Anthocyanins profile, total phenolics and antioxidant activity of two Romanian red grape varieties: Feteasca neagra and Babeasca neagra (Vitis vinifera)

The phenolic composition of Feteasca neagra and Babeasca neagra grapes from Dealul Bujorului vineyard (south-east Romania) was studied using the spectrophotometric and high-performance liquid chromatographic (HPLC) methods. The results revealed significant differences between these cultivars. Total anthocyanins ranged from 0.22-5.98 mg g(-1) DW berries in Babeasca neagra grapes to 0.54-18.54 mg g-1 DW berries in Feteasca neagra. Both cultivars were characterised by an interesting anthocyanin profile for winemaking with a prevalence of malvidin-3-glucoside. The skins and seeds both had small amounts of flavonoids. In contrast with Babeasca neagra, Feteasca neagra had more flavonoids in the seeds (69 %) than in the skins. Statistically significant correlations were observed between antioxidant activity and total anthocyanin content in both varieties. The antioxidant activity was also found to be highly correlated to the total phenolic compounds content. (C) 2015 Institute of Chemistry, Slovak Academy of Sciences