Antioxidant Capacity, Ascorbic Acid and Phenolics Content in Wild Edible Fruits

The studied material were the fruits of 7 wild species: dog rose (Rosa canina L.), blackberry (Rubus caesius L.), elderberry (Sambucus nigra L.), blueberry (Vaccinium myrtillus L.), blackthorn (Prunus spinosa L.), rowan (Sorbus aucuparia L.) and wild strawberry (Fragaria vesca L.). The fruits were subjected to an antioxidant activity assay (AA). Two methods were used: FRAP and ABTS. The fruit samples were also subjected to analyses for phenolics (recalculated onto gallic acid) by means of the Folin-Ciocalteau method. The fruit samples were subjected to vitamin C analyses as well, applying the Tilmans’ method. Dog rose fruits were characterized by the largest antioxidant capacity – 127.78±1.85 mM Fe·100 g of fresh mass (FRAP method) and 38.75±0.33 μM TE·g of fresh mass (ABTS method). At the same time, they contained the largest amounts of vitamin C – 1252.37±6.58 mg·100 g of fresh mass and phenolics – 3217.28±11.94 mg·100 g of fresh mass. Blackthorn, rowan and wild strawberry had the lowest antioxidant capacity of all the fruits studied. The examination confirmed a high correlation between antioxidant capacity, and vitamin C and phenolics content in fruits.