Phytochemical variation in the plant-part specific phenols of wild crowberry (Empetrum hermaphroditum Hagerup) populations

The phytochemical content in plants can develop variably according to e.g. the microclimate and the soil conditions of the habitat. The evergreen dwarf shrub species Empetrum sp. occur widely in the northern hemisphere, where it is suggested to have its ecological contribution to the growth environment by a chemical interference with high constitutive levels of phenolic metabolites. We determined by HPLC and UHPLC-qtof-MS the individual phenolic compounds of fruits, leaves, stems and roots in Empetrum hermaphroditum plants growing on three different lake districts and under differing microclimate and soil conditions in order to find out natural, habitat related differences in the accumulation of phenols among the populations. The phytochemical content in E. hermaphroditum turned out to be diverse, plant-part specific and to vary a lot among the populations. Anthocyanins and flavanols were the most abundant phenolic compounds of fruits. Of the thirty eight compounds identified in leaves, stilbenoids were quantitatively in the majority but also a flavanone, pinocembrin was found in high quantities in some populations. Stems and roots contained mainly catechins, procyanidins and proanthocyanidins. Despite of the plant-part and habitat specific variation, some groupings of populations could be formed according to their phenolic constituents by PCA.