Introduction: Sea buckthorn (Hippophae), widely found as a wild berry in Georgia, is a rich source of natural antioxidants, traditionally used for preparing food additives like sea buckthorn oil, carotenoids, tocopherols, and phospholipids. Despite its longstanding use, the physicochemical properties and potential applications of this berry remain underexplored. This study focuses on investigating the biologically active compounds in sea buckthorn berries harvested from different climatic and soil regions across Georgia.
Methods: UPLC-PDA-MS analysis identified and quantified bioactive compounds in wild sea buckthorn berry, juice, and waste. Gas chromatography was used to analyze its oil. The effects of traditional high-heat processing (100°C) on bioactive content were compared to those of innovative methods, including Ultra Sonic Extraction, High-Pressure, and Temperature Water Extraction. Antioxidant activity was assessed using the DPPH radical scavenging assay.
Results: The research successfully isolated fat, carotenoids, and polyphenols from the berries. Gas chromatography revealed that the fat fraction predominantly consists of C18 fatty acids (53.9%-56.3%), with oleic acid being the most abundant (38.3%-44.2%). Among the C16 fatty acids, palmitic acid was found to be dominant, comprising 36.2%-39.0% of the content. Beta-carotene was identified as the key carotenoid using UPLC-PDA and MS, with the highest yield (3120.6 mg/100g) achieved through the use of an ultrasonic probe and supercritical fluid extraction. Spectral analysis showed a total phenol content of 5160-5944 mg/100g, indicating significant antioxidant activity (50% inhibition of 0.1mM DPPH radical by 1-3.2 mg of sample). This study resulted in the extraction of three biologically active products from sea buckthorn berries: oil, carotenoid extract, and phenol extract.
Conclusion: This study demonstrates the high levels of bioactive compounds in raw materials and the effectiveness of innovative processing methods in preserving these compounds. The results suggest that optimizing innovative methods can enhance their nutritional value and health benefits.
