Composition of Phenolic Compounds in South African Schinus molle L. Berries

The Schinus molle tree is notoriously invasive in most parts of the world, and yet as a pseudospice, its berries potentially possess some significant health benefits which need to be explored. Therefore, polar metabolome of seed + husks (SH), husks (H), and de-hulled (DH) berries were profiled and quantified by untargeted metabolomics approach using UPLC-QTOF-MS. A total of 13 gallotannins, three phenolic acids, a phenolic acid glucoside, three phenolic acid esters, an organic acid, a gallotannin derivative, and nine flavonoids were detected and quantified. Phenolic acids ranged between 12.2–295.7; 4.9–77; and 89.7–1613.1 mg/kg in SH, DH seeds and H respectively. Flavonoids ranged between 1.8–267.5; 73.4–80.4; and 124–564.3 mg/kg in SH, DH seeds and H respectively. Gallotannins ranged between 1.1–146.6; 14.8–21.8; and 48.1–664.8 mg/kg in SH, DH seeds and H respectively. Feruloyltartaric A, quercetin 3-O-glucuronide, catechin digalloylshikimic acid B as well as digalloyl quinic acid were some of the dominant secondary metabolites revealed. These results indicate that S. molle berries are a rich source of secondary metabolites with elevated concentrations in the husks, while DH seeds possess lower concentrations to none. These findings open important insights into the potential of S. molle berries as a natural source of antioxidants for the food and pharmaceutical industries.