ASHS 2025 Conference

American elderberry (Sambucus nigra subspecies canadensis) is native to much of North America. The fruit are soft, small, intensely purple drupes, containing three to five seeds. Berries exhibit some anti-viral properties and were found to slow the progression of dementia in animal studies. European elderberries (Sambucus nigra subspecies nigra) have long been used to make phytochemical-rich value-added products, in contrast to the underutilized American subspecies. American elderberry offers potential for products with more color stability as the berries have more cyanidin-3-sambuboside-5-glucoside and acylated anthocyanins than European elderberry. Developing innovative, cost effective, concentrated and portable products such as powders are desired for creating value added products. Successful microencapsulation of elderberry into powders was achieved by spray drying elderberry juice or pomace extract with soy protein isolate or tapioca starch as drying carriers. Anthocyanin profiles in the encapsulated powders were similar to those in juice but concentration was increased by 3-fold. Acylated anthocyanins made up 77% and cyanidin-3-sambuboside-5-glucoside, 17% of the total anthocyanins. Flavonoids delivered in powders encapsulated with soy protein concentrate were doubled in bioaccessibility compared to juice. Fermentation of juice with Saccharomyces cerevisiae yeast decreased soluble sugars and increased spray drying efficiency 20-25%. Fermented elderberry juice spray dried with pea protein or yeast as drying carriers showed increased phenolic content and bioaccessibility. This production strategy offers an efficient way to deliver stable, phytochemically enriched, value-added products from American elderberry for multiple food applications.