Bioactive Compounds and Antioxidant Capacity of Strawberry Jams

Abstract

Strawberries represent the main source of ellagic acid derivatives in the Brazilian diet. They are also good sources of flavonoids, mainly anthocyanins, and phenolic acids, to which many beneficial effects have been attributed. However, as the fruit is not available all the year, the objective of this work was to determine whether the jams could also represent a good source of bioactive compounds. In the current study, five different commercially available strawberry jams were characterized in relation to flavonoids, total phenolics, free and total ellagic acid contents, and antioxidant capacity. Anthocyanins were detected only in two jams at very low content. Kaempferol glycosides were the main flavonoids present (from 0.38 to 1.05 mg/100 g fresh weight, FW), while quercetin glycosides were present in the range 0.14-1.20 mg/100 g FW. Free and total ellagic acid content ranged from 0.4 to 2.9 mg/100 g FW, and from 17.0 to 29.5 mg/100 g FW, respectively. Total phenolics varied from 58 to 136 mg/100 g FW, and the antioxidant capacity from 0.55 to 0.76 mumol BHT (Butylhydroxytoluene) equivalents/g FW. Overall, results indicated that jams can also represent a good source of antioxidant compounds, although compared to the fruit important losses seem to occur.

Phenolic Content and Radical Scavenging Capacity of Berries and Related Jams from Certificated Area in Serbia

“…The amount of ellagic acid increased twofold after processing whole berries, and 4.6-fold in jam obtained from residue due to the high percent of seeds in product. This result is in accordance with the previous published data showing increase in free ellagic acid content from 1.5-to 2.5-fold during processing of raspberry and strawberry to jams [6,16,17]. This increase can be related either to a release of hexahydroxydiphenic acid from ellagitannins, which is transformed to ellagic acid, or to an easier extractability of this compound from processed products due to the degradation of the cell structures [6].…”

“…Jam processing of black currant and bilberry fruits decreased the total phenolics content for less than 50%. The loss of total phenolics during the processing of different berry fruits (strawberry, raspberry, black currant, blackberry) to jams has been reported previously, but reduction was less pronounced [16][17][18].…”

“…Zabetakis et al [20] showed that anthocyanins are very sensitive to temperature denaturation, and a combined time/temperature process can greatly reduce the level of pigments in the final product. Anthocyanins losses are probably due to complexation with co-occuring compounds during jam processing [16]. Storage of jams at room temperature caused further reduction of anthocyanins content by 8.3-50% (Table 1).…”

Phytonutrient Intake by Adults in the United States in Relation to Fruit and Vegetable Consumption

“…It was therefore necessary to develop a database of concentration data based on information in the publicly available literature for this phytonutrient (32,(37)(38)(39)(40)(41)(42). Analytical data for US foods were used where possible to characterize concentrations in foods consumed by American adults; foreign data on constituent concentrations were used only to fill in data gaps.…”

Bioactive Compounds and Health-Promoting Properties of Berry Fruits: A Review

“…As demonstrated by clinical research, the bioavailability of those naturally occurring compounds significantly exceeds the health benefits carried by their corresponding supplements in pharmaceutical form [16,25,26]. Due to climatic conditions, fresh berry fruits are generally available for consumption several months a year, while some of the harvested fruit is processed to juice, fruit beverages, frozen products, wine, jam, marmalade and jelly [12,[27][28][29][30][31][32].…”