## 1 Introduction  
Fruits are a crucial component of a healthy diet, as they provide numerous nutritious and non-nutritious compounds such as vitamins, minerals, polyphenols, and sterols, which are beneficial to human health [1]. According to the currant recommendations by the World Health Organization (WHO), the daily intake of unprocessed vegetables and fruits should be around 400 g [2]. Currant bushes have been cultivated for centuries, mainly in Europe and some parts of Asia. Black currants were first cultivated in Europe in the seventeenth century, and red currants about 100 years earlier. However, interest in the fruits, particularly black currants, increased only in the early twentieth century when they were discovered to be a rich source of vitamin C. They began to be cultivated on an industrial scale and used in the food industry [3; 4]. The red variety was most popular in the Netherlands and Scandinavian countries, while the black variety was more common in Germany, Poland and other Eastern European countries. Fresh black currant fruits are considered the most valuable in terms of their chemical composition, especially anthocyanin content [3; 4; 5]. White and red currants are less popular, although they are also a source of valuable compounds, including phenolic compounds and vitamin C [4; 5; 6]. Currants, which have a low calorific value, are a source of nutritious and non-nutritious compounds such as vitamin C, PP, B1, B2, minerals, dietary fibre and phenolic compounds [7; 4; 8]. The amount of dietary fibre in black, red and white currants is approximately 7.9 g/100 g dry matter, 7.7 g and 6.4 g, respectively [9]. The amount of these compounds depends mainly on climatic conditions, soil type and variety of currant [9; 10; 11; 12; 13]. Based on a scientific literature review, not many articles are focused on proximate analysis and bioactive compound content in different types of currant fruits.  
Our research compares the basic chemical composition, antioxidant activity and content of selected polyphenic compounds of red, black and white currants. This may lead to further research into the health properties of these fruits. In the available literature, studies on currants have focused on the analysis of the content of total anthocyanins and their individual compounds, as well as polyphenic compounds [5]. Some articles have also analysed the juice or other products of these fruits for bioactive compound content [4,14]. To the best of the authors' knowledge, no detailed studies have been carried out on currants from our country. What is more, the basic composition, polyphenic compound profile and antioxidant activity of all three currant varieties have not been analysed simultaneously in a single study. There are numerous studies on individual varieties of currant [15, 16, 17], but their results are not compared in a single, comprehensive context. The lack of such analyses limits the understanding of differences and potential synergies between varieties in terms of bioactive components and nutritional value. In our previous studies, we investigated the content of bioactive compounds in the leaves of black, red and white currants. In general, currant leaves are a rich source of bioactive compounds and nutrients. However, the levels of the above compounds depend on the time of harvest. [18].  
The objective of this study was to determine the content of bioactive compounds and basic chemical composition of black, red and white currant fruits collected over two years.