Chemical composition of various Vaccinium spp. and similar blue-coloured berries

Various species of the Vaccinium genus (V. corymbosum, VC; V. myrtillus, VM) are regularly subjected to adulteration with similar, blue-coloured berries such as Amelanchier alnifolia (AA) or Lonicera caerulea (LC). Thirty-one berry samples were tested to determine and verify their basic chemical composition and profile of anthocyanins. Saccharose and sorbitol were detected only in AA (at levels of 5.2 ± 9.1 g·kg-1 and 25.7 ± 1.4 g·kg-1, respectively) and LC (at levels of 45.2 ± 0.1 g·kg-1 and 45.3 ± 0.1 g·kg-1, respectively). Quinic acid was present in all analysed berries and reached the highest content in VM (6.6 ± 1.4 g·kg-1). Isocitric acid was a typical compound found in VC (46.1 ± 14.4 mg·kg-1) and LC (63.4 ± 9.2 mg·kg-1). The highest ash and potassium content were found in AA, reaching levels of 9.1 ± 1.2 g·kg-1 and 3 213.2 ± 177.7 mg·kg-1, respectively. Delphinidin-3-arabinoside (56.7 %), cyanidin-3-glucoside (82.3 %) and malvidin-3-galactoside (29.2 %) were identified as dominant anthocyanins in AA, LC and VC, respectively. Conversely, delphinidin-3-glucoside (15.0 %), petunidin-3-glucoside (10.4 %) and peonidin-3-glucoside (4.8 %) were found in VM in significantly higher amounts than in other species.