Postharvest evolution of physical and taste-related parameters, antioxidant capacity, and phenolic composition of berry crop wild relatives in the Pacific Northwest

This study quantifies postharvest physiochemical parameters, antioxidant capacity, and phenolic composition of two commercial berry crops (blueberries and cranberries) and seven uncultivated berry crop wild relatives (CWRs) common in the Pacific Northwest (dull Oregon grapes, evergreen huckleberries, flowering currants, salal berries, tall Oregon grapes, red currants and Rowan berries) during storage for four weeks at 0.5 ºC and 95 % relative humidity. Physical analyses of CWRs reveal desirable postharvest traits, such as color and texture stability, and undesirable traits like high water loss and shriveling. Taste-related parameters, including pH and TSS/TA ratios, suggest that flowering currants and salal berries could be more desirable for fresh consumption, while Oregon grapes could be best-suited for processing. Notably, the antioxidant capacities of all but one CWR were 4–15 times greater than the blueberry and cranberry commercial comparisons, correlating with an abundance of specific phenolic compounds rather than total phenolic content. Phenolic profiling and principal component analyses (PCAs) of three species with similar phenolic contents and contrasting antioxidant capacities revealed that the high antioxidant capacity of flowering currant extracts is correlated with high accumulations of cyanidin-3-O-glucoside and delphinidin-3-O-glucoside with minor contributions from catechin, myricetin-3-O-glucoside, and quercetin-3-O-rutinoside. Furthermore, the pure compounds' in vitro antioxidant capacity was 5–10 times higher than that of chlorogenic acid, the most abundant phenolic compound in commercial blueberries. This highlights their potential value as molecular markers in breeding programs to improve the antioxidant capacity and stress resistance in commercial berry crops. • Wild berries exhibit relatively stable physical and taste-related traits in storage. • Six wild berries have 4–15-fold higher antioxidant capacity than commercial berries. • Antioxidant capacity correlates with specific phenolics, not total phenolic content. • PCA associates cyanidin- and delphinidin-3-O-glucosides with antioxidant capacity. • Flowering currant is a promising crop wild relative for future breeding programs.