The Influence of Genotype, Environmental Factors, and Location on the Nutraceutical Profile of Rosa canina L. Fruits

This work aimed to determine how factors such as genotype, environment, and location influence the variation of biochemical compounds constituting the nutraceutical profile of Rosa canina L. fruits for their future integration as a functional food in everyday life, in a region of Romania, where wild fruits have lost their popularity, along with globalization and the social evolution of the rural environment. For nine genotypes of Rosa canina L., the average values of moisture (35.81%), ash (2.55%), total sugar content (41.37 g glucose equivalents/100 g), polyphenols (1211.15 mg gallic acid equivalents/100 g), tannins (764.22 mg gallic acid equivalents/100 g), flavonoids (126 mg catechin equivalents/100 g), anthocyanins (18.64 mg cyanidin 3-glucoside equivalents/100 g), alkaloids (64.20 mg equivalents of atropine sulfate/100 g), antioxidant activity (91.97%), as well as the contents of vitamin C (1.97 g/100 g), lycopene (0.85 mg/100 g), and β-carotene (1.42 mg/100 g) were determined. The determining factor is the genotype, and there are significant variations in the contents of bioactive compounds, both between the three studied areas and between genotypes in the same area. The contents of compounds with nutraceutical value justifies the significant food potential of these wild fruits and their use as a natural medicine in prophylactic and preventive activity.