Research Article Black Chokeberry (Aronia melanocarpa (Michx.) Elliot) Fruits and Functional Drinks Differ Significantly in Their Chemical Composition and Antioxidant Activity Petko Denev , Maria Kratchanova, Ivalina Petrova, Daniela Klisurova, Yordan Georgiev, Manol Ognyanov , and Irina Yanakieva Laboratory of Biologically Active Substances, Institute of Organic Chemistry with Centre of Phytochemistry, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, 139 Ruski Blvd., 4000 Plovdiv, Bulgaria Correspondence should be addressed to Petko Denev; petkodenev@yahoo.com Received 14 May 2018; Revised 20 September 2018; Accepted 2 October 2018; Published 1 November 2018 Academic Editor: Davide Barreca Copyright © 2018 Petko Denev et al. is is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. Black chokeberry (Aronia melanocarpa) fruits are among the richest sources of polyphenols and anthocyanins in plant kingdom and suitable raw material for production of functional foods. e popularity of chokeberries is not only due to their nutritional value but also to the constantly emerging evidence for their health-promoting effects. e current study presents detailed in- formation about the content and composition of sugars, organic acids, and polyphenols in 23 aronia samples grown under the climatic conditions of Bulgaria, in 2016 and 2017. Sorbitol was found to be the main carbohydrate of fresh aronia fruits. Its content was in the range 6.5–13g/100 g fresh weight (FW), representing 61%–68% of low-molecular-weight carbohydrates. Organic acids were represented by substantial amounts of quinic acid (average content 404.4 mg/100 g FW), malic acid (328.1 mg/100 g FW), and ascorbic acid (65.2 mg/100 g FW). Shikimic acid, citric acid, oxalic acid, and succinic acid were found as minor components. Chokeberries were particularly rich in proanthocyanidins, anthocyanins, and hydroxycinnamic acids. e total polyphenol content of aronia fruits varied between 1022 mg/100 g FW and 1795 mg/100 g FW and ORAC antioxidant activity from 109 µmol TE/g to 191 µmol TE/g FW. We also investigated the relationship between the chemical composition of berries and chemical compositions and antioxidant activity of aronia functional drinks—juices and nectars. e differences in the chemical com- position of the fruits resulted in functional foods that differ significantly in their chemical composition and antioxidant activity. Additionally, we demonstrated that temperature of juice pressing and nectar extraction has a profound effect on the polyphenol content and composition of these products. is is very important since differences in the chemical composition of raw chokeberries and variation of technological parameters during processing could result in functional foods with different chemical composition, rendering different biological activity. 1. Introduction e food is a source not only of nutrients and energy for the living organisms but also of a broad spectrum of non- nutritive biologically active compounds. A growing amount of evidence demonstrates that the consumption of fruits, vegetables, and herbs is associated with a lower risk of ar- teriosclerosis and other oxidative stress-related diseases [1]. Among plant foods, berries are characteristic with high content of bioactive substances, including polyphenols. erefore, they are suitable raw materials for the develop- ment of functional drinks [2, 3], which is the main reason for the substantial scientific interest in polyphenol-rich berries, in the last years. In search of promising sources of natural antioxidants, black chokeberry (Aronia melanocarpa, Rosaceae) is very appropriate since it is among the richest sources of polyphenols in the plant kingdom [4, 5]. It originates from North America, and in the 1900s, it was introduced to Europe. In the past, it was cultivated mostly as an ornamental plant and used for domestic production of juices, wines, jams, etc. Now aronia berries are widely distributed in Europe and cultivated as an important in- dustrial crop [6–8]. It is a valuable raw material for juice and wine industries and it is used as a source of food-grade Hindawi Journal of Chemistry Volume 2018, Article ID 9574587, 11 pages https://doi.org/10.1155/2018/9574587