Anthocyanin profiling of wild maqui berries (Aristotelia chilensis [Mol.] Stuntz) from different geographical regions in Chile.
BACKGROUND
Maqui (Aristotelia chilensis) is a Chilean species which produces small berries that are collected from the wild. Anthocyanins, because of their health benefits, are the major focus of interest in maqui fruit. For this study, we examined anthocyanin and phenolic content of maqui fruits from individuals that belonged to four geographical areas in Chile, and used DNA marker analysis to examine the genetic variability of maqui populations that had distinctly different fruit anthocyanin content.


RESULTS
Twelve primers generated a total of 145 polymorphic inter simple sequence repeat-polymerase chain reaction (ISSR-PCR) bands. ISSR-PCR showed different banding patterns for the individuals evaluated, confirming that maqui populations belonged to different genotypes. Maqui fruit from four different geographical regions during two consecutive growing seasons showed high total anthocyanin (6.6-15.0 g cy-3-glu kg⁻¹ fresh weight (FW)) and phenolic (10.7-20.5 g GAE kg⁻¹ FW) contents and different anthocyanin profiles.


CONCLUSIONS
Three maqui genotypes exhibited significantly higher anthocyanin content than the others, as measured by pH differential method and high-performance liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry. Significant genetic diversity was noted within each ecological population. ISSR-PCR analysis provided a fingerprinting approach applicable for differentiation of maqui genotypes.
Departamento de Ciencias Vegetales, Facultad de Agronomía e Ingeniería Forestal, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, Santiago, Chile.
Carolina
C
Fredes
Gad G
GG
Yousef
Paz
P
Robert
Mary H
MH
Grace
Mary Ann
MA
Lila
Miguel
M
Gómez
Marlene
M
Gebauer
Gloria
G
Montenegro
D000531:Altitude; D000872:Anthocyanins / Q000032:analysis* / Q000378:metabolism; D000975:Antioxidants / Q000032:analysis* / Q000378:metabolism; D002677:Chile; D002851:Chromatography, High Pressure Liquid; D002980:Climate; D045467:Elaeocarpaceae / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000235:genetics / Q000254:growth & development / Q000378:metabolism; D005638:Fruit / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000235:genetics / Q000254:growth & development / Q000378:metabolism; D005819:Genetic Markers; D014644:Genetic Variation; D057230:Limit of Detection; D010636:Phenols / Q000032:analysis / Q000378:metabolism; D010802:Phylogeny; D062211:Spatio-Temporal Analysis; D013045:Species Specificity; D021241:Spectrometry, Mass, Electrospray Ionization; D055814:Wilderness
D000872:Anthocyanins; D000975:Antioxidants; D005819:Genetic Markers; D010636:Phenols
ISSR-PCR; delphinidin-3,5-diglucoside; delphinidin-3-glucoside; genetic diversity; maqui genotypes