Abstract
The objective of this work was to evaluate the biochemical composition of six berry types belonging to Fragaria, Rubus, Vaccinium and Ribes genus. Fruit samples were collected in triplicate (50 fruit each) from 18 different species or cultivars of the mentioned genera, during three years (2008 to 2010). Content of individual sugars, organic acids, flavonols, and phenolic acids were determined by high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) analysis, while total phenolics (TPC) and total antioxidant capacity (TAC), by using spectrophotometry. Principal component analysis (PCA) and hierarchical cluster analysis (CA) were performed to evaluate the differences in fruit biochemical profile. The highest contents of bioactive components were found in Ribes nigrum and in Fragaria vesca, Rubus plicatus, and Vaccinium myrtillus. PCA and CA were able to partially discriminate between berries on the basis of their biochemical composition. Individual and total sugars, myricetin, ellagic acid, TPC and TAC showed the highest impact on biochemical composition of the berry fruits. CA separated blackberry, raspberry, and blueberry as isolate groups, while classification of strawberry, black and red currant in a specific group has not occurred. There is a large variability both between and within the different types of berries. Metabolite fingerprinting of the evaluated berries showed unique biochemical profiles and specific combination of bioactive compound contents.
Highlights
Berries are widely recognized for their nutritional quality and potential health benefits
Organic acids, flavonols, and phenolic acids were determined by high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) analysis, while total phenolics (TPC) and total antioxidant capacity (TAC), by using spectrophotometry
The total sugar content corresponds to the sum of glucose, fructose and sucrose reported by Wang et al (2008) for blueberries grown in a conventional culture system
Summary
Berries are widely recognized for their nutritional quality and potential health benefits. Considering genetic differences among wild relatives from natural population and cultivars of berries, a potential variability can be observed in their contents and composition of bioactive compounds (Remberg et al, 2007). Berries are rich sources of phytochemicals such as sugars, organic acids, and phenolics. Sugars and organic acids are their main soluble constituents and have major effect on taste and fruit ripeness, or even represent a suitable index of consumer’s acceptability (Kafkas et al, 2006; Tosun et al, 2009). Type and quantity of individual compounds affect fruit taste; the composition and concentration of these compounds may reflect changes in fruit quality (Kafkas et al, 2006)
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