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ARS Home » Pacific West Area » Corvallis, Oregon » Horticultural Crops Research Unit » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #223160
Title: Occurrence of Rutin and Chlorogenic Acid in Elderberry Leaf, Flower, and Stem in Response to Genotype, Environment, and Season

Author
item THOMAS, A - UNIVERSITY OF MISSOURI
item BYERS, P - MISSOURI STATE UNIV
item FINN, CHAD
item CHEN, Y - UNIVERSITY OF MISSOURI
item ROTTINGHAUS, G - UNIVERSITY OF MISSOURI
item MALONE, A - UNIVERSITY OF MISSOURI
item APPLEQUIST, W - MISSOURI BOTANICAL GARDEN

Submitted to: Acta Horticulturae
Publication Type: Proceedings
Publication Acceptance Date: 9/1/2007
Publication Date: 1/1/2008
Citation: Thomas, A.L., Byers, P.L., Finn, C.E., Chen, Y.C., Rottinghaus, G.E., Malone, A.M., Applequist, W.L. 2008. Occurrence of Rutin and Chlorogenic Acid in Elderberry Leaf, Flower, and Stem in Response to Genotype, Environment, and Season. Acta Horticulturae. 765:197-206.

Interpretive Summary: American elderberry (Sambucus nigra subsp. canadensis) is being increasingly consumed as a nutraceutical. In Europe, tea made from flowers of the subspecies nigra is a popular treatment for respiratory infections, but little is known about the medicinal attributes of the subspecies canadensis. Potentially-active compounds in elderberry include the phenolics rutin, chlorogenic acid, and quercetin. Genetic, environmental and seasonal influences on the concentration of such metabolites in the fruit and non-fruit tissues of American elderberry are unknown. The objective of this study was to quantify the production of medicinal compounds in non-fruit elderberry tissues in response to genotype, environment and season. In 2003, an experiment was established at Mt. Vernon and Mtn. Grove, MO, and Corvallis, OR (USA) to evaluate the performance of 10 new elderberry selections compared with standard cultivars. Levels of chlorogenic acid and rutin varied among the cultivars only in leaf tissues, with ‘Johns’ showing very high levels of both compounds. Significant differences in rutin and chlorogenic acid levels were detected among the three locations; the two Missouri sites tended to have higher levels of rutin. In leaf and green stem tissues, higher phytochemical levels were detected within tissues harvested earlier in the season. Such genotypic, environmental and seasonal variations in occurrence in these two compounds point to the possibility of focused agricultural production of specific phytochemicals.

Technical Abstract: American elderberry (Sambucus nigra subsp. canadensis) is being increasingly consumed as a nutraceutical. In Europe, tea made from flowers of the subspecies nigra is a popular treatment for respiratory infections, but little is known about the medicinal attributes of the subspecies canadensis. Potentially-active compounds in elderberry include the phenolics rutin, chlorogenic acid, and quercetin. Genetic, environmental and seasonal influences on the concentration of such metabolites in the fruit and non-fruit tissues of American elderberry are unknown. The objective of this study was to quantify the production of medicinal compounds in non-fruit elderberry tissues in response to genotype, environment and season. In 2003, an experiment was established at Mt. Vernon and Mtn. Grove, MO, and Corvallis, OR (USA) to evaluate the performance of 10 new elderberry selections compared with standard cultivars. In 2005, tissue samples were collected from each site in early June (at peak anthesis) and late July (at initiation of fruit ripening). Representative samples of leaf, flower, new green stem, and year-old woody stem were collected from all plots. Dried samples were analyzed by HPLC for the phenolic compounds chlorogenic acid and rutin. Mean levels (all unit mg kg-1) of chlorogenic acid were 3,367 in leaf, 2,064 in flower, 584 in green stem, and 1,111 in woody stem, whereas mean levels of rutin were 6,746 in leaf, 5,546 in flower, 187 in green stem, and 44 in woody stem. Levels of chlorogenic acid and rutin varied among the cultivars only in leaf tissues, with ‘Johns’ showing very high levels of both compounds. Significant differences in rutin and chlorogenic acid levels were detected among the three locations; the two Missouri sites tended to have higher levels of rutin. In leaf and green stem tissues, higher phytochemical levels were detected within tissues harvested earlier in the season. Such genotypic, environmental and seasonal variations in occurrence in these two compounds point to the possibility of focused agricultural production of specific phytochemicals.