Influence of Anthocyanins, Flavonols and Phenolic Acids on the Antiradical Activity of Berries and Small Fruits

One fraction enriched with flavonols and phenolic acids; and the fraction enriched with anthocyanins, were isolated from red raspberry, blackberry, sour cherry, strawberry, chokeberry, elderberry, and blueberry to study their antiradical activity using the free radical, 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl, test. The phenol content was determined using high-performance liquid chromatography. The antiradical activity of anthocyanins was 7 to 25 times higher than the antiradical activity of flavonols and phenolic acids. High correlations were found between the content of anthocyanins, flavonols, phenolic acids, quercetin derivatives, caffeic acid derivatives, and the antiradical activity (r = 0.99, 0.93, 0.83, 0.93, 0.94, respectively). Among the phenols studied in this work, anthocyanins showed the highest influence on the antiradical activity in all fruits. Other phenolics with relatively strong influence on the antiradical activity of fruits were quercetin derivatives and caffeic acid derivatives (chlorogenic acid) in chokeberries and blueberries, quercetin derivatives in blackberries, quercetin derivatives and caffeic acid derivatives (chlorogenic acid) in elderberries, and hydroxycinnamic acids in sour cherries.