Phenolic compounds in strawberry (Fragaria x ananassa Duch.) fruits: Composition in 27 cultivars and changes during ripening

Phenolic compounds in fruits of 27 cultivars of strawberry (Fragaria x ananassa Duch.) grown in Norway were characterised and quantified by HPLC-DAD-MSn. Total phenolic content, calculated as the sum of the individual compounds, varied 2.3-fold among cultivars, i.e., from 57 to 133 mg/100 g of fw. There were significant differences among cultivars in concentration of all phenolic compounds. The highest variation between cultivars was found for cinnamoyl glucose (0.6–24.9 mg/100 g of fw). Concentration of anthocyanins, the most abundant class of phenolic compounds in the majority of the cultivars, varied from 8.5 to 65.9 mg/100 g of fw. Flavan-3-ols (11–45 mg/100 g of fw) and ellagitannins (7.7–18.2 mg/100 g of fw) contributed on average 28% and 14% to total phenolic contents in the strawberry cultivars, respectively. In three cultivars harvested at three stages of ripeness, anthocyanins and cinnamic acid conjugates were the compounds most affected by ripening. The anthocyanin profile for the individual cultivars was only slightly affected by ripening and growing conditions.