Bioactive profiling of Prairie Berries.

Traditional berries including Vitis riparia (wild grape), Prunus virginiana L (chokecherry), Ribes hirtellum (gooseberry) and Amelanchier alnifolia L (Saskatoon berry), are cold hardy fruits consumed by prairie Canadians, including the indigenous population and are widely distributed in the prairie provinces. Phenolic compounds are important group of bioactive molecules present in berries. Due to the presence of high antioxidant activity of polyphenols, there has been an increasing interest in identifying their potential health benefits. Recent findings have shown that diets rich in antioxidants protect humans against degenerative diseases such as diabetes, cancer, and neurogenerative and cardiovascular diseases. This research aimed to examine the phenolic compound compositions of twelve different berries, including wild blueberries (Vaccinium corymbosum) and wild raspberries (Rubus idaeus), thereby identifying potential bioactive compounds and metabolite markers unique to each crop using HPLC and LC-ESI-MS/MS. We have identified 65 phenolic compounds present in the selected berries. Wild grapes were rich in phenolic compounds such as resveratrol, while gooseberries were rich in isoquercetin and paracoumaric acid. Moreover, saskatoon berries were rich in chlorogenic acid and quercetin. In addition, rutin-trihydrate and chlorogenic acid were identifiedfied as the most abundant phenolic compounds in chokecherry. This study will help to utilize indifferent prairie berries, in the food, nutraceutical, and pharmaceutical industries.