Evaluation of volatiles, phenolic compounds and antioxidant activities of rose hip (Rosa L.) fruits in Turkey

Five different rose hip (Rosa L.) species including Rosa canina, Rosa dumalis, Rosa gallica, Rosa dumalis subsp.boissieri and Rosa hirtissima grown in Turkey are studied. Phenolic compounds, organic acids, sugar and volatile compounds of five different species of rose hips are studied. Total phenolic contents of the rose hip fruits were significantly influenced by species and the levels of total flavonoid and tartaric esters were almost identical in the samples. Antioxidant activities and antiradical scavenging capacities of the extracts were high levels in all rose hip species. It is noticeable that organic acid and sugar contents of the fruits were highly dependence of species and the high levels of ascorbic acid were characteristic. In total, eighteen different phenolic compounds were identified in rose hip species by RP-HPLC-DAD method and, in particular, R. dumalis subsp. boissiericontained different phenolic compounds. Gallic acid, catechin, procyanidin-B2 and hydroxycinnamic acid derivatives (chlorogenic, t-caffeic, p-coumaric, ferrulic and sinapic acids) were principal for all rose hip species. A total of 52 volatile compounds were identified in rose hip species by SPME/GC-MS and it was characterized by abundance of alcohols and aldehydes with also some monoterpenes and sesquiterpenes.