Seedless barberry (Berberis integerrima ‘Asperma’) is one of the Iran’s indigenous valuable medicinal plants. Common asexual propagation of this plant over years and consequently low genetic diversity in populations of the seedless barberry restricts selection operations in breeding programs. Utilizing the indigenous wild genotypes of barberry genus, which are easily able to cross-pollinate is one of the best methods to increase the genetic diversity. To meet this purpose, several wild seedy barberry genotypes were identified from all over the Iran, collected and established in a collection in Mashhad; then 16 unique ones were selected. Since different secondary metabolites indicate different genetic structures and anthocyanins are the most important barberry fruits’ secondary metabolites, the anthocyanin profile of this 16 genotypes were determined using high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) analyses. Results showed significant difference among genotypes’ anthocyanin profile. In conclusion, these genotypes are a valuable genetic resource for future breeding programs to improve quantitative and qualitative characteristics of seedless barberry.

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