M. Rusanova1, K. Rusanov1, S. Stanev2, N. Kovacheva2, I. Atanassov1*

1Agrobioinstitute, 8 DraganTsankov, 1164 Sofia, Bulgaria
2Institute of Roses Essential and Medicinal Cultures, 49 Osvobozhdenie, 6100 Kazanlak, Bulgaria

Abstract. A total of 16 randomly chosenR. canina L. cv Plovdiv 1 accessions obtained by seed propagation from the plant genetics resources collection of the Institute of Roses Essential and Medicinal Crops (IREMC) were analyzed for total phenol content and antioxidant activity (DPPH, ABTS, FRAP) of hip extracts as well as for genetic diversity applying SSR markers. The total phenol content of hips among the accessions varied between 18.76 mg and 28.95 mg with an average of 22.62 ± 3.29 mg per gram of dry hip material. Results from antioxidant activity assays revealed positive correlation between total phenol content and antioxidant activity of the extracts. Microsatellite analysis with 9 SSR markers probing at least 6 out of the 7 rose chromosomes showed that only two markers (RhD221 and RhP507) that have been previously mapped on chromosome 4 show allele segregation among the analyzed accessions. Our results suggest that the currently applied strategy for seed propagation of the R. canina L. cv. Plovdiv 1 plants does not lead to substantial drops in total phenol content and antioxidant activity of the fruits due to genetic segregation and can be applied on a large scale for cultivar propagation.