Chokeberry (Aronia melanocarpa)

The chokeberry (Aronia melanocarpa) is a species of the rose family (Rosaceae) with lower requirements for growth. It is a native species growing in eastern North America and eastern Canada. Recently it has been cultivated in Eastern European countries, Germany and our country. At the beginning of the 20th century the chokeberry was introduced into the botanical gardens of the European part of Russia.

Black-fruited (Aronia melanocarpa), red-fruited (A. arbutifolia) and purple-fruited (A. pruni-folia) chokeberries are three varieties that grow in the wild.

Polyphenols are compounds responsible for the high bioactivity of chokeberry. Aronia berries are one of the richest sources of polyphenols, including anthocyanins, flavonols, flavanols, proanthocyanidins and phenolic acids.

The dark blue colour of chokeberry fruit is mainly due to anthocyanins, which contain high levels of cyanidin-3-glucoside, 3-galactoside, 3-xyloside and 3-arabinoside.

Aronia flavonols are very diverse compounds. They are mainly composed of quercetin derivatives. The main quercetin derivatives in chokeberry are: quercetin-3-glucoside, 3-galactoside, 3-rutinoside, 3-robinobionoside. Studies have also shown that the fruit contains flavonols in the form of isorhamnetin-3-galactoside, 3-glucoside, 3-neohesperidoside and 3-rutinoside.

Although research to date has shown the many benefits of including chokeberry and its polyphenolic compounds in the daily diet, it also shows that, as with other plants and natural medicines, much more research is needed to determine the efficacy, safety and mechanisms of action of chokeberry. Therefore, the products that can be obtained from chokeberry do not yet meet the accepted standards to be included in any treatment.