Original Research ArticlePolyphenols, anthocyanins, and flavonoids contents and the antioxidant capacity of various cultivars of highbush and half-high blueberries

•Anthocyanins were profiled in six blueberry cultivars for the first time.•Bluegold, Berkeley, and St. Cloud cultivars displayed special anthocyanin profiles.•The proportions of delphinidin 3-galactoside were stable in all samples.•Blueberry cultivars showed particular distribution areas in PCA plots.

Anthocyanin profiles, polyphenols and flavonoids contents, and the antioxidant capacities of 13 blueberry (Vaccinium corymbosum L. and Vaccinium corymbosum L./V. angustifolium Ait.) cultivars were determined and compared, including six cultivars for the first time. Although similar anthocyanins were found in the 13 cultivars, their concentrations and proportions were cultivar-dependent. Bluegold, Berkeley, and St. Cloud displayed particular anthocyanin profiles. Half-high cultivars had higher concentrations and proportions of anthocyanidins than highbush cultivars. The Pearson correlations and principal component analysis (PCA), performed to evaluate differences among cultivars, showed that anthocyanins, polyphenols, and flavonoids contents were significantly and positively correlated with blueberry antioxidant capacities. The 2,2-diphenylpicrylhydrazyl radical assay was less suited to assess antioxidant capacities based on flavonoids than ferric reducing antioxidant power assay. Although highbush cultivars could not be separated from half-high cultivars by PCA, each group had its own distribution area, which might be due to the peculiarities of each cultivar, possibly due to genetic origin.

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