Apple juice is rich in phenolic compounds that are important as natural antioxidants. In turn, blue honeysuckle berry juice is a valuable source of bioactive ingredients and can be an interesting and beneficial supplement to fruit juices. The aim of this study was to examine the physicochemical and sensory properties of the newly designed mixture of apple juice and blue honeysuckle berry juice. The addition of blue honeysuckle berry juice to apple juice had a significant effect on the content of anthocyanin and vitamin C in the newly designed fruit juices. After production, the content of anthocyanins and polyphenols in the blue honeysuckle berry juice was high (595.39 and 767.88 mg/100 mL, respectively). As the concentration of blue honeysuckle berry juice added to apple juice was increased, the polyphenol content also increased. The juices analyzed after 4 months of storage were lighter and showed a less intense red color than the juices analyzed directly after production. Antioxidant activity (ABTS assay) in the apple juice mixed with 10% blueberry juice was almost 3 times higher than the pure apple juice after 3 months of storage; the addition of 30% blueberry juice significantly increased the antioxidant activity of the apple juice. Thus, the results of this research have expanded the existing knowledge about the health and sensory properties of apple juice mixed with blue honeysuckle berry juice. These findings can be utilized in further research aiming at the development of new products that can meet consumer expectations.

In this study, we aimed to investigate the effect of processing methods and storage time on selected parameters of quality in the purees of blue honeysuckle berries. We investigated the content of bioactive compounds such as anthocyanins, L-ascorbic acid, and total polyphenols (TPs). We tested four processing methods and two varieties of blue honeysuckle berry (Lonicera caerulea L.var. Sineglaska and Volshebnica). The purees were analyzed immediately after production, and after two and four months of storage at 20 °C without exposure to light. According to our results, thermal treatment of the fruits for 5 min resulted in obtaining purees with a higher content of anthocyanins and TPs, but lower content of L-ascorbic acid. However, sieving fruits that were not thermally treated resulted in a higher content of L-ascorbic acid. Furthermore, purees prepared from the fruits of the Volshebnica cultivar were richer in bioactive compounds than that of purees prepared from the Sineglaska cultivar. In addition, the content of anthocyanins, L-ascorbic acid, and TPs decreased with storage time.