Variety–compound–quality relationship of 12 sweet cherry varieties by HPLC ‐chemometric analysis

In this study, 12 sweet cherry varieties grown in Shandong (China) were compared based on their quality indices and high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) fingerprints, along with chemometric discrimination by similarity analysis, hierarchical clustering analysis and principal component analysis. The established sample preparation and analysis methods represented a non‐targeted and practical approach with reasonably high sensitivity, precision, stability and reproducibility, providing comprehensive evaluation of the quality of sweet cherries while allowing the tentative classification of cherry varieties. The results revealed the variety‐dependent nature of the HPLC fingerprints of sweet cherries, and the fruit groupings according to their chemical composition (three groups based on phenolics, or four groups if organic acids were of main interest). All cherries were rich in organic acids, hydroxycinnamic acids, hydroxybenzoic acids, anthocyanins, flavan‐3‐ols, flavonols and other flavonoids, with malic acid, cyanidin‐3‐O‐rutinoside, p‐coumaroylquinic acid, neochlorogenic acid and rutin as the characteristic compounds (in the range of 0.57–1.80, 0.002–1.390, 0.370–3.083, 0.38–1.87 and 0.020–0.167 mg g⁻¹ fruit fresh weight, respectively). While anthocyanin and flavonol patterns were useful for a varietal assignment of cherries, cyanidin‐3‐O‐rutinoside could represent a preliminary index for grouping similar cultivars and colours.