Consuming food that is rich in antioxidants reduces the risk of developing chronic diseases and oxidative stress. Fruits and vegetables are an excellent source of substances with antioxidant and pro-health properties. Such raw materials, characterized by a high content of polyphenolic compounds and antioxidant capacity, include pear fruits. In this study, the concentrations of bioactive compounds, as well as the antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and antiproliferative activity in fruits of five selected pear cultivars were determined and compared. LC–MS and UPLC–PDA methods were used to determine the polyphenolic, carotenoid, chlorophyll, and triterpenoid profiles and content, and the antioxidant activity was analyzed using DPPH and ferric-reducing ability of plasma (FRAP) tests. The anti-inflammatory activity was determined against COX-1 and COX-2 enzymes. The cytotoxic activity of the test compounds was assessed against six tumor cell lines. The results showed that the major group of phenolic compounds in all cultivars was phenolic acids. In the group of chromoplastic pigments, chlorophyllide a and 9-cis-β-carotene were the major compounds, while in the triterpene group, ursolic acid was dominant. The antioxidant potential correlated with the content of polyphenols and carotenoids, and was the strongest for the ‘Radana’ cultivar. The highest antiproliferative activity in all varieties was established for bladder cancer.

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Patulin (PAT) is a highly genotoxic mycotoxin still found as the common contaminant of various kinds of spoiled fruits and related commodities which are often endorsed as the health-enhancing products. Thus, a fast and convenient liquid-solid extraction followed by a solid-phase cleanup with the MycoSep®228 AflaPat multifunctional column was used for the highly efficient isolation of PAT with an average recovery of 112.7% from commercial dietary supplements and herbal blends formulated with dried hawberry. Analysis of the PAT content was carried out using gradient elution with a Synergi Polar C18 column (150 × 2 mm, 4 μm) and UHPLC system equipped with a mass spectrometer. PAT was detected in all (n=14) commercial single-component dietary supplements formulated with dried hawberry belonging to Crataegus monogyna and/or Crataegus laevigata. Similarly, PAT was detected in 67% of the studied multicomponent commercial herbal blends (n=6) that contained—in addition to hawberry—different amounts of apple, chokeberry, elderberry, hibiscus, or mallow. Moreover, the PAT content was determined in the hawberry collected from the mature wild hawthorn trees belonging to three botanical species, Crataegus monogyna Jacq., Crataegus laevigata (Poiret) DC, and Crataegus rhipidophylla Gand, growing in the recreational forest areas and in the law-protected state national forest park in Poland. In conclusion, to prevent PAT accumulation and reduce the health risk of consumers in globalizing markets, the implementation of improved cultivation/processing practices of hawthorn trees and hawberry as well as increased analytical control related to the presence of PAT in dietary supplements and herbal blends formulated with fresh, dried, or frozen hawberry should be urgently recommended.

Although riparian forests are still common in Europe, their variants - similar to natural forests - are rare. They are, as communities, early stages of forest-shrub succession, particularly vulnerable to the expansion of neophytes for which they are an important type of vegetation that enables their spread. In the Ojców National Park (ON P), these types of phytocoenoses are heavily influenced by anthropogenic pressure. The preservation of their biodiversity is particularly difficult because of the fragmentation and small area occupied by the Park - just 2.89 ha. There have been no data on synanthropization of ON P riparian forests until now. The ‘conservation status’ of these communities was determined by examining the degree of anthropophyte participation in their floristic composition. This determination is necessary to take effective preventive measures. In 2012-2014, phytosociological studies were carried out on the ON P riparian communities. A particular attention was paid to the presence and quantitative participation of alien species in research plots. The obtained results revealed that there were 189 plant species in alluvial forests of the ON P, including 80 synanthropic species. The group of synanthropes comprised 32 anthropophytes: 5 diaphytes, 9 archaeophytes and 18 kenophytes.

The aim of this study was to examine the effects of tryptophan (L-TRP) sprays on calcium (Ca) distribution within mature ‘Red Jonaprince’ apple (Malus domestica Borkh.) trees and on fruit quality. Trees were sprayed with L-TRP before flowering (at the green and pink bud stages and when 5% to 10% of flowers were open), after flowering (at petal fall and 14 and 28 days later), and both before and after flowering. In each spray treatment, 50 g of L-TRP per ha was applied. Other trees were sprayed with calcium chloride (CaCl2) six times during the growing season at rates ranging from 6 to 9 kg⋅ha−1. Plants that were not sprayed with L-TRP or CaCl2 served as controls. The results found that the studied spray treatments did not affect yield, mean fruit weight, apple skin russeting and blush, seed set, mean seed weight, or acidity of fruit at harvest. Prebloom L-TRP sprays enhanced the concentrations of both free indole-3-acetic acid (IAA) in fruitlets (by ≈230% compared with those of the control plants) and Ca in fruitlets and fruit (on average by 18% compared with the control combination) but did not affect the leaf Ca concentrations. Apples from trees sprayed with L-TRP before flowering had lower starch index (SI) values at harvest than those of the control plants. Postbloom L-TRP sprays increased leaf Ca concentration, but had no effect on apple Ca concentration or fruit quality at harvest. Combined pre- and postbloom L-TRP sprays did not improve the effectiveness of this amino acid. Overall, preharvest CaCl2 sprays increased leaf and fruit Ca concentrations and decreased fruit SI. Apples sprayed with CaCl2 had lower soluble solids concentrations (SSCs) and were firmer than fruit from control trees. Prebloom L-TRP sprays are effective in improving apple Ca concentration, at least for triploid varieties that have small seed numbers.