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Laurocerasus officinalis Roem. is a summer fruit highly characteristic of the Black Sea region. The edible parts of the fruit were tested for chemical composition and antioxidant properties. Total moisture, ash, protein, sugar, pectin, ascorbic acid, phenolic, and mineral contents of the fruit were determined. The antioxidant activity of the fruit was investigated using TLC plate and ferric thiocyanate methods. Its antioxidative character was also tested utilizing hydroxyl, DPPH, and superoxide radical scavenging activity measurements, using BHT, vitamin C, and Trolox as references. Besides being a good source of nutrients, L. officinalis was found to provide a rich source of protective antioxidant compounds. Its antioxidant and radical scavenging activities were comparable to or higher than those of the reference antioxidants. It appeared to have high mineral content. The concentrations of macroelements K, Mg, Ca, and Na were high at 2215 +/- 10.5, 179 +/- 11, 153 +/- 0.8, and 55 +/- 0.3 mg/kg, respectively, and the concentrations of trace elements Mn, Fe, Zn, and Cu were 24.2 +/- 1.3, 8.3 +/- 0.8, 1.9 +/- 0.2, and 0.8 +/- 0.1 mg/kg, respectively. In addition, the fruit showed very low contents of Pb, Ni, Co, and Cr, below the detection limits, which is considered to be a good food quality. As it is a rich source of protein, sugar, ascorbic acid, minerals, and antioxidants, L. officinalis is well worth further studies regarding its components possessing important health benefits and inclusion in the daily diet.

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Proximate composition, selected mineral (Zn, Fe, Cd, As, Hg, Pb, Ni, Cu) content and fatty acid profiles were determined in some widely consumed fish species obtained from the Black Sea. All fish species analysed individually were fairly high in protein (14·1–25·1%) and lipid (7·4–18·4%). Moisture and ash content varied within a narrow range. The mineral content was highly variable. The most abundant microelements in fish were Zn and Fe followed by Cu, and the remaining elements were present in amounts below toxic levels. Eight fatty acids (16: 0, 16:1, n‐7, 18: 0, 18:1 n‐9, 18: 2 n‐6, 20:1 n‐9, 20: 5 n‐3, 22: 6 n‐3) represented more than 60% of the fatty acid content. Saturated fatty acids ranged from 25·8 to 45·1%. Anchovy and whiting contained almost 35% of polyunsaturated fatty acids. The percentage of docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) exceeded that of eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) in almost all the fish species examined, and the actual content of these acids has shown that sprat, whiting, garfish, red mullet, shad and sea bream provide the recommended daily intake of 1 g of EPA+DHA with reasonable amounts of fillet. These results indicate that biological differences existing in fish species can influence the values to be set for the standards and composition. © 1998 Society of Chemical Industry.

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In this study, firstly, antioxidant and polyphenol oxidase (PPO) properties of Yomra apple were investigated. Seventeen phenolic constituents were measured by reverse phasehigh-performance liquid chromatography (RP-HPLC). Total phenolic compounds (TPCs), ferric reducing antioxidant power (FRAP) and 2, 2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl radical (DPPH) scavenging activities were performed to measure antioxidant capacity. Some kinetic parameters (K m , V max ), and inhibition behaviors against five different substrates were measured in the crude extract. Catechin and chlorogenic acid were found as the major components in the methanolic extract, while ferulic acid, caffeic acid, p-hydroxybenzoic acid, quercetin and p-coumaric acid were small quantities. K m values ranged from 0.70 to 10.10 mM in the substrates, and also 3-(4-hydroxyphenyl) propanoic acid (HPPA) and L-DOPA showed the highest affinity. The inhibition constant of K i were ranged from 0.05 to 14.90 mM against sodium metabisulphite, ascorbic acid, sodium azide and benzoic acid, while ascorbic acid and sodium metabisulphite were the best inhibitors.