CLONALVARIATION IN RASPBERRY FRUIT PHENOLICS AND RELEVANCE FOR DIABETES AND HYPERTENSION MANAGEMENT SUSAN CHEPLICK 1 , YOUNG-IN KWON 2 , PRASANTA BHOWMIK 1 and KALIDAS SHETTY 2,3 1 Department of Plant, Soil, and Insect Sciences 2 Department of Food Science University of Massachusetts Amherst, MA 01003 Accepted for Publication November 28, 2006 ABSTRACT The health-relevant functionality of fruit extracts from 12 Rubus cultivars was evaluated for potential diabetes and hypertension management. Inhibition of in vitro a-amylase, a-glucosidase and angiotensin-1-converting enzyme (ACE-1) activity was evaluated in conjunction with phenolic content and antioxidant activity. Black raspberries, Jewel and MacBlack cultivars, had the highest overall phenolic content and antioxidant activity. Red raspberry cul- tivars, Nova, Heritage and K81-6, showed the overall highest a-amylase inhibition in water and ethanol extracts. Jewel, a black raspberry cultivar, had the lowest a-amylase inhibitory activity of 40% or lower. Ethanol extracts of all 12 cultivars showed high inhibitory activity (above 85%) against a-glucosidase. The yellow raspberry, KCB-1, was the most effective at inhib- iting a-glucosidase in both water and ethanol extracts. Fruit extracts of the yellow raspberries, KCB-1 and Kiwi Gold, showed the most potential for ACE-1 inhibition. Jewel and the red raspberry, Caroline, also had good activity against ACE-1. PRACTICAL APPLICATION The insights from this research provide the biochemical rationale for further in vivo studies based on in vitro enzyme inhibition studies. This structure-function-based rationale can help to target specific cultivars of rasp- berry with specific and uniform phenolic profiles for diet designs targeted for managing early stages of type II diabetes and hypertension. The structure- 3 Corresponding author. TEL: +1-413-545-1022; FAX: +1-413-545-1262; EMAIL: kalidas@ foodsci.umass.edu Journal of Food Biochemistry 31 (2007) 656–679. All Rights Reserved. © 2007, The Author(s) Journal compilation © 2007, Blackwell Publishing 656