Chemical characterization of wild populations of bilberry (Vaccinium myrtillus L.) from Montenegro

Wild bilberry (Vaccinium myrtillus L.) is very important natural resource of Montenegro. Analyses of phenolic compounds in bilberries from that area have not been done previously. In our study, bilberries were manually (hand-picked) collected in the summer of 2008, from 11 different localities in mountain region of Montenegro (altitude ranged from 665 to 1700m a.s.l.). The samples were freezed immediately and stored at -25°C untill the analysis were done. The total phenolics were estimated by Folin-Ciocalteu method with slight modifications [1] while the amounts of anthocyanins were analyzed according to the prescription of Ph. Eur. 6.0 [2]. Anthocyanin aglycones were analyzed using HPLC after acid hydrolysis. Similar amount of total phenolics was noticed in all analyzed samples and it varied from 3.92–5.24 mgGAE/g fw. The amounts of total anthocyanins varied between 0.27–0.46%. Among eleven analysed samples, 10 corresponded to the prescriptions of Ph. Eur. 6.0. Significant correlation between total phenolics and total anthocyanins was noticed (r=0.843, P > 0.01). Correlation of total phenolics/total anthocyanins and the type of habitats was observed (P > 0.05). Higher amounts of total phenolics and total anthocyanins were detected in samples harvested from localities more exposed to the sun in comparison with berries grown in shadow. Five cyanidin aglycones (delphinidin, cyanidin, petunidin, peonidin, and malvidin) were quantified after acid hydrolysis, where delphinidin was the most abundant in all samples (0.33–0.75mg/g fw).

References:

[1] Waterman, PG., Mole, S. (1994) Analysis of Phenolic Plant Metabolites. Blackwell Scientific Publication, Oxford.

[2] European Pharmacopoeia, 6th edition. (2007) Council of Europe, Strasbourg.