Chilean native currants (<em>Ribes</em> spp.): an HPLC-DAD-MS/MS analysis of leaf and fruit phenolics.  — ASN Events
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Chilean native currants (Ribes spp.): an HPLC-DAD-MS/MS analysis of leaf and fruit phenolics.  (#156)

Felipe Jimenez-Aspee , Cristina Quispe 1 , Maria del Pilar C Soriano 1 , Guillermo Schmeda-Hirschmann 1
  1. Laboratorio de Química de Productos Naturales, Instituto de Química de Recursos Naturales, Universidad de Talca, Talca, Region del Maule, Chile

Chilean Ribes species (Grossulariaceae) are native currants/gooseberries with potential as new crops. They occur from central Chile to Patagonia and Tierra del Fuego1 . Ribes fruits were consumed since pre-historic times, have a pleasant taste and were made into preserves and jams by the European settlers in southern South America. Little is known on the chemistry and antioxidant effect of the native currants. The botanical identification of the Chilean species belonging to this genus is often difficult.

An HPLC-DAD-MS/MS method was developed for a comparison of polyphenols in Chilean Ribes spp. The phenolic profiles of leaf and fruits from different accessions from R. magellanicum, R. nitidissimum, R. aff. punctatum, R. trilobum and R. valdivianum were analyzed looking for a fast identification at the species level.    

Antioxidant activities of the extracts were assessed in vitro by their ability to scavenge stable radicals (DPPH and ABTS) and their reducing power (FRAP). Total phenols, total flavonoids and vitamin C content of the fruits was also studied. Two species from the western Andean slopes of central Chile were selected for more in-depth studies due to the fruit availability: R. valdivianum (Termas de Chillán) and R. trilobum (El Melado).

The HPLC patterns allow differentiation between species. Further work, including isolation and characterization of the main fruit phenolics by NMR methods are underway for a complete identification of the main compounds. High antioxidant activity was found for the fruits in agreement with previous reports on other native Chilean berries2,3   and northern hemisphere currants4 .

Financial support fromFONDECYT Project N° 1120096 and CONICYT-PCHA/Doctorado Nacional/ 2013-21130048 for F. Jiménez-Aspee is kindly acknowledged.

  1. Vidal O. 2007. Flora Torres del Paine: Guía de Campo. Segunda edición. Fantástico Sur ediciones.
  2. Ruiz A. et al. 2010. J. Agric. Food. Chem. 58 (10): 6081-6089.
  3. Schreckinger ME.,et al 2010. J. Med. Food 13 (2): 233-246.
  4. Paredes-López O.et al. 2010. Plant Foods Hum. Nutr. 65 (3): 299-308.