Quality, antioxidant activity and total phenols of six Spanish pomegranates clones

•Spanish pomegranates have high potential for fresh consumption and industrialisation.•The sour clones can be used as a source for nutraceutical substances production.•Fructose and glucose were the predominant sugars.

The objective of this study was to evaluate and compare the physical and chemical properties of pomegranate fruits, of the arils and seeds of six pomegranate clones grown in Spain. Some organoleptic and nutritive parameters related to fruit quality (total soluble solids, TSS, total acidity, TA, organic acids and sugars), the content of bioactive compounds (total phenolics, TP), as well as the total antioxidant activity (TAA) due to hydrophilic (H-TAA) and lipophilic (L-TAA) compounds have been determined in pomegranate fruits. The results showed significant differences between clones. Cluster analysis made possible to classify them into three different groups (i) ‘239’ and ‘248’, (ii) ‘511’ and ‘249’ and (iii) ‘351’ and ‘PR8’. All pomegranate clones studied showed promising and interesting physico-chemical properties for both fresh consumption and industrialisation. The sour clones ‘239’ and ‘248’ can be used as a source for nutraceutical substances production, while the sweet pomegranate clones (‘249’, ‘511’, ‘351’ and ‘PR8’) can be used for production of fresh juice with a high potential of health benefit. Differences among clones are attributed to genetics because they were cultivated under homogeneous conditions.