J. Carreno et al., CHEMOTAXONOMICAL CLASSIFICATION OF RED TABLE GRAPES BASED ON ANTHOCYANIN PROFILE AND EXTERNAL COLOR, Lebensmittel-Wissenschaft + Technologie, 30(3), 1997, pp. 259-265
Thirty-two grape varieties with coloured berries grown in a collection
vineyard in Murcia were sampled by analysing their pigment content an
d external colour. Anthocyanins were separated by HPLC and quantified
with the aid of a reversed-phase column and a photodiode detector. Usi
ng the content of individual anthocyanins, several indices were calcul
ated and linked to hydroxylation, methylation and the esterification p
rocesses of the biosynthetic pathway. These colour parameters and indi
ces were correlated by means of a principal components analysis. A clu
ster analysis split the 32 varieties into nine groups. The similarity
of anthocyanin profiles in the varieties within each group enables the
use of this technique for chemotaxonomic purposes.