Abstract
The purpose of the current study was to identify and quantify triterpenoids and other non-polar compounds in the leaves of three high bush blueberry cultivars (Vaccinium corymbosum L. var. Bluegold, var. Bluecrop and var. Elliott) and three natural populations of Vaccinium species (Vaccinium uliginosum L., Vaccinium myrtillus L. and Vaccinium vitis-idaea L.) by means of gas chromatography mass spectrometry (GC-MS) and high-performance liquid chromatography with diode array detector (HPLC-DAD). Metabolite profiles differed significantly among the Vaccinium species analyzed, as well as among the populations of the same species. The populations of V. vitis-idaea predominantly contained relative concentrations of phytosterols (varying between 10.48% of total ion current (TIC) and 22.29% of TIC) and almost twice the content of triterpenes (from 29.84% of TIC to 49.62% of TIC) of the other berry species investigated. The leaves of V. corymbosum varieties biosynthesized the highest relative amount of fatty acids, while the leaves of the populations of V. uliginosum had the highest relative concentrations of fatty alcohols. The results of principal component analysis (PCA) and hierarchical cluster analysis (HCA) showed that the diverse populations of each berry species analyzed differed from each other, most likely due to variations in the climatic and geographical conditions of their localities.
Highlights
In recent years, edible berries of the genus Vaccinium (Ericaceae family) have been among the most important berry species for the food and pharmaceutical industries due to their delicious taste and high content of valuable bioactive substances
gas chromatography mass spectrometry (GC-MS) analysis of the n-hexane extracts obtained from the leaves of the three V. corymbosum cultivars
To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report on metabolite profiling of triterpenes and other non-polar compounds in the leaves of cultivated
Summary
Edible berries of the genus Vaccinium (Ericaceae family) have been among the most important berry species for the food and pharmaceutical industries due to their delicious taste and high content of valuable bioactive substances. V. myrtillus, V. vitis-idaea and V. uliginosum are mostly collected from their natural habitats [2,3,4]. These plant species are of significant economic importance because of the application of their fruits, and sometimes leaves, in the production of various foods, pharmaceuticals, cosmetics, and health-care products. In European countries, bilberry leaf extracts have traditionally been used as herbal medicines for the urinary tract due to their astringent and antiseptic properties. They possess antibacterial, anti-inflammatory, hypoglycemic, lipid-lowering and hypolipidemic activities [8,9]
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