Influence of cultivar, maturity, and sampling on blackberry (Rubus L. hybrids) anthocyanins, polyphenolics, and antioxidant properties

Total anthocyanin pigments increased from 74.7 to 317 mg/100g fresh weight (FW) from underripe to overripe for Marion blackberries and from 69.9 to 164 mg/100 g FW for Evergreen blackberries, Total phenolics did not show a marked change with maturity with values slightly decreasing from underripe to ripe. Antioxidant activities, while increasing with ripening, also did not show the marked change that total anthocyanins exhibited. The impact of variation due to plots, subsampling, sample preparation, and measurement on Marion composition was examined in detail. Plot-to-plot and sample differences were the major contributors to variation, with sample preparation being an important contributor for some parameters. Measurement variation was a relatively small component of the total variation. Total anthocyanins for 11 blackberry cultivars ranged from 131 to 256 mg/100 g FW (mean = 198), total phenolics ranged from 682 to 1056 mg GAE/100 g FW (mean = 900), oxygen radical absorbance capacity ranged from 37.6 to 75.5 mumol TE/g FW (mean = 50.2), and ferric reducing antioxidant power ranged from 63.5 to 91.5 mumol TE/g FW (mean = 77.5).