'Marge': a European Elderberry for North American Producers

Phytochemical Profiles and Biological Studies of Selected Botanical Dietary Supplements Used in the United States

Based on their current wide bioavailability, botanical dietary supplements have become an important component of the United States healthcare system, although most of these products have limited scientific evidence for their use. The most recent American Botanical Council Market Report estimated for 2020 a 17.3% increase in sales of these products when compared to 2019, for a total sales volume of $11,261 billion. The use of botanical dietary supplements products in the United States is guided by the Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act (DSHEA) from 1994, enacted by the U.S. Congress with the aim of providing more information to consumers and to facilitate access to a larger number of botanical dietary supplements available on the market than previously. Botanical dietary supplements may be formulated for and use only using crude plant samples (e.g., plant parts such as the bark, leaves, or roots) that can be processed by grinding into a dried powder. Plant parts can also be extracted with hot water to form an "herbal tea." Other preparations of botanical dietary supplements include capsules, essential oils, gummies, powders, tablets, and tinctures. Overall, botanical dietary supplements contain bioactive secondary metabolites with diverse chemotypes that typically are found at low concentration levels. These bioactive constituents usually occur in combination with inactive molecules that may induce synergy and potentiation of the effects observed when botanical dietary supplements are taken in their different forms. Most of the botanical dietary supplements available on the U.S. market have been used previously as herbal remedies or as part of traditional medicine systems from around the world. Their prior use in these systems also provides a certain level of assurance in regard to lower toxicity levels. This chapter will focus on the importance and diversity of the chemical features of bioactive secondary metabolites found in botanical dietary supplements that are responsible for their applications. Many of the active principles of botanical dietary substances are phenolics and isoprenoids, but glycosides and some alkaloids are also present. Biological studies on the active constituents of selected botanical dietary supplements will be discussed. Thus, the present chapter should be of interest for both members of the natural products scientific community, who may be performing development studies of the products available, as well as for healthcare professionals who are directly involved in the analysis of botanical interactions and evaluation of the suitability of botanical dietary supplements for human consumption.

Determination of Anthocyanins and Total Polyphenols in a Variety of Elderberry Juices by UPLC-MS/MS and Other Methods

Elderberry (Sambucus spp.) juice contains a variety of polyphenols, mostly anthocyanins. In order to understand the variation of polyphenol levels by genotype, various elderberry juice samples were analyzed for total phenolics (TP), total monomeric anthocyanins (TMA) and individual anthocyanin content. The Folin-Ciocalteu total phenolic method and pH differential method were used to measure the TP and TMA content, respectively. The TP and TMA concentrations of elderberry were found to vary greatly among different genotypes. TMA content varied from 2.1% for 'Sperandio' to 60.6% for the 'Bob Gordon' cultivar. In addition, ultra-performance liquid chromatography with triple quadrupole mass spectrometry was used to separate and detect individual anthocyanins from samples prepared by solid phase extraction. Multiple-reaction-monitoring was used to process data for the reduction of false positives, maximizing selectivity, and reliable quantification. The quantitative performance of the method was validated, and a detection limit of 0.3 ng·ml^-1 for cyanidin 3-O-glucoside was determined. This newly developed method may serve to characterize and profile various anthocyanins in elderberry juices for quality control, assessment of dietary intake, and anthocyanin-based biomedical studies.

Occurrence of Polyphenols, Organic Acids, and Sugars among Diverse Elderberry Genotypes Grown in Three Missouri (USA) Locations

Elderberry (Sambucus spp.) is an emerging horticultural crop used in a variety of foods, wines, and dietary supplements. A better understanding of the elderberry juice complex including its putative health-promoting compounds in relation to genetic and environmental parameters is needed. A multi-location planting of nine elderberry genotypes was established in 2008 at three geographically-diverse sites in Missouri, USA. Fruits were harvested from replicated plots 2009-2011, frozen, and later prepared for laboratory analysis. Polyphenols, organic acids, and sugars were quantified by HPLC and the results evaluated for response to genotype, site, and year. The American genotypes 'Ocoee' and 'Ozark' were consistently higher in chlorogenic acids compared to other genotypes, whereas 'Ocoee' was significantly higher in rutin than 'Ozark'. The European 'Marge' was significantly higher in isoquercitrin and other flavonoids compared to most North American genotypes. Significant differences in polyphenols were also detected among sites and production years. Malic, citric, and tartaric acids varied significantly among genotypes, sites, and years, whereas succinic, shikimic, and fumaric acids generally did not. Levels of lactic, acetic, and propionic acids were negligible in most samples. The American genotype 'Ocoee' was higher in citric and tartaric acids, while lower in malic acid. The sugars glucose and fructose also responded significantly to genotype, site, and year. 'Ocoee', 'Ozark', and 'Marge' perform very well in Missouri horticulturally and appear to have additional potential as cultivars based on their unique juice characteristics.