Bioactive Phytochemicals from Wild Arbutus unedo L. Berries from Different Locations in Portugal: Quantification of Lipophilic Components

Abstract

The lipophilic composition of wild Arbutus unedo L. berries, collected from six locations in Penacova (center of Portugal), as well as some general chemical parameters, namely total soluble solids, pH, titratable acidity, total phenolic content and antioxidant activity was studied in detail to better understand its potential as a source of bioactive compounds. The chemical composition of the lipophilic extracts, focused on the fatty acids, triterpenoids, sterols, long chain aliphatic alcohols and tocopherols, was investigated by gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC–MS) analysis of the dichloromethane extracts. The lipophilic extractives of the ripe A. unedo berries ranged from 0.72% to 1.66% (w/w of dry weight), and consisted mainly of triterpenoids, fatty acids and sterols. Minor amounts of long chain aliphatic alcohols and tocopherols were also identified. Forty-one compounds were identified and among these, ursolic acid, lupeol, α-amyrin, linoleic and α-linolenic acids, and β-sitosterol were highlighted as the major components. To the best of our knowledge the current research study provides the most detailed phytochemical repository for the lipophilic composition of A. unedo, and offers valuable information for future valuation and exploitation of these berries.

Various Patterns of Composition and Accumulation of Steroids and Triterpenoids in Cuticular Waxes from Screened Ericaceae and Caprifoliaceae Berries during Fruit Development

“…The profile of steroids is simpler than in the lingonberry and bilberry, being composed only of campesterol, stigmasterol, sitosterol, cycloartanol, and tremulone. The results obtained in this study generally confirmed the results obtained earlier for the entire strawberry tree fruit [20]; however, as in the case of bilberry, the analysis performed for cuticular waxes permitted to identify more compounds occurring in minor amounts, e.g., moretenol and hopenone, not found before.…”

Vine Waste Valorisation: Integrated Approach for the Prospection of Bioactive Lipophilic Phytochemicals

“…Before GC–MS analysis, about 20 mg of each dry extract was converted into its trimethylsilyl (TMS) derivatives according to a previously optimized methodology [37]. The derivatized extracts were analysed by GC–MS adapted from a methodology described previously [36,38] on a GC–MS-QP2010 Ultra (Shimadzu, Kyoto, Japan), equipped with a DB–1 J&W capillary column (30 m × 0.32 mm inner diameter, 0.25 μm film thickness). The following chromatographic conditions were used: initial temperature, 80 °C for 5 min; temperature gradient, 4 °C/min; final temperature, 260 °C; temperature gradient, 2 °C/min; final temperature, 285 °C for 13 min; injector temperature, 250 °C; transfer-line temperature, 290 °C; split ratio, 1:50.…”

“…Compounds were identified as TMS derivatives by comparing their mass spectra with the GC–MS spectral library (Wiley 275 and U.S. National Institute of Science and Technology (NIST14)), by their characteristic retention times under the same GC conditions, and by comparing their mass spectra fragmentation profiles with published data [14,36,37,38,39,40,41,42], or by the injection of standards (ursolic acid, stigmasterol, hexadecanoic acid and nonadecan-1-ol).…”

Comparative assessment of chemical compositions, antioxidant and antimicrobial activity in ten berries grown in China

“…Then, the septum covering each vial was pierced with a SPME needle and the fibre was exposed to the headspace for 45 min. Berries were washed in running tap water and freeze‐dried before extraction …”