Phenolics and Antioxidant Activity of Saskatoon Berry (Amelanchier alnifolia) Pomace Extract

Journal of Medicinal Food

Phenolics and Antioxidant Activity of Saskatoon Berry (Amelanchier alnifolia) Pomace Extract

To cite this article:
Li Ruiqi, Hettiarachchy Navam, Rayaprolu Srinivas, Eswaranandam Satchithanandam, Howe Bruce, Davis Mike, and Jha Alok. Journal of Medicinal Food. March 2014, 17(3): 384-392. doi:10.1089/jmf.2012.0278.

Published in Volume: 17 Issue 3: March 20, 2014
Online Ahead of Print: January 29, 2014

Author information

Ruiqi Li,¹ Navam Hettiarachchy,¹ Srinivas Rayaprolu,¹ Satchithanandam Eswaranandam,¹ Bruce Howe,²Mike Davis,¹ and Alok Jha³

¹Department of Food Science, University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, Arkansas, USA.

²Select Ingredients, San Diego, California, USA.

³Center of Food Science and Technology, Benaras Hindu University, Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh, India.

Address correspondence to: Navam Hettiarachchy, PhD, Department of Food Science, University of Arkansas, 2650 N Young Ave., Fayetteville, AR 72704, USA, E-mail: nhettiar@uark.edu

Manuscript received 9 November 2012
Revision accepted 19 September 2013

ABSTRACT

Saskatoon berries (Amelanchier alnifolia Nutt.) have significantly higher levels of anthocyanins (ACY) among berries with potential health benefits. The pomace is a by-product of juice extracted from berries and is a potential source of inexpensive polyphenols. The objectives of this study were to extract the maximum amount of total phenolics from saskatoon pomace, to determine the antioxidant activity, and to identify individual phenolic components. Pomace extracts showed high content of total phenolics, total ACY, and total flavonoids of 43.3, 2.8, and 10.3 g/kg of dried weight (DW) of pomace. A high oxygen radical absorbing capacity value of 119.4 μmol Trolox equivalents/g DW and free radical scavenging activity of pomace extract (200 ppm, 86.8%) were observed. Five major ACY, two flavonols, and three chlorogenic acids were identified and quantified in pomace extracts. This study shows that saskatoon berries pomace rich in antioxidant phenolics could be extracted by “green” solvents (water and ethanol) and used as suitable food product applications.