Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2021 Apr 29;43(1):36-51.
doi: 10.3390/cimb43010004.

Genetic Differentiation in Anthocyanin Content among Berry Fruits

Alicja Ponder  1 , Ewelina Hallmann  1 , Martyna Kwolek  1 , Dominika Średnicka-Tober  1 , Renata Kazimierczak  1
Affiliations

Genetic Differentiation in Anthocyanin Content among Berry Fruits

Alicja Ponder et al. Curr Issues Mol Biol. .

Abstract

Anthocyanins are widely distributed secondary metabolites that play an essential role in skin pigmentation of many plant organs and microorganisms. Anthocyanins have been associated with a wide range of biological and pharmacological properties. They are also effective agents in the prevention and treatment of many chronic diseases. Berries are particularly abundant in these compounds; therefore, their dietary intake has health-promoting effects. The aim of this study was to identify and determine the anthocyanin content in selected species and cultivars of berry fruits, such as raspberry, blackberry, red currant, blackcurrant, and highbush blueberry, widely consumed by Europeans. The concentrations of anthocyanins were determined by HPLC, identifying individual compounds: cyanidin-3-O-glucoside, pelargonidin-3-O-glucoside, delphinidin-3-O-glucoside, delphinidin-3-O-rutinoside, cyanidin-3-O-rutinoside, delphinidin-3-O-galactoside, cyanidin-3-O-galactoside, and malvidin-3-O-galactoside. The experimental data showed that the selected species and cultivars of berry fruits differ significantly in the contents of anthocyanins. Among all species tested, blackberry and blackcurrant were characterized significantly by the highest content of anthocyanins (sum), while the lowest content was found in red currant fruits. Additionally, the content of individual anthocyanin compounds in particular species and cultivars was also different. Considering the high content of anthocyanins and their potential positive impact on human health and protection against disease, berries should be part of healthy nutrition.

Keywords: HPLC method; anthocyanin; berry fruits; bioactive compounds; blackberry; blackcurrant; highbush blueberry; raspberry; red currant.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest. The funders had no role in the design of the study; in the collection, analyses, or interpretation of data; in the writing of the manuscript; or in the decision to publish the results.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Diphenylpropane skeleton (C6C3C6) of all flavonoids.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Chromatogram showing retention times for identified anthocyanins in examined berry fruits: (A) raspberry, (B) blackberry, (C) red currant, (D) blackcurrant, and (E) blueberry. (1) Cy-3-Glu, (2) Pel-3-Glu, (3) Del-3-Glu, (4) Del-3-Rut, (5) Cy-3-Rut, (6) Del-3-Gal, (7) Cy-3-Gal, and (8) Malv-3-Gal.
Figure 3
Figure 3
PCA showing the relationship between the anthocyanin content of different berry fruit species: total anthocyanins (TA), cyanidin-3-O-glucoside (Cy-3-Glu), pelargonidin-3-O-glucoside (Pel-3-Glu), delphinidin-3-O-glucoside (Del-3-Glu), delphinidin-3-O-rutinoside (Del-3-Rut), cyaidin-3-O-rutinoside (Cy-3-Rut), delphinidin-3-O-galactoside (Del-3-Gal), cyanidin-3-O-galactoside (Cy-3-Gal), and malvidin-3-O-galactoside (Malv-3-Gal).
Figure 4
Figure 4
Cluster dendrograms for the berry fruit species (A2) (raspberry (Rubus ideus L.), blackberry (Rubus L.), red currant (Ribes L.), blackcurrant (Ribes nigrum L.), highbush blueberry (Vaccinium corymbosum L.)) or cultivars (A1) (raspberry (Rubus ideus L. Tulnameen cv.), blackberry (Rubus L. Darrow and Thornless Evergreen cv.), red currant (Ribes L. Detvan, Rovada, Heros, and Jonkheer van Tets cv.), blackcurrant (Ribes nigrum L. Ben Lomond and Titania cv.), highbush blueberry (Vaccinium corymbosum L., Coville, Blue Gold, and Brigitta cv.)).
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. García-Gómez B.E., Salazar J.A., Nicolás-Almansa M., Razi M., Rubio M., Ruiz D., Martínez-Gómez P. Molecular Bases of Fruit Quality in Prunus Species: An Integrated Genomic, Transcriptomic, and Metabolic Review with a Breeding Perspective. Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2020;22:333. doi: 10.3390/ijms22010333. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Kaume L., Howard L.R., Devareddy L. The Blackberry Fruit: A Review on Its Composition and Chemistry, Metabolism and Bioavailability, and Health Benefits. J. Agric. Food Chem. 2011;60:5716–5727. doi: 10.1021/jf203318p. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Mannino G., Gentile C., Ertani A., Serio G., Bertea C. Anthocyanins: Biosynthesis, Distribution, Ecological Role, and Use of Biostimulants to Increase Their Content in Plant Foods—A Review. Agriculture. 2021;11:212. doi: 10.3390/agriculture11030212. - DOI
    1. Krishnan V., Rani R., Pushkar S., Lal S.K., Srivastava S., Kumari S., Vinutha T., Dahuja A., Praveen S., Sachdev A. Anthocyanin fingerprinting and dynamics in differentially pigmented exotic soybean genotypes using modified HPLC–DAD method. J. Food Meas. Charact. 2020;14:1966–1975. doi: 10.1007/s11694-020-00443-y. - DOI
    1. Krüger S., Morlock G.E. Fingerprinting and characterization of anthocyanins in 94 colored wheat varieties and blue aleurone and purple pericarp wheat crosses. J. Chromatogr. A. 2018;1538:75–85. doi: 10.1016/j.chroma.2018.01.032. - DOI - PubMed