Bioactive Compounds in Leaves and Dry Fruits of New Wolfberry Cultivar ‘Zhongke Lüchuan 1’

Following the approval of the new wolfberry cultivar ‘Zhongke Lüchuan 1’ by the State Forestry Bureau, we examined the content of its bioactive compounds, including rutin in the leaves, and total flavonoids, total carotenoids, zeaxanthin dipalmitate, and total polysaccharides in the dry fruits. Results showed that rutin content in the leaves was higher during the shoot growing period than during the full fruiting period. Contents of total flavonoids, total carotenoids, and zeaxanthin dipalmitate were significantly higher in the first crop of fruit. The content of total polysaccharides was negatively correlated with the amount of fruit during the growing seasons. Although contents of total carotenoids and total polysaccharides in browning fruits (commonly known as "oily fruits") were significantly lower than those in normal fruits, total flavonoids were not decreased. Thus, browning fruits could be used for extraction of flavonoids in wolfberry. This study provides a scientific basis for the classification and extraction of wolfberry fruits.