Oxygen Radical Absorbance Capacity (ORAC), Phenolic, and Anthocyanin Concentrations in Fruit and Leaf Tissue of Highbush Blueberry

Antioxidant capacity as measured by ORAC, total phenolic, and total anthocyanin concentrations were evaluated in fruit tissue of 86 highbush blueberry cultivars, and ORAC and phenolic levels evaluated in leaf tissue of the same materials. Average values for ORAC, phenolics, and anthocyanins in fruit were 15.9 ORAC units (1 unit = 1 micromole Trolox Equivalent), 1.79 mg·g –1 (gallic acid equivalents), and 0.95 mg·g –1 (cyanidin-3-glucoside equivalents), respectively. ëRubel' had the highest ORAC values, at 31.1 units. Values for ORAC and phenolics in leaf tissue were significantly higher than fruit tissue, with mean values of 490.4 ORAC units and 44.8 mg·g –1 in leaf tissue, respectively. No significant correlations were found between fruit ORAC and leaf ORAC, or between fruit ORAC and leaf phenolics. Investigation of ORAC values in a family of 44 `Rubel' × `Duke' seedlings showed negative epistasis for ORAC values. However, an analysis of ORAC values vs. pedigree in plants from the 86 cultivar groups suggested that across cultivars, ORAC inheritance is generally additive.