The present thesis work aimed to the in vitro and in vivo evaluation of the nutraceutical potential of whole fruit or only of its polyphenolic fraction mainly obtained from a specific apple Malus pumila Miller cv Annurca. This apple fruit is used in various manners, the whole fruit is enabled to produce a functional food, while the polyphenolic extract is used to design and project different nutraceutical formulations and vegetal extract innovative using as potential medical device. Various healthy human bioactivities of Annurca apple formulations have been investigated, from the cholesterol-lowering effect, atherosclerosis prevention to anticancer activity. Particularly, the whole fruit Annurca apple is used to the preparation of probiotic apple puree, a probiotic juice, with various purposes: no dairy probiotic product, with higher bioaccessibility (percentage increases of 40.12% of TC, and of 11.89%of antioxidant activity) and consequently higher bioavailability of phenolic compounds than in simple puree. Additionally preliminary in vivo study, has shown a reduction of TMAO blood levels (63,12%), due to the combined effects of probiotic and Annurca apple polyphenols daily intake. Industrial scale-up of row lab scale polyphenolic Annurca apple extract, resulting in two products AMS (polyphenolic extract microencapsulated with maltodextrins (400mg)) and AMSbz (polyphenolic extract microencapsulated with maltodextrins (400 mg), biotin (0.20 mg), selenomethionine (80.0 µg), and zinc acetate (21.0 mg)). From randomized clinical trial, was obtained on average, after two months of treatment a % increase of hairs growth, weight and keratin content by 118.3, 37.3, and 35.7%. After, in vitro treatment of HaCaT cells (human keratinocyte cell line) increased the keratin expression of three fold against the control. These effects are ascribable a dimeric procyanidin. The same compound is responsible of interaction at duodenal level, with intestinal micelle, particularly interacting with phosphatidylcholine determine a breakage micellar system, causing the cholesterol precipitation, limiting its intestinal absorption. Finally, lab and industrial scale of polyphenolic Annurca apple extracts were tested on in vitro cultures of cells carrying FAP (Familial Adenomatous Polyposis) mutations and on ex vivo biopsies of FAP patients, the WNT inhibitory activity of Annurca was studied. Duodenal digested apple extract has shown no inhibitory activity on WNT pathway, the signaling via responsible of FAP, but stronger inhibitory activity has been shown by industrial-scale product, based on another apple cultivar named “Limoncella” Malus Domestica cv Limoncella. This effect was ascribable to the quercetin content of Limoncella’s industrial product higher than the equivalent Annurca version
