Title: HPLC analysis of anthocyanins in fresh blueberry fruit and jams
Abstract: There has been an increasing amount of attention to the health benefits of consuming blueberries (lowbush blueberry, highbush blueberry and rabbiteye blueberry) recently. Hence, blueberries contain anthocyanins, and the anti-oxidant activity of anthocyanins was reported in recent research. Blueberry fruit often have been consumed in jam, however the changes in anthocyanin pigments during jam process are still unclear. Using 10 cultivars and 3 selections of blueberries, we investigated the changes in anthocyanin composition during jam manufacturing. In fresh fruit, 8 to 14 anthocyanins were found, and the anthocyanin compositions were differing from each cultivar (selection). The anthocyanin compositions of the blueberry jams were almost same with that of the fresh fruit. From these results, it is concluded that the anthocyanin composition in blueberry fruit do not change during jam manufacturing.