Alchemilla vulgaris agg. (Lady's mantle) from central Balkan: antioxidant, anticancer and enzyme inhibition properties

The current study was designed to evaluate the phytochemical profile and biological properties (antioxidant, enzyme inhibitory and cytotoxic activity) of methanolic, ethanolic, ethyl-acetate and water extracts of Alchemilla vulgaris from Southeast Serbia (central Balkan) which was traditionally used to alleviate and treat many diseases. Bioactive compounds were characterized by LC-MS/MS technique and biological properties were evaluated using antioxidant, enzyme inhibitory and cytotoxic assays. Twenty-six phenolic compounds were quantified in methanolic, ethanolic, ethyl acetate and water extracts, whereas the highest yields were found in ethyl-acetate (EA) extract (gallic acid, caffeic acid, catchin, quercetin). This extract has also shown the greatest antioxidant, anticancer and inhibitory enzyme activities which were demonstrated for the first time in this study. The obtained results indicated that Alchemilla vulgaris from South Serbia possesses high potential for pharmaceutical applications

Comparative In Vitro Antioxidant Capacity and Terpenoid Profiling of Pumpkin Fruit Pulps from a Serbian Cucurbita maxima and Cucurbita moschata Breeding Collection

Pumpkin is considered a healthy and functional food. The consumption of pumpkins and pumpkin-based foods has been shown to confer several beneficial effects on human health due to their antioxidant capacity and terpenoid content. Consequently, this study aimed to characterize the in vitro antioxidant capacity (using FRAP and ABTS assays), terpenoid profile (using an untargeted lipidomics approach via high-resolution UHPLC-Orbitrap mass spectrometry), and carotenoid content (by HPLC-DAD) in pumpkin fruit pulp from accessions differing for species (11 Cucurbita maxima and 9 Cucurbita moschata), cultivar, and origin, belonging to a Serbian breeding collection. These accessions are candidates for inclusion within programs intended to improve pumpkin fruit quality. The results obtained in this work allowed us to highlight the best marker compounds, discriminating both the region of accession collection or breeding (“origin”) and the plant species. Furthermore, our findings have helped to identify the most suitable antioxidant-rich varieties to select for national breeding programs for improving human health. These findings provide valuable information to the overall current understanding of the potential health benefits of pumpkins and the discriminant triterpenoids underlying the C. maxima and C. moschata accessions investigated here, which include those of Serbian and non-Serbian origin

The profile of carotenoids and phenolic compounds in 20 different varieties of pumpkin pulp cultivated in Serbia

High nutrition value, amount of bioactive compounds and non-demanding cultivation make pumpkin pulp and its products a great and valuable plant food candidate in human nutrition and medical purpose. Pumpkins are characterized by the presence of carotenoids as the most dominant and studied compounds. This plant also contains phenolics that can contribute to biological activity. Consumption of food that is rich in both, carotenoids and phenolics has been correlated with beneficial physiological and immunological effects which results in lower risk of various diseases.In this study, pumpkin pulp derived from 20 different varieties of pumkins grown at the Institute of Field and Vegetable Crops in Novi Sad, Serbia were analysed for their polyphenol and carotenoid content. These varieties belong to two basic species: Cucurbita maxima and Cucurbita moschata. Phenolic content of pumpkins was determined by the LC-MS/MS technique. The most present phenols were quinic acid (QA), p-hydroxybenzoic acid (PHBA) and amentoflavone (AF). The highest content of phenolics was found in Mo 29-1 (QA – 28.74 ng/mg; PHBA – 162.39 ng/mg; AF – 40.08 ng/mg), Max 1 (QA – 36.48 ng/mg; PHBA – 23.21 ng/mg; AF – 100.18 ng/mg) and MAX 105 (QA – 33.71 ng/mg; PHBA – 65.18 ng/mg; AF – 57.37 ng/mg). The carotenoid composition was determined by HPLC-DAD technique. In C. moschata α-carotene was the most dominant carotenoid. The highest content of α-carotene was found in Mo 39 (0.659 mg/g) thran β-carotene, lutein and zeaxanthin were dominant carotenoifd in Mo 39 (0.499 mg/g), Mo 31 (0.004 mg/g) and Mo 31 (0.004 mg/g), respectively.In C. maxima β-carotene was the main carotenoid. The highest content of β-carotene was found in Max 118-2 (0.548 mg/g) and the greatest amount of α-carotene lutein and zeaxanthin was found in Max 113 (0.014 mg/g), Max 65-1 (0.038 mg/g) and Max 65-1 (0.407 mg/g), respectively. The above results indicate that poorly studied pumpkin pulp is a great source of bioactive compounds can find a signifacant place in food industry and could have important effect on selection in plant breeding

Pumpkin pulp extracts from a Serbian Cucurbita maxima Breeding Collection: Phenol profile and in vitro bioactivity

Methanolic pulp extracts from the four selected Serbian accessions of Cucurbita maxima were evaluated for phenol profile cytotoxic effects and antimicrobial activity. The results revealed that quinic acid and amentoflavone were the most abundant phenols. The extracts increased the viability of HTR-8 SV/Neo, JEG-3, JAR cells, with the most pronounced increase in the treatment with MAX 113 extract. Furthermore, in HeLa cells, the extracts showed a modest cytotoxic effect. The antimicrobial effects evaluation showed that out of four pumpkin extracts, MAX 117 could moderately suppress the growth of Staphylococcus aureus and Staphylococcus epidermidis (MIC=1000 µg/mL). The observed biological effects indicate the potential medicinal properties of these pumpkin extracts and contribute to the varietal selection of the most suitable accessions in national breeding programs as candidates for improving human health

Comparative In Vitro Antioxidant Capacity and Terpenoid Profiling of Pumpkin Fruit Pulps from a Serbian Cucurbita maxima and Cucurbita moschata Breeding Collection

Pumpkin is considered a healthy and functional food. The consumption of pumpkins and pumpkin-based foods has been shown to confer several beneficial effects on human health due to their antioxidant capacity and terpenoid content. Consequently, this study aimed to characterize the in vitro antioxidant capacity (using FRAP and ABTS assays), terpenoid profile (using an untargeted lipidomics approach via high-resolution UHPLC-Orbitrap mass spectrometry), and carotenoid content (by HPLC-DAD) in pumpkin fruit pulp from accessions differing for species (11 Cucurbita maxima and 9 Cucurbita moschata), cultivar, and origin, belonging to a Serbian breeding collection. These accessions are candidates for inclusion within programs intended to improve pumpkin fruit quality. The results obtained in this work allowed us to highlight the best marker compounds, discriminating both the region of accession collection or breeding (“origin”) and the plant species. Furthermore, our findings have helped to identify the most suitable antioxidant-rich varieties to select for national breeding programs for improving human health. These findings provide valuable information to the overall current understanding of the potential health benefits of pumpkins and the discriminant triterpenoids underlying the C. maxima and C. moschata accessions investigated here, which include those of Serbian and non-Serbian origin