Document Type

Thesis - University Access Only

Award Date

2004

Degree Name

Master of Science (MS)

Department / School

Biology and Microbiology

First Advisor

R. Neil Reese

Abstract

The nannyberry plant (Viburnum lentago) is native to the eastern part of North America. It is a deciduous, multi-stemmed shrub. Nannyberries are about 10-15mm in length and have an oval shape and a bluish-black color. These berries were widely consumed by the Native Americans. Consumption of fruits is thought to decrease risk of degenerative diseases (e.g., diabetes, cancer, cardiovascular diseases, cataracts, arthritis) and lower the rate of aging, because the fruits are purported to contain large amounts of antioxidants. Antioxidants have been reported to have the ability to neutralize free radicals that cause celluar damage. The objective of this research is to measure the antioxidant activity, quantities of compounds responsible for this activity and quantities of nutrients in nannyberries. Nannyberries were collected from ten different locations in three counties in South Dakota state (Lawrence county, Pennington county and Brookings county). Samples from Rapid City, Victoria Lake, Big Bend, Brookings and Spearfish were tested for antioxidant activity, soluble phenolics and total polyphenols. The antioxidant activity was measured spectrometrically according to the DPPH assay. High levels of antioxidant activity (> 9mg quercetin equivalents/g dry weight) were found in all five samples. Their antioxidant activity levels were close to that of blueberries (10.3mg quercetin equivalents/g dry weight), which were used for comparison. The quantities of soluble phenolics and total polyphenols were determined Vl by a colorimetric method using the Folin-Ciocalteu's phenol reagent. Nannyberries had moderate quantities of soluble phenolics (> 40 umol of catechin equivalents/g dry weight) and high quantities of total polyphenols (> 140 umol catechin equivalents/g dry weight). Nannyberries from Rapid Creek, Victoria Lake Road, Centennial trailhead Spring Creek and Long Valley were tested for crude proteins, crude fiber, total sugars, total moisture and total dry matter. Nannyberries contained 2.78% of crude protein, 6.85% of crude fiber, 53.35% of total sugars, 5.88% of total moisture and 94.1 % of total dry matter.

Library of Congress Subject Headings

Viburnum.
Berries -- Health aspects.
Antioxidants.
Nutrition.

Publisher

South Dakota State University

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Rights Statement

In Copyright