Determination of fruit quality of some lemon varieties grown in Mersin/Türkiye

Lemon (Citrus limon L.) is one of the most economically important and nutritionally valuable citrus fruits worldwide, widely cultivated for its high vitamin C content, and bioactive compounds with antioxidant properties. In this study, it was aimed to investigate the pomological, chemical, and phytochemical properties of four lemon varieties (Meyer, Kutdiken, Aydın, and Italyan Memeli). Meyer Pomological, chemical and phytochemical characteristics were found to be statistically different among the varieties (p < 0.05). Aydın lemon variety had the highest values ​​in terms of fruit width (63.3 mm), length (78.3 mm) and weight (152.5 g). The highest ascorbic acid (AsA) value was obtained from the Kütdiken variety, whereas the total phenolic compounds (TPC) and total flavonoid content (TFC) were determined highest in Aydın variety. The highest DPPH value was observed in the Italyan Memeli variety. The PCA-Biplot results suggest that Meyer variety is superior in terms of fruit SSC, AsA and color values and is significantly different from the others. The Italyan Memeli and Kutdiken are similar whereas both varieties were noted with their high DPPH, fruit pH and seed number. On the other hand, the Aydin variety was noted as superior in terms of fruit TPC, TFC, fruit weight and juice percent. KEY WORDS: Lemon (Citrus limon L.), Fruit quality, Phytochemicals, Antioxidant activity, Türkiye Bull. Chem. Soc. Ethiop. 2025, 39(11), 2347-2357. DOI: https://dx.doi.org/10.4314/bcse.v39i11.19