Berries are a good source of natural antioxidants. In the present study, the total antioxidant capacity and phenolic composition of three berry fruits (blueberry, blackberry, and strawberry) cultivated in Nanjing were investigated. Blueberry, with a Trolox equivalent antioxidant capacity (TEAC) value of 14.98 mmol Trolox/100 g dry weight (DW), exhibited the strongest total antioxidant capacity using both the 2,2-azinobis(3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonic acid) diammonium salt (ABTS) and the 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) methods. Blueberry also had the highest total phenolic content (TPC, 9.44 mg gallic acid/g DW), total flavonoid content (TFC, 36.08 mg rutin/g DW), and total anthocyanidin content (TAC, 24.38 mg catechin/g DW). A preliminary analysis using high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) showed that the blueberry, blackberry, and strawberry samples tested contained a range of phenolic acids (including gallic acid, protocatechuic acid, p-hydroxybenzoic acid, vanillic acid, caffeic acid, p-coumaric acid, ferulic acid, ellagic acid, and cinnamic acid) and various types of flavonoids (flavone: luteolin; flavonols: rutin, myricetin, quercetrin, and quercetin; flavanols: gallocatechin, epigallocatechin, catechin, and catechin gallate; anthocyanidins: malvidin-3-galactoside, malvidin-3-glucoside, and cyanidin). In particular, the blueberries had high levels of proanthocyanidins and anthocyanidins, which might be responsible for their strong antioxidant activities. These results indicate a potential market role for berries (especially blueberries) as a functional food ingredient or nutraceutical.
