Phenolics from bilberries ( Vaccinium myrtillus L.) sampled from seven different locations and highbush blueberries ( Vaccinium corymbosum L.) from one location in Slovenia were analyzed. In samples of both species 15 anthocyanins were identified by LC-MS/MS. Their contents were expressed as cyanidin 3-glucoside equivalents (C3GE); bilberries contained 1210.3 ± 111.5 mg C3GE/100 g fw and blueberries 212.4 ± 14.1 mg C3GE/100 g fw. Glycosides of delphinidin and cyanidin were predominant (488.5 vs 363.6 mg C3GE/100 g fw) in the bilberries and glycosides of malvidin (108.0 vs 100.8 mg C3GE/100 g fw) in the blueberries, whereas the contents of peonidin were lowest (74.5 vs 4.8 mg C3GE/100 g fw) in both berries. The contents of flavanols, flavonols, phenolic acids, and stilbenes were determined by LC-MS. For the first time, rutin was identified (bilberries, 0.2 ± 0.0 mg/100 g fw; blueberries, 3.1 ± 0.1 mg/100 g fw). Chlorogenic acid (as 3-caffeoylquinic acid) was the most abundant among the phenolic acids (23.1 ± 1.0 mg/100 g fw in bilberries and 70.0 ± 3.4 mg/100 g fw in blueberries). Statistical analysis shows that the content of 27 individual flavonoids, phenolic acids, and stilbenes can be used to identify the picking region of these Slovenian bilberries.

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One reason that some people are prone to calcium oxalate nephrolithiasis is that they produce urine that is subnormal in its ability to inhibit the growth of calcium oxalate crystals. We have identified in human urine a glycoprotein (GCI) that inhibits calcium oxalate crystal growth strongly, and at low concentrations (10-' M); in this study, we have isolated GCI molecules from the urine of normal people and patients with calcium oxalate stones. GCI from stone formers is abnormal in three ways: (1) it contains no detectable y-carboxyglutamic acid (Gla), whereas normal GCI contains 2-3 residues of Gla per mole; (2) about half of the GCI in urine of patients inhibits crystal growth 4-20 times less than normal GCI as judged by its performance in a kinetic growth assay, in vitro; (3) at the air-water interface, patient GCI has a film collapse pressure approximately half of normal. GCI molcules from the urine of patients with calcium oxalate nephrolithiasis are intrinsically abnormal, and these abnormalities could play a role in the genesis of stones.

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