Journal of Food, Agriculture and Environment

Bioactive compounds and antioxidant activity of small fruits in Lithuania

Author(s):

Pranas Viskelis*, Marina Rubinskienė, Ramunė Bobinaitė, Edita Dambrauskienė

Recieved Date: 2010-07-07, Accepted Date: 2010-11-10

Abstract:

Black chokeberries (Aronia melanocarpa), elderberries (Sambucus nigra), red raspberries (Rubus idaeus) and black raspberries (Rubus occidentalis) were investigated at the Lithuanian Research Centre for Agriculture and Forestry, Institute of Horticulture. The berries were analysed for total phenolic content, total anthocyanin content and ascorbic acid content. The phenolic concentration was measured according to the Folin-Ciocalteu procedure, and anthocyanin content was evaluated spectrophotometrically. Ascorbic acid content was determined via titration with a 2,6-dichlorophenolindophenol sodium chloride solution. In addition, methanolic fruit extracts were tested for their antioxidant activity using a DPPH^˙ radical-scavenging method. Antioxidant activity was found to be highly correlated with the phenolic content of the berries and varied significantly among the species and cultivars investigated. Among all species tested, Aronia melanocarpa (cv. Viking) was found to have the highest phenolic and anthocyanin content (3647.1 and 868.9 mg/100 g, respectively). Furthermore, Aronia melanocarpa had the highest DPPH^˙-scavenging activity, displaying values between 89.8% and 91.6%. Sambucus nigra cultivars accumulated high amounts of ascorbic acid and anthocyanin. However, elderberries (cv. Lacimiata) were found to have low radical-scavenging activity (48%) but high levels of antioxidants. Black raspberries (cv. Bristol) had lower amounts of anthocyanins and phenolic compounds in comparison to black chokeberries and elderberries, but the radical-scavenging activity (RSA) of black raspberries was only slightly (approx. 9%) lower than the average RSA value of black chokeberries.

Keywords:

Anthocyanins, antioxidative activity, ascorbic acid, black chokeberry, black raspberry, elderberry, red raspberry, phenolics

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Journal: Journal of Food, Agriculture and Environment
Year: 2010
Volume: 8
Issue: 3&4
Category: Food and Health
Pages: 259-263

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