Horticultural Science and Technology 원예과학기술지 ISSN:1226-8763(Print) 2465-8588(Online)

This study was investigated the anthocyanin composition of ‘Gaeryangmeoru’, ‘Kyoho’, and ‘Hongisul’ grapes cultivated in Korea using ultra-performance liquid chromatography (UPLC) coupled to a mass spectrometer (MS) equipped with an ESI (electrospray ionization) source. ‘Gaeryangmeoru’ is a dark-blue grape used for winemaking that can reach its coloring in unfavorable weather. The ‘Kyoho’ and ‘Hongisul’ varieties are hybrid grapes that feature black and pink skin, respectively. The anthocyanins extracted from the peels of grapes were analyzed using UPLC-ESI-MS/MS. Twenty-five anthocyanins were identified in the ‘Gaeryangmeoru’ and ‘Kyoho’ varieties, and 21 were identified in the ‘Hongisul’ variety. Eight, 14 and five predominant anthocyanins were identified in ‘Gaeryangmeoru’, ‘Kyoho’ and ‘Hongisul’ grape respectively. In all three varieties, mono-glucosides were 2.3-5.9 times more abundant than di-glucoside. Malvidin was the predominant anthocyanidin in ‘Gaeryangmeoru’ (44.1%) and ‘Kyoho’ (56.5%), but cyanidin (96.8%) was in ‘Hongisul’. The acylated anthocyanins in ‘Gaeryangmeoru’ (2.0%) were rare, whereas acylated anthocyanins with p-coumaric acid were predominant in ‘Kyoho’ (40.9%) and ‘Hongisul’ (70.7%). In particular, cyanidin feruloyl glucoside was found only in the ‘Hongisul’ cultivar and considered to be useful as a criterion for identification of the variety. As a result, the grape varieties were demonstrated to have variety-specific anthocyanin characteristics, enabling classification based on anthocyanin composition in terms of anthocyanidins, glucosylation and acylation. The taxonomical application of anthocyanin composition confirmed the possibility that ‘Gaeryangmeoru’ originated from Vitis amurensis or its hybrids, and the ‘Hongisul’ grape was distinguished from other grapes by cyanidin feruloyl glucoside.