Plant and Soil Science

The influence of genetic traits of the variety on the preservation of bioactive compounds in blue honeysuckle (Lonícera caeruléa L.) fruits during sublimation and drying

Liudmyla Shevchuk, Roman Hrynyk
Download article
Abstract

The value of blue honeysuckle fruits lies in their significant content of biologically active substances that perform antioxidant functions in the human body. Since fresh honeysuckle has a short shelf life, the goal of this research was to find processing methods that would ensure maximum preservation of both sensory and phytochemical properties. Fresh, dried, and freeze-dried fruits were tested in the laboratory to determine the content of vitamin C, polyphenols, flavonoids, and anthocyanins, and to conduct a sensory assessment of the quality of the samples under study. Statistical analysis of the research data was performed using STATISTICA software suite and ANOVA variance analysis. As a result of the research, it was found that the sensory quality indicators, namely, appearance and colour, were best preserved in the freeze-dried fruits of the Duet variety, while the Spokusa berries had an excellent taste rating of 4.8 points. It was determined that freeze-dried blue honeysuckle fruits retained 27.5% more ascorbic acid than dried ones, which accounts for 89.5% of the content found in fresh fruit. The least vitamin C was lost in the fruits of the Alicia variety. The loss of total phenols during drying ranged from 19.0% to 46.2%, which is 10.0% to 23.1% more than during freeze-drying. The most significant losses of total phenols occurred in the Duet variety for both drying and freeze-drying, while the least occurred in the Aurora variety. During drying and freeze-drying, blue honeysuckle fruits lost the most flavonoids and anthocyanins – 76.8% and 43.8%, respectively. The amount of anthocyanins decreased by 137 mg during freeze-drying and by 239 mg during drying. The results of this research can be used by producers to select blue honeysuckle varieties for the establishment of industrial plantations for drying and freeze-drying 

Keywords

freeze-drying; vitamin C; polyphenols; flavonoids; anthocyanins

Suggested citation
Shevchuk, L., & Hrynyk, R. (2025). The influence of genetic traits of the variety on the preservation of bioactive compounds in blue honeysuckle (Lonícera caeruléa L.) fruits during sublimation and drying. Plant and Soil Science, 16(2), 37-47. https://doi.org/10.31548/plant2.2025.37
References
  1. Bassey, E.J., Cheng, J.H., & Sun, D.W. (2021). Novel nonthermal and thermal pretreatments for enhancing drying performance and improving quality of fruits and vegetables. Trends in Food Science & Technology, 112, 137-148. doi: 10.1016/j.tifs.2021.03.045.
  2. Bhatta, S., Stevanovic Janezic, T., & Ratti, C. (2020). Freeze-drying of plant-based foods. Foods, 9(1), article number 87. doi: 10.3390/foods9010087.
  3. Bulgaru, V., Gurev, A., Baerle, A., Dragancea, V., Balan, G., Cojocari, D., Sturza, R, Soran, M.L., & Ghendov-Mosanu, A. (2024). Phytochemical, antimicrobial, and antioxidant activity of different extracts from frozen, freeze-dried, and oven-dried jostaberries grown in Moldova. Antioxidants, 13(8), article number 890. doi: 10.3390/antiox13080890.
  4. Casati, C.B., Baeza, R., & Sánchez, V. (2019). Physicochemical properties and bioactive compounds content in encapsulated freeze-dried powders obtained from blueberry, elderberry, blackcurrant and maqui berry. Journal of Berry Research, 9(3), 431-447. doi: 10.3233/JBR-190409.
  5. Convention on Biological Diversity. (1992, June). Retrieved from https://zakon.rada.gov.ua/laws/ show/995_030#Text.
  6. Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora. (1973, March). Retrieved from https://cites.org/eng.
  7. De Silva, A.K.H., & Rupasinghe, H.P.V. (2020). Polyphenols composition and anti-diabetic properties in vitro of haskap (Lonicera caerulea L.) berries in relation to cultivar and harvesting date. Journal of Food Composition and Analysis, 88, article number 103402. doi: 10.1016/j.jfca.2019.103402.
  8. Geng, Z., Zhu, L., Wang, J., Yu, X., Li, M., Yang, W., Hu, B., Zhang, Q., & Yang, X. (2023). Drying sea buckthorn berries (Hippophae rhamnoides L.): Effects of different drying methods on drying kinetics, physicochemical properties, and microstructure. Frontiers in Nutrition, 10, article number 1106009. doi: 10.3389/fnut.2023.1106009.
  9. Golovinskaia, O., & Wang, C.K. (2021). Review of functional and pharmacological activities of berries. Molecules, 26(13), article number 3904. doi: 10.3390/molecules26133904.
  10. Gronbach, M., Kraußer, L., Broese, T., Oppermann, C., & Kragl, U. (2021). Sublimation for enrichment and identification of marker compounds in fruits. Food Analytical Methods, 14, 1087-1098. doi: 10.1007/s12161-020-01954-6.
  11. Hamad, A., Hayuningtyas, A., & Jitphongsaikul, P. (2023). Comparison of physical and chemical changes of dried berries fruits powders from spray and freeze drying. Journal of Chemical Process and Material Technology, 1(2), 37-44. doi: 10.36499/jcpmt.v1i2.6886.
  12. Hawlader, M.N.A., Perera, C.O., Tian, M., & Yeo, K.L. (2006). Drying of guava and papaya: Impact of different drying methods. Drying Technology, 24(1), 77-87. doi: 10.1080/07373930500538725.
  13. Kondratenko, P.V., Shevchuk, L.M., & Levchuk, L.M.. (2008). Methods for assessing the quality of fruit and berry products. Kyiv: PE S.I. Zhyteliev.
  14. Krakowska-Sieprawska, A., Walczak-Skierska, J., Pomastowski, P., Sobolewska, R., Głogowski, J., Bernat, C., & Rafińska, K. (2024). Advanced extraction techniques for bioactive compounds from berry fruits: Enhancing functional food applications. Foods, 13(24), article number 4115. doi: 10.3390/foods13244115.
  15. Kryventsov, V.Y. (1982). Guidelines for the analysis of fruits for biochemical composition. Yalta: HNBS.
  16. Krzykowski, A., Dziki, D., Rudy, S., Polak, R., Biernacka, B., Gawlik-Dziki, U., & JaniszewskaTurak, E. (2023). Effect of air-drying and freeze-drying temperature on the process kinetics and physicochemical characteristics of white mulberry fruits (Morus alba L.). Processes, 11(3), article number 750. doi: 10.3390/pr11030750.
  17. Liu, Y., Zhang, Z., & Hu, L. (2022). High efficient freeze-drying technology in food industry. Critical Reviews in Food Science and Nutrition, 62(12), 3370-3388. doi: 10.1080/10408398.2020.1865261.
  18. Mencarelli, F., & Bellincontro, A. (2020). Recent advances in postharvest technology of the wine grape to improve the wine aroma. Journal of the Science of Food and Agriculture, 100(14), 5046-5055. doi: 10.1002/jsfa.8910.
  19. Muñoz-Fariña, O., López-Casanova, V., García-Figueroa, O., Roman-Benn, A., Ah-Hen, K., Bastias-Montes, J.M., Quevedo-León, R., & Ravanal-Espinosa, M.C. (2023). Bioaccessibility of phenolic compounds in fresh and dehydrated blueberries (Vaccinium corymbosum L.). Food Chemistry Advances, 2, article number 100171. doi: 10.1016/j.focha.2022.100171.
  20. Osokina, N., Herasymchuk, O., Kostetska, K., Matviienko, N., & Stratutsa, Ya. (2022). Evaluation of methods of heat treatment of black currant fruits to increase juice production. Scientific Horizons, 25(3), 55-67. doi: 10.48077/scihor.25(3).2022.55-67.
  21. Qi, Y., Yu, F., Wang, X., Wan, N., Yang, M., Wu, Z., & Li, Y. (2021). Drying of wolfberry fruit juice using low-intensity pulsed ultrasound. LWT, 141, article number 110953. doi: 10.1016/j.lwt.2021.110953.
  22. Rupasinghe, H.V., Arumuggam, N., Amararathna, M., & De Silva, A.B.K.H. (2018). The potential health benefits of haskap (Lonicera caerulea L.): Role of cyanidin-3-O-glucoside. Journal of Functional Foods, 44, 24-39. doi: 10.1016/j.jff.2018.02.023.
  23. Samoticha, J., Wojdyło, A., & Lech, K. (2016). The influence of different the drying methods on chemical composition and antioxidant activity in chokeberries. LWT – Food Science and Technology, 66, 484-489. doi: 10.1016/j.lwt.2015.10.073.
  24. Silicka, I., Dembovska, I., Teirumnieka, Ē., & Dembovskis, I. (2020). Analysis of hiking food processing technologies on the market. Journal of Regional Economic and Social Development, 12, 171-181. doi: 10.17770/jresd2020vol1.12.5398.
  25. Sorrenti, V., Burò, I., Consoli, V., & Vanella, L. (2023). Recent advances in health benefits of bioactive compounds from food wastes and by-products: Biochemical aspects. International Journal of Molecular Sciences, 24(3), article number 2019. doi: 10.3390/ijms24032019.
  26. Stevanović, S.M., Dimitrijević, A., & Zlatanović, I. (2021). Retention of berry fruits quality by freeze-drying: Challenges and results. In Proceedings of the Fifth international symposium on agricultural engineering ISAE-2021 (pp. 73-81). Belgrade: The Institute for Agricultural Engineering.
  27. Synowiec-Wojtarowicz, A., Czardybon, K., & Pawłowska-Góral, K. (2014). Evaluation of the effect of heat treatment on the content of antioxidant compounds and colour parameters of selected fruit juices. Problems of Hygiene and Epidemiology, 95(2), 449-451.
  28. Vahapoglu, B., Erskine, E., Gultekin Subasi, B., & Capanoglu, E. (2021). Recent studies on berry bioactives and their health-promoting roles. Molecules, 27(1), article number 108. doi: 10.3390/ molecules27010108.
  29. Vronska, L.V. (2018). Development of a spectrophotometric method for determining flavonoids in blueberry shoots. Pharmaceutical Journal, 4, 49-56. doi: 10.11603/2312-0967.2018.4.9703.
  30. Wilkowska, A., Ambroziak, W., Czyżowska, A., & Adamiec, J. (2016). Effect of microencapsulation by spray drying and freeze-drying technique on the antioxidant properties of blueberry (Vaccinium myrtillus) juice polyphenolic compounds. Polish Journal of Food and Nutrition Sciences, 66(1), 11-16. doi: 10.1515/pjfns-2015-0015.
  31. Yevchuk, Ya.V., Mezhenskyi, V.M., Lyubich, V.V., & Parubok, M.I. (2019). Biochemical characteristics of hawthorn fruits (Crataegus L.) in order to produce products of the prophylactic assignment. Horticulture, 74, 124-132. doi: 10.35205/0558-1125-2019-74-124-132.
  32. Zhang, X., Li, M., Zhu, L., Geng, Z., Liu, X., Cheng, Z., Zhao, M., Zhang, Q., & Yang, X. (2023). Sea buckthorn pretreatment, drying, and processing of high-quality products: Current status and trends. Foods, 12(23), article number 4255. doi: 10.3390/foods12234255.