Free sugars and sorbitol in fruits--a complication from the literature.

The glucose, fructose, sucrose, and sorbitol content of apple, pear, plum, cherry, grape, strawberry, raspberry, blackberry, and peak fruit was compiled from the literature; their range, mean, standard deviation, and percent coefficient of variance were calculated. The individual fruits have characteristic patterns relating to their sorbitol content, glucose: fructose ratio, and sucrose content which are influenced to only a small degree by variety, season, or geographic origin. Processing in many cases has a marked effect on sucrose content.