| Maqui (Aristotelia chilensis Molina Stuntz, Elaeocarpaceae) is a Chilean native species which produces small berries that are mainly collected from the wild. The health benefits of maqui fruit are attributed to their high polyphenol content as well as their wide variety of anthocyanins and flavonols. One of the main factors that affect the polyphenol content in fruit is the maturity stage at harvest. The objective of this study was to determine total phenol and total anthocyanin content and antioxidant activity (by ferric reducing ability of plasma FRAP assay) of maqui fruits harvested at different fruit maturity stages from two wild populations located in Central Chile. Each maturity stage was determined by days from fruit set, berry size, and soluble... |
