Berries representing 21 cultivars of blackcurrant were
analyzed using liquid chromatographic, gas chromatographic, and mass
spectrometric methods coupled with multivariate models. This study pinpointed
compositional variation among cultivars of different origins cultivated in the
same location during two seasons. The chemical profiles
of blackcurrants varied significantly among cultivars and growing years. The key
differences among cultivars of Scottish, Lithuanian, and Finnish origin were in
the contents of phenolic acids (23 vs. 16 vs. 19 mg/100 g on average,
respectively), mainly as 5-O-caffeoylquinic
acid, 4-O-coumaroylglucose, (E)-coumaroyloxymethylene-glucopyranosyloxy-(Z)-butenenitrile, and 1-O-feruloylglucose. The Scottish cultivars
were grouped based on the 3-O-glycosides
of delphinidin and cyanidin, as were the Lithuanian cultivars. Among the
Finnish samples, the content of myricetin 3-O-glycosides,
4-O-caffeoylglucose, 1-O-coumaroylglucose, and 4-O-coumaroylglucose were significantly
different between the two green-fruited cultivars and the black-fruited cultivars.
The samples from the studied years differed in the content of phenolic acid
derivatives, quercetin glycosides, monosaccharides and citric acid.