Cherry stems (CS) represent a by-product intensively used in Eastern European countries as a traditional remedy for urinary tract disorders. Ethnopharmacological evidences sustain the use of CS as aqueous preparations (infusion and decoction), but few data were previously reported about phytochemical profile and pharmacological potential of CS hydroalcoholic extracts. In this regard, we aimed to evaluate the phenolic profile, in vitro antioxidant and tyrosinase inhibitory potential, and in vivo diuretic activity of 70% hydroethanolic cherry stems extract and cherry stems decoction (CSD). LC-DAD-ESI/MSn analysis revealed the presence of flavonoid-type compounds as main constituents for both preparations, especially flavanones (naringenin glycosides). Antioxidant activity evaluated through DPPH, ABTS, and FRAP methods was superior for cherry stems extract, probably due to the presence of phenolic-derived compounds in higher amounts than CSD. On the other hand, tyrosinase inhibitory potential and diuretic effect exerted by CSD were stronger, highlighting that other types of hydrophilic secondary metabolites are responsible for this bioactivity. Overall, our findings indicate that CS preparations could be used as promising mild diuretic agents and encourage further investigations regarding the correlation between their chemical composition and bioactive potential.This work was supported by a Grant of the Romanian Ministry
of Education and Research, CCCDI—UEFISCDI, project
number PN-III-P2-2.1-PED-2019-5360, within PNCDI III.”
The authors MID, LB, and ICFRF are grateful to the
Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT, Portugal) for
financial support through national funds FCT/MCTES to
CIMO (UIDB/00690/2020) and FCT/MCTES (PIDDAC);
national funding by F.C.T. and P.I., through the
institutional scientific employment program-contract for
MID and LB contracts. To FEDER-Interreg Es-paña-
Portugal programme for financial support through the
project TRANSCoLAB 0612_TRANS_CO_LAB_2_P.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio
