Phenolic compound content in ‘Biloxi’ blueberry grown in the Sierra Norte of Oaxaca, Mexico, harvested in warm season

The objective of this work was to analyse the content of bioactive compounds and their antioxidant capacity by the effect of the harvest date of the blueberry cultivar ‘Biloxi’ grown in a protected system in San Pedro Nexicho, Oaxaca state, Mexico. For this, two harvests were made each month (July-October) in which the temperature varied from 21 to 16°C. The results showed that the increment in total phenols in blueberry fruits was directly proportional to the harvest date in the coldest season (307 to 597 mg of gallic acid 100 g-1 of fresh fruit). The anthocyanin content presented significant differences due to the effect of the harvest season, but with a less defined trend (444 to 724 mg of cyaniding 100 g-1 fresh fruit). The antioxidant capacity showed significant differences due to the effect of the harvest date, in direct function to the reduction of the production temperatures, with values of 14.2 to 29.7 mg of Trolox 100 g-1 of fresh fruit. It is concluded that, in this region of the state of Oaxaca, the highest content of bioactive compounds in fruits produced and harvested in the months of July-October is higher when the fruit cuts are made in the months with lower ambient temperature.