Abstract
Due to their outstanding anthocyanin content, elderberries are mainly used in the food industry to produce pigment concentrations. Thanks to the increase in demand, elderberry is grown on ever greater areas in Hungary and in neighbouring countries. Cultivar use, however, is very one-sided, being practically restricted to ‘Haschberg’. As this cultivar has many negative properties, growers have begun to plant and test new cultivars. When determining the commodity value of cultivars, it is important to examine not only the physical traits of the fruit, but also their main chemical parameters. In the present experiment the chemical properties (soluble solids and titratable acid content, total polyphenol and anthocyanin content, antioxidant capacity) of the fruit of 11 elderberry cultivars (‘Haidegg 13’, ‘Haidegg 17’, ‘Haschberg’, K3, ‘Korsör’, ‘Samdal’, ‘Samidan’, ‘Samocco’, ‘Sampo’, ‘Samyl’, ‘Weihenstephan’) were analysed in three consecutive years. In addition to the comparative evaluation of the cultivars, this work also aimed to discover correlations between the components and to study the effect of the year on the chemical composition of the fruit. Significant differences were found between the cultivars for the soluble solids content (F(10;8.74)=9.71; p=0.001), the titratable acid content (F(10;22)=7.91; p<0.001), the polyphenol content (F(10;22)=9.77; p<0.001), the anthocyanin content (F(10;8.52)=36.18; p<0.001) and the antioxidant capacity (F(10;22)=3.61; p=0.006). A year effect was proved for the water-soluble solids content (F(2;30)=4.02; p=0.028) and the antioxidant capacity (F(2;30)=5.21; p=0.011). Among the chemical properties, a significant positive linear correlation was only detected between the polyphenol and anthocyanin contents (r=0.91; p<0.001). Among the cultivars, ‘Sampo’, ‘Samidan’ and ‘Weihenstephan’ exhibited outstanding polyphenol and anthocyanin contents. The soluble solids content and antioxidant capacity of ‘Haidegg 17’ were also promising.
Highlights
As the result of changes in eating habits, attention has increasingly moved to fruit and vegetables with high pigment contents that could be used to replace artificial food colourings (Wissgott and Bortlik, 1996)
The processing industry will only buy up fruit with a soluble solids content of at least 12% (Sidor and Gramza-Michalowska, 2015)
The statistical analysis of the three-year data confirmed that the cultivar exerts an influence on the soluble solids content (F(10;8.74)=9.71; p=0.001)
Summary
As the result of changes in eating habits, attention has increasingly moved to fruit and vegetables with high pigment contents that could be used to replace artificial food colourings (Wissgott and Bortlik, 1996). Elderberries have exceptionally high anthocyanin content compared to other fruit species (602.9-1265.3 mg CGE 100 g–1 FW) (Veberic et al, 2009). The dark red pigment concentration extracted from the berries is used as a colouring for squashes, jams and other products of plant origin (Charlebois et al, 2010). The carbohydrate content is low compared to that of other fruit species (6.5-18.4 g 100 g–1) and consists mainly of simple sugars (glucose and fructose) (Veberic et al, 2009). The titratable acid content is low to medium, and citric acid is the main organic acid (0.6-1.7 mg 100 g–1), though there is a substantial quantity of malic acid (Kaack et al, 2008). Foodstuffs prepared from elderberries have notable antioxidant capacity (5.04-6.37 mmol 100 g–1) (Akbulutu et al, 2009; Cejpek et al, 2009)
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
