Bergamot is a common Italian citrus fruit, cultivated almost exclusively to produce essential oils; the
juice is considered a waste product, which represents a serious environmental and economic problem
for the industries. The aim of this study was to re-evaluate bergamot juice through its chemical characterization
and its use to enrich and fortify fruit juices. To investigate this, apples and apricots were used
for the laboratory-scale production of fruit juice, following both the traditional industrial recipe and
those with the addition of bergamot juice at 10% or 20%, together with or in order to replace the synthetic
additives normally used in the industrial process (ascorbic acid and citric acid). The ascorbic acid content
and the antioxidant activity were measured during the different steps of juice production and after storage
at 37 C for 15 days to evaluate juice shelf-life. Apricot and apple juices fortified with bergamot juice
showed a significant increase in their antioxidant properties and a decreased reduction in ascorbic acid
content after the typical production steps. All of the results obtained support the hypothesis that the
addition of bergamot juice to juices preserves their ascorbic acid content from thermal degradation
and contributes to enhance the antioxidant activity, ensuring a product much richer in antioxidants
and ascorbic acid. A preliminary consumer test encouraged the production of bergamot fortified fruit
juices. Finally, this is the first time that isorhoifolin and rutin have been detected in bergamot juice