitol, and mannitol are present as minor constituents. Regarding polyphenolics, rutin was the most abundant phenolic compound followed by naringenin and
chrysin. Cherry cultivars showed different chemical composition of nectar which
implies that its content is cultivar dependent.
Keywords
Prunus avium L. · Prunus cerasus L. · Flower · LC/MS · HPAEC · Polyphenolic
profile · Sugars
1
Introduction
Cherry is the common name of several species of the genus Prunus originated
from the common ancestor in area between the Black Sea and Caspian Sea in Asia
Minor [1]. Among cherries, the sweet cherry, sour cherry, flowering ornamental
cherry species, and a few other Prunus species used as rootstocks for cherries are
considered important [2]. Cherries are members of the Rosaceae family, Prunoideae
subfamily, and genus Prunus and are further placed within two subgenera Cerasus
Pers. and Padus (Moench) Koehne [3]. The Cerasus Pers. subgenus and Cerasus
Koehne section contain the diploid sweet cherry (2n = 2x = 16), and the tetraploid
(2n = 4x = 32) sour cherry and ground cherry.
Cherries are one of the oldest fruit crops known to mankind. It is believed that
Theophrastus has mentioned cherries roughly 300 years BC [4]. Another earlier
writing suggests that Lucullus brought cherries back to Italy when he returned from
the Pontu region (in present day Turkey). Archaeologists have discovered fossilized
cherry pits in Stone Age caves and dwellings of western Switzerland, Bourget
(France), and Parma (Italy) [5] that places cherry into the Neolithic Period (about
4000–5000 years ago).
Both sweet and sour cherry production, as the most economically important
among cherries, has increased significantly during the past two decades in the
traditional leading cherry-producing countries. The annual global sweet cherry
production (average 2014–2016) is about 1.7 million tons and shows a slightly
increasing tendency. The leading sweet cherry-producing country is Turkey,
756
M. F. Akšić et al.
Nectar is predominantly an aqueous solution of sugars, proteins, and free amino
acids among which sugars are the most dominant. Trace amounts of lipids,
organic acids, iridoid glycosides, minerals, vitamins, alkaloids, plant hormones,
non-protein amino, terpenoids, glucosinolates, and cardenolides can be found in
nectar too. Cherry flower may secrete nectar for 2–4 days and, depending on the
cultivar, produces up to 10 mg nectar with sugar concentration from 28% to 55%.
Detailed chemical analysis of cherry nectar described in this chapter is focused on
sugar and phenolic profile in sour cherry. The most abounded sugars in cherry
nectar was fructose, glucose, and sucrose, while arabinose, rhamnose, maltose,
isomaltose, trehalose, gentiobiose, turanose, panose, melezitose, maltotriose,
isomaltotriose, as well as the sugar alcohols glycerol, erythritol, arabitol,
galactitol, and mannitol are present as minor constituents. Regarding polyphenolics, rutin was the most abundant phenolic compound followed by naringenin and
chrysin. Cherry cultivars showed different chemical composition of nectar which
implies that its content is cultivar dependent.
Keywords
Prunus avium L. · Prunus cerasus L. · Flower · LC/MS · HPAEC · Polyphenolic
profile · Sugars
1
Introduction
Cherry is the common name of several species of the genus Prunus originated
from the common ancestor in area between the Black Sea and Caspian Sea in Asia
Minor [1]. Among cherries, the sweet cherry, sour cherry, flowering ornamental
cherry species, and a few other Prunus species used as rootstocks for cherries are
considered important [2]. Cherries are members of the Rosaceae family, Prunoideae
subfamily, and genus Prunus and are further placed within two subgenera Cerasus
Pers. and Padus (Moench) Koehne [3]. The Cerasus Pers. subgenus and Cerasus
Koehne section contain the diploid sweet cherry (2n = 2x = 16), and the tetraploid
(2n = 4x = 32) sour cherry and ground cherry.
Cherries are one of the oldest fruit crops known to mankind. It is believed that
Theophrastus has mentioned cherries roughly 300 years BC [4]. Another earlier
writing suggests that Lucullus brought cherries back to Italy when he returned from
the Pontu region (in present day Turkey). Archaeologists have discovered fossilized
cherry pits in Stone Age caves and dwellings of western Switzerland, Bourget
(France), and Parma (Italy) [5] that places cherry into the Neolithic Period (about
4000–5000 years ago).
Both sweet and sour cherry production, as the most economically important
among cherries, has increased significantly during the past two decades in the
traditional leading cherry-producing countries. The annual global sweet cherry
production (average 2014–2016) is about 1.7 million tons and shows a slightly
increasing tendency. The leading sweet cherry-producing country is Turkey,
756
M. F. Akšić et al.