ABSTRACT
Black aronia (Aronia melanocarpa L.), also known as black chokeberry, chokeberry, or just aronia, is a shrub with purple-black pomes that originates from the eastern parts of North America. At the beginning of twentieth century, it was transferred to the southeast and central European countries where it became very popular. It was cultivated as a crop and its fruits were used in the production of juices, jams, and wines, as well as natural food colorants. Today, this fruit is widely grown all over the world and used as raw material for foods, dietary supplements, or herbal remedies [1]. Black aronia is the most extensively investigated among the species of the Aronia genus (Rosaceae family, Maloideae subfamily), and its berries are almost exclusively used in the production of aronia juices. As a rich source of polyphenols and based on their prole and antioxidant activity, the berries of black aronia are often considered superior to other berries [2], including the berries of two other species of the Aronia genus, red chokeberry (Aronia arbutifolia L.) and purple chokeberry (Aronia prunifolia L.) [3].
