Morphometric Traits, Phenolic Content, and Antioxidant Capacity of Crataegus pinnatifida Bge. var. major N. E. Brown

Abstract

Crataegus pinnatifida Bge. var. major N. E. Brown is a traditional medicinal plant and an economically important fruit species widely used in pharmacology and functional food production due to its rich content of bioactive compounds. This study evaluated the morphological characteristics of fruits and seeds of C. pinnatifida var. major grown under Slovak conditions and assessed their antioxidant potential and the levels of selected bioactive compounds. Morphometric analysis revealed large fruit dimensions (25.40–32.39 mm in length, 28.96–38.68 mm in width, and 10.91–20.36 g in weight) and seeds with lengths of 8.65–12.93 mm, widths of 4.83–9.54 mm, and a single-seed weight of 0.71–3.33 mg. The total polyphenol content differed markedly between fruit tissues, ranging from 13,382 to 14,169 mg.kg⁻¹ in the mesocarp, while substantially higher values were detected in the exocarp (17,683 to 18,714 mg.kg⁻¹), indicating a greater accumulation of phenolic compounds in the outer fruit tissues. Similarly, anthocyanin content was relatively low in the mesocarp (7.97 to 15.15 mg.kg⁻¹) but dramatically higher in the exocarp (277.75 to 315.12 mg.kg⁻¹), confirming that these pigments are predominantly localised in the peel. Antioxidant activity of the exocarp and mesocarp varied among tissues and extraction solvents. Acetone extracts exhibited the highest antioxidant activity in the exocarp (46.68%), whereas methanol showed the highest radical scavenging capacity in the mesocarp (34.78%), followed by ethanol (42.20% in the exocarp and 28.86% in the mesocarp). Water extracts provided consistently lower antioxidant values in both tissues (17.08% in the mesocarp and 16.02% in the exocarp). These findings highlight the high nutritional and functional value of C. pinnatifida var. major, support its potential use in health-promoting food products, and contribute valuable information for biodiversity conservation and genetic resource management.