Comparison of mineral and fatty acid composition of wild and cultivated sea buckthorn berries from Lithuania

Abstract

Sea buckthorn (Hippophae rhamnoides L.) is an ancient plant with recently rediscovered nutritional and medicinal values. This research was carried in 2016-2017 in order to investigate and compare the mineral composition and fatty acid of sea buckthorn berries growing in the wild and cultivated in Lithuania. The content of essential elements (N, K, Mg, Ca, Fe, Zn, Se, Ni, and Cu), toxic heavy metals (Pb and Cd) and fatty acid composition was determined. The results showed that the main minerals identified were N and K. Cultivated berries had significantly more N (5.62%), P (14.00%), Ca (33.33%), Fe (7.09%), Mg (12.11%) and B (19.76%) than wild berries. In the whole berry, the dominant fatty acid classes were monounsaturated fatty acids (MUFAs), followed by polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) and saturated fatty acids (SFAs). The total MUFA content was significantly higher in wild berries than in cultivated ones, while PUFA and SFA levels were higher in cultivated berries. Based on these results, we conclude that berries of cultivated sea buckthorn can be a rich alternative source of PUFAs, such as linoleic and γ-linolenic acids, as well as some mineral elements (N, P, Ca, Fe, Mg). However, wild berries were found to be a good source of MUFAs (especially palmitoleic and vaccenic acids) and Cu. The high variation between different wild and cultivated sea buckthorns shows the potential for the selection and breeding of raw material for variously defined purposes.