TOTAL POLYPHENOLS IN ELDERBERRIES

Abstract

The aim of this study was to investigate the total content of phenolic compounds in wild Elderberry fruits. Black elder, as a shrub has been known since ancient times to have beneficial effects on human health. Flowers and especially elderberries were and are still used today as natural remedies against many diseases. Polyphenols are the main compound that gives them antiviral, antiseptic, and even antitumor properties. They can be extracted from the fresh fruit, but also from the dry one using various extraction methods and various solvents. In the current work, an attempt was made to determine the method that would yield the highest total polyphenol content. The fruits were only from the wild flora, collected in 2021 from the wild elder, which is part of the sub-tree of the deciduous forests around the municipality of Suceava. We used for this research oven-dried fruit at a temperature of 40 degrees Celsius. As “solvents” were: distilled water and 50% ethanol. The samples were sonicated at different amplitudes, pulsations and time intervals. The total phenolic content (TPC) was determined using the Folin-Ciocalteu method. Finding a method of extracting a large amount of polyphenols started from the idea of obtaining a food supplement from elderberries, which would present antiviral properties. Ultrasonication of the extract, which has distilled water as a solvent, for 15 minutes, at an amplitude of 50 and pulses 10:10, proved to be the method by which the largest content of polyphenols is obtained.