Pigments in the Fruit of Red-Fleshed Kiwifruit ( Actinidia chinensis and Actinidia deliciosa)

Kiwifruit cultivars ( Actinidia chinensisand A. deliciosa) generally have fruit with yellow or green flesh when ripe. A small number of genotypes also have red pigments, usually restricted to the inner pericarp but varying in intensity and in distribution within the fruit. Carotenoids, chorophylls, and anthocyanins were extracted from the fruit pericarp of such red-fleshed kiwifruit selections. Pigments were analyzed by HPLC and identified by comparison with authentic standards and by liquid chromatographymass spectroscopy to obtain a tentative identification of the major anthocyanins in red-fleshed kiwifruit. The yellow and green colors of the outer fruit pericarp are due to different concentrations and proportions of carotenoids and chlorophylls. The red color found mainly in the inner pericarp is due to anthocyanins. In the A. chinensisgenotypes tested the major anthocyanin was cyanidin 3- O-xylo- (1-2)-galactoside, with smaller amounts of cyanidin 3- O-galactoside. In the A. deliciosa genotypes analyzed, cyanidin 3- O-xylo(1-2)-galactoside was not detected; instead, the major anthocyanins identified were cyanidin 3- O-galactoside and cyanidin 3- O-glucoside. However, the two species did not differ consistently in anthocyanin composition.