Determination of Phenolic Compounds Using HPLC-UV Method in Wild Fruit Species

Abstract

Plant parts of some spontaneous fruit species were analyzed by HPLC-UV method to determine their content in phenolic compounds. Buds, leaves, flowers, and fruits were harvested from 11 wild fruit species of medicinal, food, and therapeutic interest: European crab apple, European wild pear, blackthorn, dog rose, elder, dewberry, wild blackberry, cornelian cherry, red hawthorn, black hawthorn, and green strawberry. The studied species were analyzed for the presence and amount of phenolic compounds: flavonoids from the subclasses flavanols (catechin hydrate and epicatechin) and flavonols (rutin, myricetin, quercetin, and kaempferol) together with phenolic acids belonging to the hydroxybenzoic acid subclass (ellagic, gallic, syringic, vanillic, and salicylic) and hydroxycinnamic acids (caffeic, ferulic, sinapic, p-coumaric, neochlorogenic, and chlorogenic). The obtained results confirm the presence of bioactive compounds in different plant parts in wild fruit species. The variability identified from one species to another, the different compositions of phenols within the species, provides useful data on the role of these plant parts in the human body.