Characterization of seventeen blackcurrant ( Ribes nigrum L.) cultivars based on chemometric profiling of health-related compounds.

摘要

Blackcurrant fruits are recognized as being an important dietary source of health-related compounds. However, the genotypic distribution of these compounds has not been reported in detail. In the present study, the biochemical profile of major health-related compounds (viz. individual anthocyanins, total anthocyanins, total phenolics and organic acids including ascorbic acid) from 17 UK-grown blackcurrant cultivars were analyzed by means of both spectrophotometric techniques and optimized HPLC coupled to standard photodiode array detection (PDA). Cultivars were compared using principal component analysis (PCA) and hierarchical cluster analysis (HCA). Across cultivars significant differences in the biochemical profile of health-related compounds were found. PCA revealed different clusters which were able to discriminate between cultivars. Three principal components (PCs) were required to capture 81% of the variance. PC1 explained 39.2% of the total variation and was closely related to the sum of total anthocyanins (3.49-9.14 mg) cyanidin 3-glucoside equivalents g-1 fresh weight (FW), individual anthocyanins, and ascorbic acid (1.92-5.42 mg g-1 FW). Four major anthocyanin peaks were identified representing both rutinoside and glucoside forms of cyanidin and delphinidin; the rutinoside forms were higher in all cultivars. PC2 explained 27.6% of the total variation and was related to the sum of organic acids and total phenolics (6.38-13.33 mg gallic acid equivalents g-1 FW), whilst PC3 covered 14.6% and was related mainly to citric and tartaric acid concentrations. HCA was also used as an exploratory tool and similar discriminations were obtained. The results from this study demonstrate that the heterogeneity in health-related compounds found within fruits of different blackcurrant cultivars can suitably be classified using chemometric analysis.