Comparative Evaluation of the Phytochemical Composition of Fruits of Ten Haskap Berry (<i>Lonicera caerulea</i> var. <i>kamtschatica</i> Sevast.) Cultivars Grown in Poland

Abstract

The aim of this study was to investigate the qualitative and quantitative fruit profiles of ten cultivars (cvs.) of haskap berry (Lonicera caerulea var. kamtschatica Sevast.) to determine their antioxidant activity (ABTS test, CUPRAC test, ability to capture superoxide (O2˙−) and hydroxyl radicals (OH˙)), cytotoxic activity (against cancer cell lines breast, MCF-7; colon, HT-29; and melanoma, SK-Mel-28) and physicochemical properties. Most of the selected cultivars had not previously been analyzed for these properties. A total of 19 polyphenolic compounds were identified in the fruits of the tested genotypes, with a quantitative range of 2166.3–3597.0 µg/g. The polyphenol profile was dominated by anthocyanins (90.0–92.4%), and the remaining classes occurred in the following order: phenolic acids > flavonols > flavan-3-ols. The highest concentrations of these polyphenol groups were found in the cultivars ‘Honeybee’, ‘Sinij Uties’ and ‘Usłada’. The fruits of these cultivars were also characterized by the highest antioxidant activity (546.6–683.5 µg/mL for O2˙− and 541.2–652.1 µg/mL for OH˙) and cytotoxic activity (103.6–649.2 µg/mL). The data obtained indicate that the fruits of the new haskap cultivars are a good source of bioactive compounds with possible health-promoting properties.

Keywords

• <i>Lonicera caerulea</i> var. <i>kamtschatica</i> Sevast.
• haskap berry
• antioxidant activity
• cytotoxic activity
• UPLC-PDA-MS/MS
• physicochemical properties