Bioactive Compounds, Antioxidant Activity and Nutritional Quality of Different Culinary Aromatic Herbs

In the present work, four of the most widely used culinary herbs (parsley, dill, lovage and celery leaves) in the Romanian traditional cuisine were assessed for some nutritional quality parameters (moisture content, titratable acidity, ascorbic acid content and mineral content), total phenolics content, total flavonoids content and antioxidant activity by 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) radical scavenging assay. In addition, high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) coupled with diode-array detection was applied for the identification and quantification of some individual phenolic compounds in the selected aromatic herbs. Although parsley showed the highest ascorbic acid content (206.32 mg/100 g fw), it registered the lowest antioxidant activity. Fresh lovage recorded the highest total phenolic content (577.04 mg GAE/100 g), total flavonoids content (298.38 mg QE/100 g) and antioxidant activity, followed by dill and celery leaves. Among the identified phenolic acids, ellagic acid was predominant in lovage and celery leaves whereas sinapic and vanillic acids were prevalent in dill. Among flavonoids, myricetin was predominant in parsley and celery leaves whereas rutin was predominant in dill and lovage

Compositional Characteristics of Fruits of several Apple (Malus domestica Borkh.) Cultivars

Fifteen apple cultivars grown in Valcea Research Station, Romania were evaluated in terms of fruit quality. Some selected compositional characteristics such as dry matter, total soluble solids, total sugar, titratable acidity, malic, citric and ascorbic acids and minerals content were investigated. Malic, citric and ascorbic acids were determined by a reversed-phase HPLC method. Sodium, calcium, magnesium, phosphorus, iron, manganese, copper, aluminium, chromium, zinc and strontium contents were determined by inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry following a microwave digestion while potassium content was determined by flame atomic absorption spectrometry. Large differences between cultivars were found for the contents of particular biochemical and mineral compounds. The dry matter content ranged between 12.49% (Prima) and 20.09% (Red Boskoop) while the total sugar content varied between 9.5% (Cadel) and 15.03% (Red Boskoop). The highest titratable acidity was found in Red Boskoop (0.771%), while in Starkrimson the titratable acidity was only 0.101%. The respective ranges of malic and citric acid contents of the tested samples were: 522.2-1993.7 mg/100 g and 3.5-49.1 mg/100 g. The ascorbic acid content was on average 6.18 mg/100 g. Potassium was the most accumulated nutrient in fruits. The potassium content was comprised between 82.25 mg/100 g (Mutzu) and 160.85 mg/100 g (Florina). Calcium follows, with variation limits between 1.70 mg/100 g (Starkrimson) and 8.74 mg/100g (Prima) while iron content varied between 0.19 mg/100 g (Ionagold) and 0.40 mg/100 g (Cadel and Early Red). The observed differences in composition are of such magnitude that they may affect both nutritional and sensory properties

Antioxidant Compounds, Mineral Content and Antioxidant Activity of Several Tomato Cultivars Grown in Southwestern Romania

Ten indeterminate tomato cultivars differing in fruit shape and typology, grown simultaneously in a greenhouse from Oltenia (Southwestern Romania) and harvested at red ripe stage, were investigated for the contents in ascorbic acid, lycopene, β-carotene, total phenolics, minerals (K, Na, Ca and Mg) and trace elements (Fe, Cu, Mn, Cr, Zn and B). In addition, their antioxidant activities were determined. Significant differences were found among tomato cultivars in all studied antioxidant compounds, as well as in the antioxidant activity. Ascorbic acid ranged from 91.9 to 329.7 mg kg-1 fw, lycopene ranged from 19.7 to 49.0 mg kg-1 fw, while total phenolic compounds varied between 300.2 and 557.8 mg kg-1 fw. Antioxidant activity ranged from 0.81 mmol Trolox kg-1 fw to 1.74 mmol Trolox kg-1 fw and it was significantly correlated to total phenolics content (r = 0.91; p< 0.05). The cocktail type cultivar ‘Tiger’ and the cherry type cultivar ‘Belle’ proved to be the most powerful in antioxidant activity and phenolic compounds while the rectangular plum shaped cultivar ‘Porto’ recorded the highest average lycopene content. A valuable cultivar proved to be the brownish red ‘Sacher’ which registered among the highest contents of phenolics, lycopene and ascorbic acid. Mineral and trace elements contents were also significantly affected by cultivars. Values recorded for K, Ca and Mg ranged from 2139.6 to 3056.9 mg kg-1, 137.7 to 325.8 mg kg-1 and 27.3 to 168.7 mg kg-1 respectively

Antioxidant Capacity, Total Phenols, Total Flavonoids and Colour Component of Cornelian Cherry (Cornus mas L.) Wild Genotypes

A number of selected cornelian cherry wild genotypes were investigated regarding antioxidant capacity, total phenols, total flavonoids and colour component. The total phenolic, total flavonoids and antioxidant activity of methanol extract of cornelian cherry fruits were determined using Folin-Ciocalteu, colorimetric and DPPH methods, respectively. Total phenolic content ranged from 163.69 (S1) to 359.28 (H2) mg GAE 100 g-1 FW. Genotypes H2 and H3 had the highest total phenolic content (359.28 and 343.50 mg GAE 100 g-1 FW, respectively), total flavonoids (54.26 and 64.48 mg QE 100 g-1 FW, respectively) and antioxidant capacity (2.39 and 2.71 mmolTrolox100g-1 FW, respectively). Significant differences of yellow/blue color component (b*), red/ green (a*) color component, values of lightness (L*) and chroma (C) were obtained for extracts from fruits. The present study shows the potential of certain cornelian cherry genotypes as valuable source of natural antioxidants and gene stock for breeding programs

Content in organic acids of Mespilus spp. and Crataegus spp. genotypes

Medlar and hawthorn genotypes were analyzed and also their individual organic acids, in order to better understand their use as functional foods, but also as ingredients in pharmaceutical, nutritional products and in medicine. HPLC analysis was carried out using a Surveyor Thermo Electron system. Ascorbic, oxalic, tartric, malic, citric, succinic and fumaric acids were detected. On average, malic acid was predominant with a range of 415.08 mg/100 g FW in Mespilus germanica and 1,128.68 mg/100 g FW in Crataegus pentagyna. The order of organic acid depending on their content/100 g FW was: for Mespilus germanica - malic > tartric > oxalic > citric > fumaric > ascorbic > succinic; for Crataegus monogyna - malic > oxalic > citric > succinic >tartric > ascorbic > fumaric; for Crataegus pentagyna - malic > citric > oxalic > succinic >tartric > ascorbic > fumaric. The data obtained in this study do confirm that medlar and hawthorn fruits are a rich source of organic acid, and their organic acid content within the 100 g was greater than human daily consumption for this required level

Influence of the extraction solvent on antioxidant capacity and total phenolic in currant fruits

In black and red currant fruits the phenolic content and antioxidant capacity were determined. Two solvent systems (methanol and ethanol) at different concentrations and two methods of extraction were used. The study was conducted using fruits of black currant and red currant for determinations. The total phenolics content of each extract was measured according to the Folin-Ciocalteu method. The anti-oxidant capacity of the fruit extracts was evaluated using DPPH (2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl) radical scavenging assay. It was found that the efficiency of the solvents used for the extraction of polyphenols varied substantially. The total phenolic content was 0.88 to 4.6 gallic acid equivalents in milligrams per gram of fresh weight (mg GAE /g FW). The content of phenolics was highly correlated with the anti-oxidant capacity (r = 0.97 - 0.98) and extracts obtained using ethanol solvents were more effective radical scavenging activities than the ones obtained using methanol solvents.  Fruits of red and black currant represent an abundant source of phenolics, and prove to have good anti-oxidant capacity

MINERAL COMPOSITION OF FRUIT IN BLACK AND RED CURRANT

ABSTRACT. Black currants (Ribes nigrum) and red currants (Ribes rubrum) are highly appreciated for the food and therapeutic value of their fruits. ('Record', 'Bogatar', 'Deea', 'Abanos', 'Blackdown', 'Ronix', 'Tinker', 'Tenah') and three red currants cultivars ('Rosu timpuriu', 'Abundent', 'Houghton Castle') Mineral composition was determined in eight black currants cultivars . For both species analyzed, the results indicated significant differences between cultivars (P < 0.05). The order of nutritive element

Evolution of antioxidant activity and bioactive compounds in tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum Mill.) fruits during growth and ripening

The interest in the consumption of tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum Mill.) is, to a large extent, due to its content of bioactive compounds and their importance as dietary antioxidants. During the growth and ripening process, there are quantitative and qualitative changes in the fruit composition which determine the nutritional quality and antioxidant potential at each stage.Two halfdeterminate early hybrids cultivars (Prekos and Balkan) and one indeterminate mid-early hybrid cultivar (Reyana) were considered for this study. Fruits from plants grown on sandy soil in an unheated greenhouse were collected at three growth and six maturity stages. Antioxidant activity, dry matter, soluble solids, titratable acidity, ascorbic acid, lycopene, beta-carotene, chlorophylls and total phenolic contents were monitored. During fruit growth, dry matter, soluble solids and titratable acidity recorded a slight decrease, polyphenols and beta-carotene contents remained almost the same while ascorbic acid content and antioxidant activity increased continuously. The stage of ripening significantly influenced the content of all bioactive compounds as well as the antioxidant activity of tomato fruits. The first stages of ripening were characterized by a slight decrease of the dry matter content and by an increase of the titratable acidity, while in the last two stages of ripening these variations reversed. Ascorbic acid and total phenolics content increased as maturity progressed from mature green to pink or light red stage and decreased afterward. Lycopene started to accumulate since turning and sharply increased in the last three stages, on average 36%of the lycopene content being accumulated in the last stage of ripening. In terms of hydrophilic antioxidant activity, depending on the cultivar, the pink or light red stages were the ones with the greatest potential. Althoughthere weresignificant differences among the contents of bioactive compounds and antioxidant activity of the three cultivars studied, their patterns of variation during the nine stages were quite similar

Bioactive compounds and antioxidant activity of hot pepper fruits at different stages of growth and ripening

The evolution of some bioactive compounds and antioxidant activity has been investigated during fruit growth and ripening of five pepper cultivars: ‘Dracula’, ’Pintea’, ‘Pepperone’, ‘Bulgarian carrot’ (C. annuum) and ‘Christmas bell’ (C. baccatum var. pendulum). High-performance liquid chromatography was used to quantify the content of capsaicin in the fruit in order to determine the pungency level of analyzed peppers. Pepper fruits were collected at five stages of growth and ripening. Dry matter, soluble solids, ascorbic acid, total phenolics, including total flavonoids, capsaicin content and antioxidant activity were determined at each stage. There were major differences among the cultivars in the accumulation of the bioactive compounds in the fruit during their growth and ripening, although the quantitative accumulation pathway of various components had a similar trend during phenophases. Antioxidant activity and ascorbic acid content increased during growth and ripening of hot peppers, the highest levels being found in the last stage of ripening. The pattern of variation of total flavonoid content was cultivar dependent. In most cultivars, an important increase of the total phenolic and total flavonoid content was observed in the last stage of ripening. Capsaicin content recorded a maximum level in F3 or F4 depending on cultivar, and decreased afterwards until the complete ripening of the pepper fruits. ‘Dracula’ cultivar was classified as “non-pungent” (fruits are not spicy) while ‘Pintea’ was classified as “highly pungent”, the other analyzed cultivars having an average level of pungency

Phenolics of Green Husk in Mature Walnut Fruits

Qualitative and quantitative determinations of phenolic compounds were carried out on green husk (mesocarp) of mature walnut fruits collected in September of five walnut (Juglans regia L.) cultivars ('Germisara', 'Jupanesti', 'Franquette', 'Vina', 'Valcor') grown in an uniform agroclimatic condition. Six compounds (ferulic acid, vanillic acid, coumaric acid, syringic acid, myricetin and juglone) were identified in all the cultivars by using reverse phase-high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC-RP)