Affiliations: HortResearch Hawke's Bay, Havelock North, New
Zealand | HortResearch Kerikeri, Kerikeri, New Zealand | HortResearch Nelson Region, Motueka, New
Zealand | HortResearch Palmerston North, Palmerston North, New
Zealand
Note: [] Address for correspondence: Jessica Scalzo, HortResearch Hawke's
Bay, Private Bag 1401, Havelock North 4157, New Zealand. E-mail:
JScalzo@hortresearch.co.nz
Abstract: Anthocyanins, which give berryfruit their characteristic colour,
have attracted the interest of researchers because of their putative health
benefits. Over the past eight years, HortResearch has been analysing the
anthocyanin content of numerous samples of different species of
Vaccinium, Rubus and also Ribes nigrum. These samples were taken
from different genotypes held in germplasm collections, cultivar and advanced
selection trials, genetic studies and seedling populations. Averaged over all
samples, Ribes had higher total anthocyanin contents (total ACY) than
Vaccinium which was, in turn, higher than Rubus. However, all
genera provided rich sources of anthocyanins and individual crop types within
genera varied considerably. Five percent (i.e., 223) of our samples had total
ACY of more than 5000 μg/g: most of these were
blackcurrants, but some were black raspberries and three were ornamental
blueberries. Vaccinium species generally contained the most diverse range
of individual anthocyanins. In contrast, Ribes nigrum samples were
dominated by cyanidin and delphinidin rutinosides which, on average, comprised
almost 80% of the total ACY. For Rubus species almost all anthocyanins
were cyanidins, although which ones were more prevalent varied with the
species. The high degree of variation in total ACY and individual anthocyanin
contents reported herein, coupled with the moderate to high heritabilities
reported in the literature, indicate that good progress could be made in
breeding cultivars with still higher total ACY levels.
