Effects of different maturity periods and processes on nutritional components of rose hip (Rosa canina L.)

Rosa canina L. fruits, known as brier rose or rose hip, grow naturally in Bursa (Turkey) and its environs. In this study, rose hips were harvested at two different maturity periods. Some of them were then dried naturally and others processed traditionally as rose hip marmalade. Phenolic acids (ellagic acid, ferulic acid, caffeic acid, p-coumaric acid, p-hydroxybenzoic acid, protocatechuic acid), ascorbic acid, flavonols (quercetin, kaempferol, myricetin, (+)-catechin) were detected with LC-ESI-MS/MS (Liquid Chromatography Electrospray Ionization Mass Spectrometry). Mineral compounds (Na, Mg, K, Ca, P) were detected using ICP-OES (Inductively Coupled Plasma Optic Emission Spectroscopy) in fresh and processed rose hip samples. The lycopene level was also determined in the samples. Statistical differences were found in all parameters related to the maturity and processing methods in the observed samples. It was found that quercetin and (+)- catechin were the main phenolic acids.