Basic Chemical Composition and Concentration of Selected Bioactive Compounds in Leaves of Black, Red and White Currant

Abstract

The aim of this study was to determine the basic chemical composition, the content of bioactive compounds and antioxidant activity in currant leaves. The leaves of black, red and white currant shrubs were collected in May, and in the beginning of June, July and August, for two years between 2018 and 2019. The proximate analysis, including dry matter, protein, fat, ash and total carbohydrates, was determined. In addition, the content of the polyphenols and the total antioxidant activity using ABTS, DPPH and FRAP assays were conducted. The highest concentration of protein was detected in the whitecurrant leaves harvested in May in both years, while the highest content of crude fat was found in the blackcurrant leaves harvested in both years, with the exception of the August harvest. Extracts from the blackcurrant leaves collected in June/July 2019 had the highest antioxidant activity that was measured by the ABTS method (about 7000 µmol Trolox/g DM) and confirmed by other methods, while extracts from the whitecurrant leaves produced from the August 2018 collection had the lowest antioxidant activity (1884 µmol Trolox/g DM). Currant leaves are a rich source of bioactive compounds and contain higher amounts of polyphenols as compared with currant fruits. These compounds may play a very important role in the risk reduction and even prevention of the most chronic non-communicable diseases. Therefore, further research is needed to identify currant leaves as a source of bioactives for functional foods and natural health products. The highest antioxidant activity was in the redcurrant leaves from all the harvest times in 2018 as measured by the ABTS and FRAP methods. On the contrary, blackcurrant leaves from all the harvest times in 2019 had the highest antioxidant activity.

Green Approach to Enhance the Recovery of Polyphenols from Blackcurrant and Bilberry Leaves: Evaluation of Microwave-Assisted and Pressurized Liquid Extraction

“…Regarding the range of antioxidant capacity obtained with the different assays, our values are slightly higher than those of Teleszko and Wojdylo [ 58 ], who reported an antioxidant capacity for blackcurrant leaves of 329.1 and 191.6 µmol TE/g dw by the ABTS and FRAP assays, respectively, and than the DPPH value of 200.3 µmol TE/g dw reported by Katsube et al [ 59 ]. On the other hand, Ziobroń et al [ 60 ] reported significantly higher values obtained with the ABTS, DPPH and FRAP assays than most of the previously reported ones, reaching even 7877.82 µmol TE/g dw for the DPPH radical scavenging capacity of blackcurrant leaves, and attributed them to differences in the extraction process, as the authors carried out a 2 h extraction in a water bath shaker using acidified methanol.…”

Blackcurrant (Fruits, Pomace, and Leaves) Phenolic Characterization before and after In Vitro Digestion, Free Radical Scavenger Capacity, and Antioxidant Effects on Iron-Mediated Lipid Peroxidation

“…Ref. [31] reported that the leaves of currant plants exhibit stronger anti-inflammatory activity due to their increased antioxidant capacity compared with fruits. The same authors expressed the antioxidant activity using the ABTS, DPPH, and FRAP methods and found that the strongest properties were related to the DPPH radical.…”

Does Shoot Age Influence Biological and Chemical Properties in Black Currant (Ribes nigrum L.) Cultivars?

“…Berries of black currants are traditionally used for producing juices, jams, purées, jellies, syrups and yoghurt and other dairy products, but can be also eaten raw [ 5 ]. Besides berries, the seeds and leaves are a rich source of numerous bioactive ingredients, especially polyphenolic compounds [ 6 , 7 ].…”