Page 24 - Book of Abstracts

5 International Scientific Online Conference DOI: https://doi.org/10.15414/2021.9788055224015

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FATTY ACID COMPOSITION OF CORNELIAN CHERRY (CORNUS MAS L.)
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Agata Antoniewska , Jan Brindza , Svitlana Klymenko , Olga Shelepova
1
1 Warsaw University of Life Sciences, Warsaw, Poland;
E-mail.: agata_antoniewska@sggw.edu.pl
2 Slovak University of Agriculture in Nitra, Slovak Republic
3 M.M. Gryshko National Botanical Garden of the National Academy of Sciences of
Ukraine, Kyiv, Ukraine
4 N.V. Tsitsin Main Botanical Garden of Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow, Russian Federation
The cornelian cherry (Cornus mas L.) is one of the most valuable fruit plants known in
garden cultivation for 4000 years. The cornelian cherry fruits are distinguished by attractive
ruby-red color, sour taste, valuable composition and health-promoting properties. The
composition of bioactive compounds, including ascorbic acid, organic acids (mainly malic acid),
pectins, phenolic acids (gallic and ellagic, and derivatives of hydroxycinnamic acids), flavonoids
(anthocyanins, flavonols), triterpenoid (ursolic acid) and recently identified iridoids (loganic
acid, cornuside, loganin, sweroside) was reported in Cornus mas fruits. Ample studies have
shown Cornus mas fruits to play a remarkable role in the maintenance of human health exhibit
antiscorbutic, antibacterial, anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, tonic, astringent, temporary
hypotensive, and diuretic properties. Morover, Cornus mas fruits were used in folk medicine for
treatment of various fever-related diseases (flu, sore throat, malaria) and gastrointestinal
disorders. Generally, fruits are not known as a good source of lipids. However, some fruits
revealed to be a good source of lipids and beneficial fatty acids. Thus, determination of lipid
content and fatty acid composition of cornelian cherry plant is of a great importance. The aim
of this study was to determine the fatty acid compositions of leaves, flowers, fruits, and seeds of
Cornus mas; samples of the candidate genotype Cornus mas grown in the M.M. Gryshko National
Botanical Garden (Kyiv, Ukraine). The fatty acid methyl esters were analyzed by gas
chromatography using an Agilent 7820A instrument equipped with a flame-ionization detector
(Agilent, California, USA).
The lipid contents in leaves, flowers, fruits, and seeds were 4.37, 5.69, 1.68, and 4.42% of
plant material dry weight, respectively. The fatty acid composition differed significantly
depending on the part of the Cornus mas plant. The contents of saturated fatty acids (SFAs) of
the leaves, flowers, fruits and seeds were 43.48, 27.69, 38.99, and 12.44 g/100 g, while
unsaturated fatty acid composition of the leaves, flowers, fruits and seeds were 15.2, 5.53, 12.79,
and 22.0 g/100 g, respectively. Polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) were 25.05, 51.17, 34.67,
and 64.42 g/100 g. The major PUFA in the seeds was linoleic acid C18:2 9c12c (62.71 g/100 g);
accounting for 63.43 % of the total fatty acid content. Half as much linoleic acid was identyfied
in the fruits (26.38 g/100 g) and flowers (20.31 g/100 g). Palmitic acid C16:0 was the most
abundant from the SFAs in all studied parts of the plant. The highest palmitic acid content was
identyfied in leaves – 32.80 g/100 g and fruits pulp – 30.44 g/100 g, while 20.52 g/100 g was
identyfied in flowers, and only 9.02 g/100 g in seeds. Among PUFAs, small amounts (<0.5 g/kg)
were found in fruits, namely: trans-oil; trans-9,12-linoleic; cis-9, trans-12-linoleic; trans-9, cis-
12-linoleic; trans-9, trans-12,15-linolene; trans-9,12, cis-15 + trans-9, cis-12, trans-15-linolenic
acid; cis-9, trans-12,15-linolene; cis-9,12, trans-15-linolene; cis-9, trans-12, cis-15-linolenic.
Only trans-9, cis-12,15-linolene was identyfied in the fruits pulp (0.8 g/100 g).
Based on these results, the lipid content and fatty acid compositions of leaves, flowers,
fruits and seeds of Cornus mas may be nutritionally important for human health.

Keywords: Cornelian cherry, fatty acids, leaves, flowers, fruits pulp, seeds.
Acknowledgments
The publication was prepared with the active participation of researchers in International network
AgroBioNet, and supported by the Visegrad Fund (Slovak Republic).

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5 International Scientific Conference Agrobiodiversity for Improving the Nutrition, Health, Quality of Life and |23
Spiritual Human Development
November 3 2021
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