ANTHOCYANINS IN BLUEBERRY CULTIVARS: EFFECT OF THE GROWING AREA

Blueberries, Vaccinium corymbosum L., are rich in anthocyanins and their antioxidant capacity has been related with anti vascular diseases, anti-cancer and anti age effects. Total content and relative distribution in polyphenols are influenced by many factors, including cultivar and growing area. Thus, the main objective of this work was to evaluate the effect of two different cultivation areas on the levels of anthocyanins in blueberry cultivars ‘Berkeley’, ‘Bluecrop’, ‘Patriot’ and ‘Toro’, picked up in Rome, CRA - Fruit Tree Research Centre, or at Mazowsze, Pomology Department of Warsaw University of Life Sciences, Poland. Anthocyanin compounds were measured by an HPLC based method with an UV-Visible-Diode Array Detector. The results of the quantitative evaluations of single anthocyanins showed that glycosides of delphinidins and petunidins are more representative in berries of cultivars picked in Rome, while malvidin glycoside content was higher in berries picked in Warsaw area. Our results suggest that the anthocyanin accumulation is mainly related to an interaction between the cultivar and the climate area which affects either the total content or the anthocyanin profile.