Phenolic compounds, bioactive content and antioxidant capacity of the fruits of mulberry (Morus spp.) germplasm in Turkey

The study was carried out in 2014 and 2015, and aimed to determine some important biochemical and antioxidant characteristics of the fruits of mulberry (Morus spp.) cultivars and genotypes found in Malatya (Turkey). Phenolic compounds (protocatechuic acid, vanillic acid, ellagic acid, rutin, quercetin, gallic acid, catechin, chlorogenic acid, caffeic acid, syringic acid, p-coumaric acid, o-coumaric acid, phloridzin and ferulic acid), organic acids, sugars, vitamin C and antioxidant capacity were analyzed in sampled fruits. The results showed that most of the biochemical content and antioxidant capacities of the cultivars and genotypes were significantly different from one another (p < 0.05). Among the phenolic compounds, rutin (118.23 mg 100 g^-1), gallic acid (36.85 mg 100 g^-1), and chlorogenic acid (92.07 mg 100 g^-1) were determined to have the highest values for most of the fruit samples. Malic acid and citric acid were dominant among the organic acids for all the cultivars and genotypes except 44-Nrk-05. Glucose was measured as a more abundant sugar than fructose and sucrose in all samples. Antioxidant capacity, on the other hand, varied between 6.17 and 21.13 μmol TE g^-1 among the cultivars and genotypes analyzed.