Bioactivity and chemical composition of blackcurrant (Ribes nigrum) cultivars with and without pesticide treatment

Gaik Ming Khoo; Morten Rahr Clausen; Hanne Lindhard Pedersen; Erik Larsen

doi:10.1016/j.foodchem.2011.11.087

Bioactivity and chemical composition of blackcurrant (Ribes nigrum) cultivars with and without pesticide treatment

Food Chem. 2012 Jun 1;132(3):1214-1220. doi: 10.1016/j.foodchem.2011.11.087. Epub 2011 Nov 25.

Authors

Gaik Ming Khoo¹, Morten Rahr Clausen¹, Hanne Lindhard Pedersen², Erik Larsen³

Affiliations

¹ Department of Food Science, Aarhus University, Kirstinebjergvej 10, DK-5792 Aarslev, Denmark.
² Department of Horticulture, Aarhus University, Kirstinebjergvej 10, DK-5792 Aarslev, Denmark.
³ Department of Food Science, Aarhus University, Kirstinebjergvej 10, DK-5792 Aarslev, Denmark. Electronic address: Erik.Larsen@agrsci.dk.

PMID: 29243603
DOI: 10.1016/j.foodchem.2011.11.087

Abstract

Eleven blackcurrant cultivars grown with pesticide (PT) and without pesticide treatment (PF) were evaluated to compare the differences in plant growth and physical condition, total anthocyanin content, ascorbic acid content, total antioxidant capacity, effect on prostaglandin E2 (PGE2) production and anticancer cell proliferation activities. Results showed that the yield and growth of PT blackcurrants were higher. However, PF blackcurrants contained a higher amount of ascorbic acid, and displayed an increased inhibition against cancer cells compared to PT blackcurrants, indicating that PF blackcurrants have an increased potential to deliver health-promoting benefit for consumers. Significant differences were observed between blackcurrant cultivars in relation to plant growth and physical condition, total anthocyanin content and PGE2 assay, highlighting the importance of cultivar selection.

Keywords: Anthocyanin; Anticancer; Antioxidant; Ascorbic acid; Pesticide treatment; Prostaglandin E2; Ribes nigrum.