ABSTRACT
Total phenolics (TPH), flavonoids (TF), monomeric anthocyanins (ACY), and Vitamin C Equivalent Antioxidant Capacities (VCEAC) utilizing ABTS and DPPH radical scavenging assays were determined for five fully ripened blackberries cultivars (‘Loch Ness’, ‘Navaho’, ‘Arapaho’, ‘Apache’, and ‘Triple Crown’) of Rubus spp. grown in Alabama. The ABTS and DPPH methods were highly correlated (R = 0.897) and the ABTS method was better for assessing the overall antioxidant capacity. Cultivar differences were found in TPH, ACY, and VCEAC as determined by the ABTS method (P ≤ 0.05) with ‘Loch Ness’ and ‘Apache’ containing the highest levels. Based on these findings ‘Apache’, ‘Arapaho’, and ‘Navaho’ are three thornless blackberry cultivars that have potential to be used as dietary supplements and for commercial production in Alabama due to high phytonutrient content, antioxidant capacities, and yield.
Acknowledgments
The authors are grateful to the Alabama Fruit, Nut and Vegetable Industries and Alabama Agricultural Land Grant Alliance for their support of this work. In addition the authors thank Dr. C.Y. Lee, Department of Food Science and Technology, Cornell University, Geneva, New York, for technical guidance of antioxidant research.