Unveiling the Potential of Southern Elderberry (Sambucus australis): Characterization of Physicochemical Properties, Carbohydrates, Organic Acids and Biophenols

Abstract

Sambucus australis is a wild species with purple fruits like berries. It is native from South America and can be found in Argentina, Uruguay, Paraguay, Bolivia, and Brazil. A comprehensive characterization of S. australis fruiting period and ripening could provide valuable information on the stage of development suitable for formulating typical and new food and cosmetic products, as well as it could contribute to reveals its nutritional value. This study aimed to examine the evolution of fruit size and weight alongside the accumulation patterns of sugars, organic acids, biophenols and antioxidant activity during different development stages of S. australis fruit, assessing its potential as a source of health-promoting compounds. The increase in total sugar (269.59 g/kg dry weight), together with the decrease in the total organic acids (321.63 g/kg dry weight) at the fully ripe stage, indicates that the fruit is sweet. This suggests that it is an appealing product to be consumed when it is fully ripe. The fatty acid composition contains significant levels of α-linolenic, linoleic, oleic and palmitic acids. It is characterized by high ratios of polyunsaturated fatty acids to saturated fatty acids, ranging from 5.8 to 6.4. S. australis fruits appeared to possess good levels of biophenols at fully ripe fruits (4709.7 µg/g dry weight) together with antioxidant activity (higher than 80%), so, it could be considered as a functional food.