Carbohydrate changes along the formation and ripening of Berberis buxifolia fruits in Tierra del Fuego.

M ARENA; L DYNER; A ZULETA

Rosario, Santa Fe

Congreso; IV Congreso y 8¨¬ Encuentro Bioquímico 2007 y XXX Reunión del Capítulo Argentino de la Sociedad Latinoamericana de Nutrición (CASLAN); 2007

Departamentos de Bioquímica Clínica y Microbiología de la Facultad de Ciencias Bioquímicas y Farmacéuticas de la UNR y por CASLAN

Native fruit species of Patagonia, as species of Berberis genus, have a great demand for the elaboration of several products. Its black-blue fruits can be eaten fresh and/or in marmalades and jams, and they are an important source of alkaloids as berberines and anthocyanins which have medicinal and tinctotial applications. B. buxifolia (commonly named ¡°calafate¡±), is an evergreen, spiny and erect shrub up to 4 m high often growing in coastal scrub, forest margins and clearings, moist areas in the grass steppe, and along streams and rivers. This species has the largest distribution, from Neuquen (37¨¬ SL) to Tierra del Fuego (54¨¬ 8¢¥SL).   Objetives The aim of this work is to study the changes in carbohydrate concentration along the formation and ripening of Berberis buxifolia fruits in a natural population situated near Ushuaia city (54¡Æ 48¡¯ SL, 68¡Æ 19¡¯ WL), Tierra del Fuego, Argentina.   Materials and Methods The fruits were harvested during the 2004-2005 growing season, since December to March. Sugar concentration was determined by high performance liquid chromatography with refractive index (HPLC-RI). with an Aminex HPX-87C (Bio-Rad) anion exchange column. Soluble, Insoluble and Total Dietary Fiber concentration was determined by the enzymatic method AOAC 991.43 with (Kit Megazyme, Irlanda). The samples were analysed by duplicated. The data were subjected to an Analysis of variance and Tukey test at P¡Â 0.05.   Results When the sugar concentration was analyzed, differences among dates and type of sugar were found (P= 0.001). Sugar concentration increased significantly since mid in December (1.0%) to the end of February (8.5%), when the fruits were ripened. Glucose was higher (5.5%) than fructose (4.0%) concentration. Dietary Fiber concentration was affected by dates and type of fiber too (P= 0.001). Dietary Fiber concentration increased along the growing season too, since mid December (4.5%) to late in February (11%), being the Insoluble Dietary Fiber (11.3%) higher that the Soluble Dietary Fiber (4.4%). These results are the first antecedents in B. buxifolia fruits at Ushuaia, Tierra del Fuego and are of great value to the knowledge and later use of the fruits.