Composition and Antioxidant Activity of Phenolic Compounds in Fruit of the Genus L.

We investigated the qualitative and quantitative composition of phenolic compounds in the fruit of L. cultivars grown in Lithuania. The highest total content of phenolic compounds (50.13 ± 4.17 mg GAE/g, < 0.05) was determined in fruit samples of L. cultivar "Single Cherry". The highest levels of hydroxycinnamic acid derivatives were determined in fruit samples of Thunb. cultivars "Dart's Defender" and "Adam Chodun". The highest flavonoid content was determined in fruit samples of Thunb. cultivar "Nana" and species. The strongest antioxidant activity evaluated by applying DPPH and FRAP assays was determined in fruit extracts of cultivar "Single Cherry" and cultivar "Adam Chodun". Qualitative and quantitative analysis of phenolic compounds in L. fruit was performed by applying UHPLC. The following phenolic compounds were identified in fruit samples: caffeic acid, chlorogenic acid, quercetin, quercitrin, (+)-catechin, (-)-epicatechin, (-)-epicatechin gallate, rutin, phloridzin, and kaempferol-3-O-glycoside. A strong correlation was determined between the total amount of phenolic compounds determined in extracts of the fruit samples of L. cultivars and the radical scavenging and reducing activity of their extracts in vitro ( = 0.767 and 0.727, respectively, < 0.05).