BIOACTIVE AND PHARMACOKINETIC CHARACTERISTICS OF PRE-MATURED BLACK RASPBERRY, RUBUS OCCIDENTALIS

Black raspberry (BR, Rubus occidentalis) is a berry originating from North America. It has a high anthocyanin and flavonoid content that seems to be dependent on ripening. Therefore, the bioactive and pharmacokinetic effects of BR were evaluated using pre-matured BR(PBR) collected from May to June. The total polyphenol, flavonoid and vitamin C content in PBR decreased while anthocyanin increased from 0.13 to 10.70 mg/g at 35 days after fruit set. The antioxidant activities due to DPPH and ABTS determination decreased as BRs were matured. Moreover, it is clear that the content of many phenolic compounds including gallic acid, caffeic acid, p-coumaric acid, ferulic acid, rutin, myricetin, luteolin and kaempferol was diminished during maturing. Both ferulic acid and rutin of BR generated the highest decrease as compared to other phenolic compounds. The pharmacokinetic Tmax and Cmax of PBR were 0.6 h and 0.264 µg/mL, respectively. Based on these results, PBR can generate qualified functionality as food and/or as a raw medicinal material.