Povrćarstvo, ukrasno, aromatično i ljekovito bilje

ORIGINAL SCIENTIFIC PAPER Biometric and chemical characteristics of the species Rosa canina L. used as a natural and functional food

Ropciuc Sorina1, Crețescu Iuliana2, Leahu Ana1, Velicevici Giancarla3 1University "Stefan cel Mare", University stee. 13, 720229 Suceava, ([email protected]) 2Faculty of Animal Science end Biotehnologies, Banat’s University of Agricultural Sciences and Veterinary Medicine, Calea Aradului street 119, Timişoara, Romania 3Faculty of Animal Science end Biotehnologies, Banat’s University of Agricultural Sciences and Veterinary Medicine, Calea Aradului street 119, Timişoara, Romania

Abstract The rosehips (the hips), the achenes (the seeds), the flowers, the leaves and the buds are effective for human's health due to the supplementation with vitamins of the weakened bodies. They also help prevent and fight against cardiovascular, renal, gastrointestinal, gynaecological, lung and nerve affections. The high content of vitamin C and other substances ensure the normal functioning of the endocrine glands, the brains, the heart, the liver and the spleen. The aim of this study is to determine the biometric features (the hips' size, the weight of 100 hips) of rosehip fruits resulted from wild flora and to correlate the results of these determinations to the pectin (%), carotenoid pigments (mg%) and vitamin C (mg%) content. Over the study years (2007-2010) we obtained important results that support the hypothesis of their use in functional nourishment. Rosehips contain 0,37-0,81% pectin, 9,37- 52,52mg% and 456,95- 573,2 mg/100. The results of the biometric indicators determinations are: the average length of hips is between 17,1 and 25,1 mm and the weight of 100 hips is between 95,9g and 231,92g. The results concerning the biometric data have been interpreted statistically by calculating the variation of continuous quantitative variables, indicating a low and medium dispersion degree. The regression equation emphasizes the tendency line of the studied variables, the direction and intensity of the link of the two variables (example: the weight of 100 hips – vitamin C). The rosehips of wild flora are natural sources of vitamins, chemical and biochemical constituents, being of interest for horticulturists, food industry and in particular of pharmacological interest.

Key words: hips, supplementation with vitamins, affections, vitamins, pectin

Introduction The Rosa species has its origins in the continental and subtropical regions of the northern hemisphere, from the Mediterranean Sea to central Scandinavia and the Middle East. The genus includes species different in number. According to botanists’ opinions, their number ranges from 30-180 to 250. (Henker, 2000.) Their existence as wild species is known since ancient times. Plinius the Old (23-79 e.n) mentioned them in his works devoted to the study of plants They are also mentioned in medieval manuscripts and herbaria. Both the pulp and the seeds were used in the past by monks for various diseases, stomach aches, ear pains and mild colds. In our country, Rosa canina L. species cannot be found in cultures, but it is very common in spontaneous flora. The spread habitat in Romania is from the Black Sea beach until 1200m altitudes. The fruit – the globular or ovoid receptacle is red-orange or even deep red depending on

48. hrvatski i 8. međunarodni simpozij agronoma | Dubrovnik | Hrvatska 425 Vegetable Growing, Ornamental, Aromatic and Medicinal Plants the stage of ripeness. At full maturity the fruits are red, smooth and sleek, having a pleasant sweet-sour taste. At the base of the pseudo-fruit we can see pedicel scraps and on the opposite side we can see a conical disc which has or not styli scraps, which form a more or less pronounced capitulum surrounded by lobbed sepals that stay attached or not until full ripeness. With senescence, most fruits fall from the branches and gain a soft texture. The ones that stay on the bush can resist throughout the entire the cold season, being a source of food for birds (Fig.1 a,b)

Fig.1a. Fully ripe receptacle Fig.1b. Different shapes of rosehip receptacles (Original) (Original)

Genetically speaking, rosehips are autofertile plants, but there also occurs hybridization and cross pollination. All species from the Caninae category to which Rosa canina L. belongs are polyploid, mostly with pentaploidy (2n = 35, x = 7). Hexaploidy, tetraploidy and decaploidy are also possible, phenomena observed at Rosa Praelucens species. (De Cock, 2008).

Material and methods The material that needs to be investigated is the fruit of Rosa canina L collected from 42 biotypes from spontaneous flora, marked route: Suceava – Pătrăuţi – Lunca Sucevei (Dărmăneşti) - Costâna - Părhăuţi - Todireşti - - Arbore - - Clit - - Rădăuţi – Suceviţa - Palma, during 2007, 2008, 2009 and 2010. The route includes 14 resorts. The fruits were harvested from fully ripe randomized bushes in the first half of September. Determining the length and weight of 100 hips was done immediately after the harvest. For vitamin C content, the fruits were dried for 3 - 4 months in natural conditions and natural ventilation. After drying, the pulp was crushed using mortar and porcelain pestle in order to obtain the rosehip powder necessary for the analysis. The fruit length in mm was performed using callipers by measuring the 10 fruits from each bush. The result was the average of 30 measurements in each resort. Weight. There was determined the weight of 100 fruits expressed in grams, from each biotype, by weighing with analytical scales and calculating the mean of the weighing of the 300 rosehips in each resort. Pectin was determined quantitatively from fresh fruit, by pectic acid precipitation through CaCl2 and by the gravimetric determination of pectic calcium. In this direction, the sample is boiled in water or weak acid solution for the hydrolisis of the protopectin. The product of the hydrolysis is treated with NaOH. The pectic acid is set free with an excess of weak acid (acetic acid) and precipitate and then with a solution of CaCl2 in form of calcium pectat. The total content of vitamin C (ascorbic and dehydroascorbic acid) was determined

426 48th Croatian & 8th International Symposium on Agriculture | Dubrovnik | Croatia Povrćarstvo, ukrasno, aromatično i ljekovito bilje by reducing the 2-6-diclorphenolindophenol dye in acid solution. In the absence of other reducing substances, the standard solution of 2-6-diclorphenolindophenol is recuced by vitamin C, proportional with its content in the sample. 2 - 5cm3 extract of reosehip powder is pipetted in an 50 cm3 Erlenmeyer flask. We add an equal volume of buffer and filter it with indophenol dye solution. The dry plant material is triturated with a blend of anhydrous sodium sulphate and burnt lime that retain the colored substances besides carotenes. In order to prevent the decomposition of the carotenes in acid we added a mixture of anhydrous sodium carbonate. The carotenes from the grinded mixture are extracted with acetone and petroleum ether. Measuring the color intensity of the carotenes ethereal solution is made with the spectrophotometer using a wavelength of 450nm (blue filter).

Results and discussion The statistical data analysis using Descriptive statistics indicates the Mean, Standard Error, Median, Mode, Standard Deviation, Sample Variance, Range, minimum hip sizes, maximum sizes and Sum for the measurements in 2007 – 2010. The values can be found in Table 1.

Table 1. The descriptive analysis of the value of rose hips sizes Station Mean Standard Median Mode Standard Sample Range Min Max Sum Error Deviation Variance S1 22.33 0.08348 22.4 22.6 0.4572 0.20907 1.7 21.3 23 669.9 S2 21.343 0.311603 21.85 22.8 1.7067 2.91289 5.3 18.3 23.6 640.3 S3 16.483 0.286239 16.3 16.3 1.5678 2.45799 5.3 13.7 19 494.5 S4 23.66 0.214347 23.9 24.3 1.174 1.37834 5.2 20 24.9 709.8 S5 22.967 0.147962 23 22.4 0.8104 0.65678 3 21.3 26.2 689 S6 23 0.187052 22.9 23.9 1.0245 1.04966 3.8 21.3 26.4 690 S7 24.293 0.187662 24 23.8 1.0279 1.05651 4 22.8 26.8 728.8 S8 17.833 0.276278 17.9 16.4 1.5132 2.28989 6.2 15 25.2 535 S9 22.887 0.21686 22.95 21.7 1.1878 1.41085 4.8 20.5 24.3 686.6 S10 16.96 0.135409 16.9 17.8 0.7417 0.55007 3 15.4 25.1 508.8 S11 21.383 0.7171 22.6 19.3 3.9277 15.427 14.2 15.3 29.5 641.5 S12 21.733 0.198693 21.9 23 1.0883 1.18437 4.1 19.3 23.4 652 S13 22.267 0.171962 22.35 22 0.9419 0.88713 3.9 20.3 24.2 668 S14 17.6 0.292355 17.4 16 1.6013 2.56414 5.5 15 20.5 528

Table 2. Variation quotient concerning the sizes of rose hips in 2008 Resort Confidence Level Analysis of length viariability in 2008 Var. quot % S1 Suceava 0.17 0,02 2 S2 Pătrăuţi 0.63 0,13 13 S3Dărmăneşti 0.58 0,15 15 S4 Costîna 0.43 0,05 5 S5 Părhăuţi 0.3 0,028 2,8 S6 Todireşti 0.38 0,045 4,5 S7Cajvana 0,38 0,044 4,4 S8 Arbore 0,56 0,12 12 S9 Solca 0,44 0,06 6 S10 Clit 0,27 0,032 3,2 S11 Marginea 1,46 0,18 18 S12 Rădăuţi 0,4 0,049 4,9 S13 Suceviţa 0,35 0,042 4,2 S14 Palma 0,59 0,14 14

The variation quotient represents the ratio between the standard deviation and the arithmetic mean of the observation series. In 2008 prevails a low dispersion, also noted in the other years of research, but which have not been presented in this paper. CV ˂ 10% - low dispersion, homogeneous community; C.V10-30% - indicates an average dispersion

48. hrvatski i 8. međunarodni simpozij agronoma | Dubrovnik | Hrvatska 427 Vegetable Growing, Ornamental, Aromatic and Medicinal Plants

Table 3. The results concerning the weight of 100 hips in bushes and resorts The results of the analysis on rose hip fruit weight on years of study RESORTS/ BUSH 2007 2008 2009 2010 T1 SUCEAVA 238,9 228 229 231,8 T2 145,9 150,6 147 160 T3 155 177,3 162 180 T1 PĂTRĂUŢI 206 230 200 226,5 T2 212,4 232 187 214,8 T3 137,5 153,6 163 152 T1 DĂRMĂNEŞTI 176,4 188 182 174 T2 167,3 150,6 165 118,2 T3 146,5 178,4 160 172 T1 COSTÎNA 216,4 156,3 194 233,6 T2 187,1 130,8 147 117 T3 221 128,5 189,5 218,7 T1 PĂRHĂUŢI 142,4 152 144 176,1 T2 148,5 149,4 219,6 231 T3 198,7 212,6 187 264,1 T1 TODIREŞTI 147,2 148 151 163,4 T2 198 214 204 243 T3 177,2 231,6 167 196,5 T1 CAJVANA 186,7 198,4 170,3 188 T2 143,8 145 144 230,4 T3 236,3 238,9 190 196,7

Table 4. Rose hip fruits pectin content Resorts Pectin content, % 2007 2008 2009 2010 S1 Suceava 0,83 0,48 0,96 0,84 S2 Pătrăuţi 0,66 0,41 0,46 0,53 S3 Dărmăneşti 0,65 0,36 0,57 0,46 S4 Costâna 0,43 0,34 0,52 0,61 S5 Părhăuţi 0,78 0,47 0,86 0,77 S6 Todireşti 0,76 0,58 0,71 0,76 S7 Cajvana 0,32 0,27 0,43 0,45

The average content of vitamin C expressed in mg/100g dry weight under natural conditions in the studied resorts for 2007-2010 is between 638.29 and 516.46. The limit values are recorded in Palma and Costîna.

Table 5 Pigment content Resorts Carotenoid pigments mg% S1 Suceava 13,42 S2 Pătrăuţi 16,75 S3 Dărmăneşti 52,52 S4 Costâna 17,11 S5 Părhăuţi 15,76 S6 Todireşti 19,76 S7 Cajvana 9,37 S8 Arbore 36,53 S9 Solca 21,64 S10 Clit 37,32 S11 Marginea 46,95 S12 Rădăuţi 39,63 S13 Suceviţa 62,47 S14 Palma 13,26

428 48th Croatian & 8th International Symposium on Agriculture | Dubrovnik | Croatia Povrćarstvo, ukrasno, aromatično i ljekovito bilje

Fig.2 The correlation grafic between vit. C and g

Conclusions According to statistical data, the size of hips in nature has a medium and small degree of dispersion, which leads to the conclusion that the hips' size is between the narrow limits of 17-22mm, values obtained by Šindrak e et al., 2012. In terms of the weight of 100 hips, the results are comparable to Šindrak et al., 2012, obtaining values of 1.88 to 2.96 g per fruit, that is bigger than the levels studied in other articles. Pectin, pigments and vitamin C - 417mg per 100g is about 6 times bigger than in oranges - 76mg per 100g and are the main constituents analyzed with functional purpose, remarking average quantities by comparison with literature data. Given that rose hip is a natural plant source of active principles involved in human health and improvement of human food quality, rose hip products are recommended as juices, jellies, jams, etc.

References: Celik, F. A. Kazankaya and Ercisli, S.(2009): Fruit characteristics of some selected promising rose hip (Rosa spp.) genotypes from Van region of Turkey. African Journal of Agricultural Research Vol. 4 (3), pp. 236-240. De Cock, K. (2008): Genetic diversity of wild roses (Rosa spp.) in Europe, with an indepth morphological study of Flemish populations. PhD Thesis, Faculty of Bioscience Engineering, Ghent University. Fruk, G.:(2012): Fruit quality of dog rose seedlings (Rosa canina L). Journal of Central European Agriculture, 2012, 13(2), p.321-330 Henker,H. (2000): Rosa. In: Conert EI, Ja¨ger J, Kadereit J et al (eds) Hegi G: Illustrierte Flora von Mitteleuropa, Bd IV/2C. Lfg A Parey Buchverlag, Berlin, pp 1–108 Nojavan Saee, Khalilian, Faezeh; Kiaie, Fatemeh Momen, Rahimi, Atyeh, Arabanian, Armin, Chalavi, Soheil ( 2008). Extraction and quantitative determination of ascorbic acid during different maturity stages of Rosa canina L. Fruit. Journal of Food Composition and Analysis, Volume 21, Issue 4, p. 300-305 Šindrak,Z., Jemrić,T., Baričević, L., Han Dovedan, I.,Goran Fruk (2012): Journal of Central European Agriculture, 2012, 13(2), p.321-330 DOI: 10.5513/JCEA01/13.2.1053

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