The phenolics contents in fruit is affected by the degree of maturity at harvest due to, genetic differences (cultivar), pre-harvest environmental conditions, and post-harvest storage conditions and processing.
However, their concentration varies from plant to plant or even in different organs of the same plant at different ripening stages.
In general, polyphenols and flavonoids tend to increase with fruit ripening onset, then to decrease after this stage, corresponding in reality to the senescence. Senescence of the fruit is accompanied by accelerated metabolism, especially in climacteric fruit, leading to pectin solubilization and biochemical degradation. Total phenolics and flavonoids are among chemical compounds concerned by degradation and could be metabolized to produce volatile compounds for example.