Carotenoid Content and Composition in Rose Hips (Rosa spp.) During Ripening

Abstract

Carotenoids are important antioxidants and valuable bioactive compounds contributing to the health benefits of different foods, and rose hips are known for high carotenoids content. A two-factor field experiment with five rosehips species was conducted in 2017–2018 on an organic farm (certificate No. SER-K-17-01478) in Pakruojis district Lithuania (56°10'29.0"N 23°49'02.6"E). The fruits were harvested five times in season. The aim of this research was to determine the effect of ripening stage on carotenoids content and composition of two different rosehip flesh species R. Rugosa and R. Canina. Content of carotenoids in the fruits of rosehips were determined by the method described by Hallmann (2012) with some modifications. The carotenoids contents of different rose species were compared at different stages of hip development. A large change in content of the analysed constituents occurred during ripening and revealed a large variation among the different genotypes. These observations indicate great potential to influence and/or increase the content of these antioxidants in foods containing rose hips by selection of species, cultivars and harvesting time. The results revealed very large variations in content of carotenoids in the rose hips, both in terms of total amount and in composition of specific carotenoid compounds. The highest total amount of carotenoids (103,505 and 65,605 mg100 g-1 DW) was found in the R. Rugosa and R. canina on the last ripening stage. For all species, the lowest amounts of carotenoids were detected on the early harvesting stages. The total carotenoids content was more than 1.5 times higher in the R. canina compared with R. rugosa. The concentration of a number of the carotenoid compounds increased from the first to fifth harvesting stage.