Comparison of Substances in Elderberry Cultivars and Wild Elderberry

Elderberry cultivars 'Albida', 'Alleso', 'Aurea', 'Bohatka', 'Dana', 'Haschberg', 'Heidegg 13', 'Korsor', 'Mammut', 'Pregarten', 'Riese aus Vo beta loch', 'Sambo', 'Sambu', 'Samdal', 'Sampo', 'Samyl', 'Weihenstephan' and wild elderberry were grown in a unique experimental collection of elderberry at the Research and Breeding Institute of Pomology at Holovousy Ltd. This collection was examined for composition of substances in fruits because elderberry has high concentrations of compounds with antioxidative activity, especially anthocyanins, flavonoids and vitamins. The aim of this study was to compare content of selected substances in fruits of elderberry cultivars and wild elderberry. Results showed the highest juice yield in cultivars 'Alleso', 'Haschberg', 'Korsor' and 'Samyl'. In contrast, the lowest juice yield was detected in fruits of wild elderberry as well as 'Aurea' and 'Sambo' cultivars. The highest total antioxidant capacity was found in fruits of 'Haschberg', followed by wild elderberry and 'Weihenstephan', 'Pregarten' and 'Riese aus Vo beta loch'. The lowest values were recorded in cultivars 'Albida' and 'Aurea'. High content of reducing sugars was found in cultivars 'Samdal', 'Haschberg' and 'Korsor' compared to other cultivars and wild elderberry.