Wednesday, August 10, 2016
Georgia Ballroom (Sheraton Hotel Atlanta)
Blackberries are excellent sources of nutraceutical-rich polyphenolic compounds such as anthocyanins and other antioxidants. This study investigated the changes in nutraceutical compounds of blackberries during postharvest storage. Eleven blackberry genotypes (‘Natchez’, ‘Osage’, ‘Ouachita’, ‘Prime-Ark® 45’, ‘Prime-Ark® Traveler’, A-2418, A-2434, A-2450, A-2453, A-2491, and APF-268) from the University of Arkansas blackberry breeding program were analyzed. Berries were harvested in June 2015 at the shiny-black stage of maturity and placed in 240-g vented clamshells in triplicate for each genotype. Nutraceutical compounds were measured before and after storage at 2 °C (90% RH) for 7 d. Total phenolics (mg gallic acid/100 g fresh weight (FW), total anthocyanins (mg cyanidin 3-glucoside/100 g FW), total flavonols (mg rutin/100 g FW), and total ellagitannins (mg ellagic acid/100 g FW) were evaluated. The level of polyphenolic compounds varied among the genotypes and increased after 7 d of storage. Before storage, the average across genotypes of total phenolics was 382.2 mg/100 g, anthocyanins 206.0 mg/100 g, flavonols 7.7 mg/100 g, and ellagitannins 27.1 mg/100 g. After storage, the average total phenolics increased 17%, anthocyanins 9%, flavonols 53%, and ellagitannins 13%. Selection A-2450 had the highest level of total phenolics and total anthocyanins, 502.7 mg/100 g and 271.8 mg/100 g, respectively, while ‘Prime-Ark® Traveler’ had the lowest levels (336.3 mg/100 g and 124.4 mg/100 g). ‘Prime Ark® 45’ had the highest level of flavonols (14.8 mg/100 g) and ‘Ouachita’ the lowest (6.3 mg/100 g). ‘Natchez’ had the highest level of ellagitannins (42.8 mg/100 g) and A-2453 the lowest (18.2 mg/100 g). Our data support the conclusion that these genotypes can be stored for 7 d without loss of nutraceutical compounds.