ANTIOXIDANT POTENTIAL OF CORNELIAN CHERRY (Cornus mas L.) FROM MONTENEGRO

Abstract: In this work, total phenols, flavonoids, tannins, anthocyanins, the antioxidant capacity (by the DPPH and FRAP method) were determined in the juice and pomice of cornelian cherry from the area of Montenegro. Also, content of microelements and macroelements in the juice, pomice and fruit of cornelian cherry were investigated. In the studied cornelian cherry samples, the content of phenols ranged from 159.57 to 244.93 mg GAE/100 g, flavonoids from 71.74 to 165.5 mg QE/100 g, tannins from 0.33 to 0.81 %, total anthocyanins 0.057-0.310 %. HPLC analysis identified anthocyanins: delphinidin-3-O-glucoside, cyanidin-3-O-galactoside, cyanidin-3-O-glucoside, pelargonin-3-O-glucoside and its derivative. The most abundant essential microelement in the studied cornelian cherry samples was Fe (23.44-37.69 mg/kg), followed by Zn (3.14-6.25 mg/kg), Cu (1.50-1.80 mg/kg) and Mn (0.58-0.78 mg/kg). The most abundant essential macroelement in the examined samples was K (2427.8-3276.2 mg/kg), followed by Ca (361.5-475.7), Mg (95.41-146.5 mg/kg) and Na (8.347-16.59 mg/kg). Pb, Cd and Ni were not detected in the tested samples. A high degree of correlation was obtained between the content of total flavonoids and antioxidant value measured by the FRAP method (R = 0.96), as well as between the content of total anthocyanins and antioxidant activity measured by the DPPH method (R = 0.89). Of individual anthocyanins, high correlation values were shown by cyanidin-3-O-galactoside (R = 0.96), cyanidin-3-O-glucoside (R = 0.95) and pelargonin-3-O-glucoside (R = 0.94) with antioxidant activity measured by the DPPH method.