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Carotenoids in Sea Buckthorn (Hippophae rhamnoides L.) Berries during Ripening and Use of Pheophytin a as a Maturity Marker

2008; American Chemical Society; Volume: 57; Issue: 1 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1021/jf802599f

1520-5118

Staffan Andersson, Marie Olsson, Eva Johansson, Kimmo Rumpunen,

Botanical Studies and Applications

Four cultivars of sea buckthorn berries were analyzed for their carotenoid and chlorophyll contents during ripening in three consecutive years. The different carotenoids generally increased in concentration during ripening and comprised from 120 to 1425 μg/g of DW of total carotenoids (1.5−18.5 mg/100 g of FW) depending on cultivar, harvest time, and year. GLM analyses revealed the effect of cultivar to be considerably larger than that of year and harvest time. The content of pheophytin a, a chlorophyll a derivate, steadily decreased during berry ripening. Pheophytin a therefore acted as a marker of the degree of ripening of sea buckthorn berries and was used here to convert harvest date into an estimated ripening time.