Effect of Berry Compositions on Antioxidant Properties during the Production and Storage of Multicomponent Crushed Berries without Sugar

Introduction. Among canned fruits, only crushed fruits may not be boiled, minimizing heat treatment, which helps to preserve their antioxidant properties. In the processing of crushed berries without sugar, cranberries can be used in combination with berries with a higher sugar content. The purpose of the work is to study the possibility of using cranberries in berry compositions with bilberries or blueberries to produce multi-component crushed berries without sugar and their effect on antioxidant properties during production and storage. Materials and Methods. Multicomponent crushed berries were made from wild cranberries, bilberries and blueberries, which were heat-treated for 5 minutes, poured into sterile jars and stored for a year in refrigeration conditions. Crushed cranberries without sugar served as a control. The sugar content and titratable acidity were determined in the berries, before and after the production of crushed berries and during storage every 3 months – the content of flavonoids, anthocyanins, hydroxycinnamic acids, vitamin C and antioxidant activity by the FRAP method. Results. For the production of multi-component crushed berries without sugar, berry compositions of cranberry/bilberry (2:3) and cranberry/blueberry (1:1) were organoleptically selected based on the sugar-acid index of berries. After heat treatment, the antioxidants in the multi-component crushed berries decreased by 25.9–40.5%, with the greatest loss of anthocyanins and vitamin C. After production, the multi-component crushed berries cranberry/bilberry and cranberry/blueberry, compared to crushed cranberries, contained more flavonoids by 14.1 and 15.9%, anthocyanins by 37.9 and 30.1%, hydroxycinnamic acids by 10.4 and 12.7%, antioxidant activity by 10.4 and 6.2%, respectively. Refrigerated storage for a year resulted in further degradation of antioxidants, especially after 3 months for all bioactive compounds regardless of the type and ratio of crushed berries. At the end of storage, the antioxidant properties of multi-component crushed berries exceed the antioxidant properties of crushed cranberries. Conclusions. Multi-component crushed berries without sugar can be produced from cranberries in combination with bilberries (2:3) or blueberries (1:1), which forms their sweet and sour taste and antioxidant properties