Anthocyanins from black currants (Ribes nigrum L.)

Area of Science:

• * Food Science
• * Phytochemistry
• * Analytical Chemistry

Background:

• * Anthocyanins are natural pigments found in fruits and vegetables.
• * Black currant berries (Ribes nigrum L.) are known for their rich phytochemical content.
• * Understanding the specific anthocyanin profile is crucial for food and nutraceutical applications.

Purpose of the Study:

• * To identify and characterize the anthocyanin structures present in black currant berries.
• * To quantify the major and minor anthocyanin components.
• * To investigate the relationship between different anthocyanin glycoside forms.

Main Methods:

• * Size exclusion chromatography
• * High-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC)
• * UV-visible spectroscopy
• * Electrospray mass spectrometry (ESI-MS)

Main Results:

• * Fifteen distinct anthocyanin structures were identified, including 3-O-glucosides and 3-O-rutinosides of pelargonidin, cyanidin, peonidin, delphinidin, petunidin, and malvidin.
• * Cyanidin 3-O-arabinoside and acylated forms (3-O-(6''-p-coumaroylglucosides) of cyanidin and delphinidin) were also identified.
• * The four main pigments (delphinidin and cyanidin 3-O-glucosides and 3-O-rutinosides) constituted over 97% of the total anthocyanin content.
• * Anthocyanin rutinosides were consistently found in higher amounts than their corresponding glucosides for pigments with the same aglycon.

Conclusions:

• * Black currant berries are a significant source of diverse anthocyanins.
• * The chromatographic methods employed were effective for isolating and characterizing minor and acylated anthocyanins.
• * The prevalence of rutinosides over glucosides is a key characteristic of black currant anthocyanins.