Sustainable Valorization of Sambucus nigra L. Berries: From Crop Biodiversity to Nutritional Value of Juice and Pomace

Abstract

Improvement of dietary and ecological biodiversity, namely by exploring autochthonous varieties, is a key point to the construction of a more sustainable food system and planetary health. However, the environmental sustainability continues to face huge challenges, reflecting the importance of achieving a better understanding about the functional role of biodiversity in ecosystems. Thus, the main objective of this research is to contribute to the sustainable valorization of Sambucus nigra L. berries through a comprehensive approach to evaluate the effects of elderberry’s cultivar, harvest year, and plantation field on the physicochemical berry composition. Moreover, the nutritional value of elderberry juice and respective dried pomace was determined. This complementary information is of huge utility for the rational and, as much as possible, integral use of elderberries. The harvest year, followed by field and the interaction of harvest × field, accounted for the highest impact on the berry’s physicochemical parameters, indicating the importance of the combined impact of the macro- and mesoclimate conditions on plant metabolism. Elderberry juice and dried pomace are a good source of carbohydrates (ca. 12 and 82%, respectively) and have low amounts of fat (≤2.5%), making them low-energy foods. Dried pomace may also represent a potential alternative source of vegetal protein (ca. 6%).