The blue elderberry (Sambucus nigra ssp. cerulea) is a fruit-bearing shrub native to the western United States. It is often planted in hedgerows near farms to attract beneficial pollinators and insects. The shrub begins to flower in April or May and continues to bloom throughout the summer even as berries ripen. Just as the berries are used for juices, syrups, and jams, the flowers too can be used to make teas and liquors. Historically, elderflowers have been used as an herbal treatment for pain, inflammation, and colds. Both elderberry and elderflower are becoming more popular in food, beverages, and cosmetics for their bioactive and organoleptic properties. The European (S. nigra ssp. nigra) subspecies has been evaluated for their composition and are used frequently in commercial products, but the blue elderberry (S. nigra ssp. cerulea) has yet to be analyzed and is not yet used for commercial products. The volatile and phenolic profiles of this subspecies of elderflower are presented here for the first time, determined by headspace solid-phase microextraction gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (HS-SPME GC/MS) and high-performance liquid chromatography quadrupole time of flight mass spectrometry (HPLC/QTOF-MS), respectively. Flowers were sampled from hedgerows at the several times throughout their growing season, and the changes in volatile and phenolic composition were determined. Understanding composition and how the volatile and phenolic profiles of the S. nigra ssp. cerulea elderflower change throughout the growing season can help increase the use of this native, pollinator-friendly shrub in food, beverage, and cosmetic products for optimized quality by knowing the best time to harvest flowers.

Understanding seasonal changes in volatile and phenolic compounds in California native elderflowers (Sambucus nigra ssp. cerulea)

ACS Fall 2021

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