Abstract

Besides its increasing agro-economical importance for Chile, berries have become the object of biomedical interest since their consumption is closely associated with various health-related benefits. Worth-mentioning is the reduction in the relative risk of several non-transmissible chronic diseases, including some types of cancer and various cardiovascular, inflammatory and neurodegenerative diseases. The health-protecting benefits associated with the consumption of berries are largely attributed to the distinguishable high concentration of antioxidants in these fruits. The molecules which most account for most of this antioxidant capacity is phenolic acids plus polyphenolic compounds (TPH). Prompted by the recognition of the beneficial role that antioxidant compounds exert on health, in the present study we measured the TPH contents and the ORAC activity of some of the main cultivars of blueberries, raspberries, strawberries and blackberries currently grown in Chile. On average, blackberries ('Cherokee', 'Navaho' and 'Loch Ness') had the highest TPH and ORAC values; no significant differences were noted between the cultivars. Amongst blueberries, only 'Elliott' had TPH and ORAC values comparable to those of blackberries; 'O'Neal', 'Duke', 'Bluecrop' and 'Brigitta' presented higher ORAC (but not TPH) values than those in strawberries ('Camarosa') and raspberries ('Heritage' and 'Meeker'). High correlations were found between ORAC and TPH values for each of the species evaluated. When compared with the ORAC and TPH values reported in the literature for identical species and cultivars, berries harvested in Chile during the summer of 2004 had, in most cases, comparable, and in some cases, moderately higher, levels of antioxidants.