Content of phenolic compounds and antioxidant properties of fruits of selected orchard shrub species

Abstract

The study involved fruits of eight common orchard shrub species: black currant (Ribes nigrum L.) cv. ‘Titania’, red currant (Ribes rubrum L.) cv. ‘Heros’, white currants (Ribes gracile Michx.) cv. ‘Blanca’, chokeberry (Aronia melanocarpa Michx. Elliott) cv. ‘Nero’, red chokeberry (Aronia arbutifolia L. Pers) cv. ‘Brilliant’, raspberry (Rubus idaeus L.) cv. ‘Polana’, blackberry (Rubus fruticosus L.) cv. ‘Polar’, and highbush blueberry (Vaccinium corymbosum L.) cv. ‘Bluecrop’. The fresh fruits were subject to determinations of total polyphenols content recalculated onto gallic acid, anthocyanins, and flavonoids. In addition, parameters of antioxidant activity in raw materials were determined using three methods: DPPH, ABTS, and FRAP. High concentrations of total polyphenols and anthocyanins, as well as antioxidant activity were recorded for extracts from chokeberry fruits (respectively 1540.01 mg ∙ 100 g-1 and 498.98 mg ∙ 100 g-1, 199.4 μM TE ∙ g-1 FM DPPH and 112.5 μM TE ∙ g-1 FM FRAP). Regardless of the species, analyzed fruits are an abundant source of antioxidant compounds.