Fluorescent properties of several species of wild fruits commonly found in New York State were investigated and used to generate a unique fingerprinting tool for characterizing and comparing nutrients of antioxidant importance in the fruit.  Analyzed fruits included both native and introduced species to the area that can be considered relevant as food sources for wildlife.  Traditional bench-based assays were performed on aqueous extracts of freeze-dried fruit pulp, including those for total phenol content, total anthocyanins, and antioxidant capacity, in addition to other macronutrient analyses. Multidimensional fluorescence spectroscopy with chemometric analysis was used to characterize the fluorophoric properties of the fruits using Parallel Factor Analysis (PARAFAC).  It was shown that each fruit had a distinct spectral profile and the resulting PARAFAC scores correlated with biochemical components that contribute to antioxidant properties, particularly polyphenols that are catechins-like in nature.  Anthocyanins also contributed to the antioxidant profiles of the samples, though likely represent a smaller portion of the antioxidant profile than the cathechins.  Further, PARAFAC scores were used to group the fruits by taxonomic families.  The fluorescence-based technique shows promise as a more specified tool for the characterization of fruit quality over traditional assay methods. The method could be broadly applicable for assessing food quality among locations and growing seasons for wildlife.

Nutritional variation and antioxidant properties of wild fruits revealed through a fluorescence-based method

251st National Meeting (2016)

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