Bioscience Evidence 2026, Vol.16, No.4, 291-303 http://bioscipublisher.com/index.php/be 291 Research Insight Open Access Factors Affecting Bioactive Compound Accumulation in Blueberry Fruit ZeHuang , MinghuaLi Biotechnology Research Center, Cuixi Academy of Biotechnology, Zhuji, 311800, China Corresponding email: ze.huang@cuixi.org Bioscience Evidence, 2026, Vol.16, No.4 doi: 10.5376/be.2026.16.0022 Received: 06 Jul., 2026 Accepted: 07 Aug., 2026 Published: 18 Aug., 2026 Copyright © 2026 Huang and Li, This is an open access article published under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. Preferred citation for this article: Huang Z., and Li M.H., 2026, Factors affecting bioactive compound accumulation in blueberry fruit, Bioscience Evidence, 16(4): 291-303 (doi: 10.5376/be.2026.16.0022) Abstract Blueberry fruit quality is no longer evaluated only by berry size, bloom, and firmness. In commercial orchards and premium fresh markets, the ability of fruit to accumulate anthocyanins, phenolic compounds, flavonoids, and vitamin C has become an increasingly important indicator of nutritional value and market competitiveness. The accumulation of these bioactive compounds is jointly regulated by cultivar genetic characteristics, light environment, temperature conditions, water availability, soil acidity, and orchard management practices. Even under the same cultivation conditions, significant differences in bioactive compound levels exist among blueberry cultivars. As blueberry is a typical acid-loving crop, unsuitable soil pH can affect nutrient uptake, photosynthesis, and subsequent fruit quality formation. Evidence from Caota town in Zhejiang Province, karst production areas in Guizhou, protected cultivation systems in Liaoning, and high-altitude regions in southwest China indicates that improving blueberry quality requires effective coordination of cultivar selection, environmental conditions, and orchard management. This review systematically analyzes the major factors affecting bioactive compound accumulation in blueberry fruit and proposes future production strategies for commercial orchards, providing references for high-quality fruit production and stable economic returns. Keywords Blueberry (Vaccinium corymbosum L.); Anthocyanins; Polyphenols; Flavonoids; Vitamin C; Fruit quality; Environmental factors; Cultivation management; Commercial production 1 Introduction Blueberry has developed from a niche berry crop into a high-value fruit with both fresh-market appeal and functional nutritional benefits. With changing consumer demands, blueberry quality evaluation is no longer limited to berry size, bloom, color, and firmness, but increasingly focuses on sugar–acid balance, storage performance, and the content of functional compounds such as anthocyanins. Blueberry fruit contains various phytochemicals, among which anthocyanins are considered one of the major contributors to its nutritional and health-related value. In commercial production, growers need not only stable yields but also improved flavor, firmness, and bioactive compound content through suitable cultivar selection and cultivation management to meet the requirements of premium fresh markets and functional food industries (Kalt et al., 2020). The main bioactive compounds in blueberry fruit include anthocyanins, total phenolics, flavonoids, proanthocyanidins, phenolic acids, and vitamin C. These compounds influence not only nutritional value and antioxidant capacity but also fruit coloration, flavor development, and postharvest quality. During blueberry ripening, significant changes occur in phytochemical composition. Total phenolic and total flavonoid contents do not always change in parallel with anthocyanin accumulation, indicating that ripening is not a simple process in which all antioxidant compounds increase simultaneously. Instead, different phenolic compounds undergo continuous transformation and redistribution during fruit development. Differences among cultivars, developmental stages, and fruit tissues further indicate that nutritional quality cannot be fully evaluated only based on external fruit color (Moggia et al., 2017). The accumulation of bioactive compounds in blueberry fruit results from the combined effects of genetic characteristics, fruit development, and cultivation environment. Abscisic acid (ABA) promotes blueberry fruit ripening and anthocyanin accumulation by regulating the expression of structural genes involved in anthocyanin biosynthesis, including chalcone synthase (CHS), chalcone isomerase (CHI), dihydroflavonol 4-reductase (DFR), and anthocyanidin synthase (ANS), as well as transcription factors such as MYB, bHLH, and WD40 (Han et al.,
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