Relation between bioactive compounds and free radical‐scavenging capacity in berry fruits during frozen storage

In this work the correlation between the free radical‐scavenging capacity and bioactive compounds (anthocyanins, ellagic acid, total phenolics and vitamin C) in four Spanish raspberry cultivars (Heritage, Autumn Bliss, Zeva and Rubi) and Spanish wild blackberry as affected by freezing and frozen storage was evaluated. From this mathematical study a significant correlation was obtained between the radical‐scavenging capacity and the anthocyanin and total phenolic contents in both raspberry (r = 0.85 and 0.83 respectively) and blackberry (r = 0.84 and 0.68 respectively) fruits, but no correlation was found between this parameter and the ellagic acid and vitamin C contents. A key objective of this study was to select the raspberry cultivar most suitable for freezing preservation in terms of the stability of its health‐promoting constituents. A two‐dimensional principal component analysis (PCA) of the raspberry cultivars explained 82% of the total variance of the factors mentioned above. The early raspberry cultivars (Heritage and Autumn Bliss) showed a lower content of bioactive compounds and lower radical‐scavenging capacity, while the late cultivars (Zeva and Rubi) showed higher values, and these differences were clearly displayed by the PCA. © 2003 Society of Chemical Industry