Modern society has easy access to a vast informational database. The pursuit of sustainable green and healthy lifestyle leads to a series of food choices. Therefore, it is of importance to provide reliable, comprehensive and up-to-date information about food content including both nutritional and antinutritional elements. Nutrients are associated with positive effects on human health. Antinutrients, on the other hand, are far less popular for the contemporary man. They are highly bioactive, capable of deleterious effects as well as some beneficial health effects in man, and vastly available in plant-based foods. These compounds are of natural or synthetic origin, interfere with the absorption of nutrients, and can be responsible for some mischievous effects related to the nutrient absorption. Some of the common symptoms exhibited by a large amount of antinutrients in the body can be nausea, bloating, headaches, rashes, nutritional deficiencies, etc. Phytates, oxalates, and lectins are few of the well-known antinutrients. Science has acknowledged several ways in order to alter the negative influence antinutrients exhibiting on human health. Mechanical, thermal and biochemical approaches act synergistically to provide food with lower antinutritional levels. The purpose of this review was to synthesize the availability of antinutrients, clear their effect on the human body, and commemorate possible paths to disable them. This review provides links to the available literature as well as enables a systematic view of the recently published research on the topic of plant-based antinutrients.

Beetroot, the cultivated form of Beta vulgaris subsp. vulgaris, is known for its various bene cial properties but more critical data about its bioactive compounds digestion is needed. In the present research, the bioaccessibility of phytochemicals in freshly prepared red beetroot juice was studied. Changes in total phenolics content, total avonoids content, contents of betacyanins and betaxanthins, phenolic acids pro le as well as the antioxidant activity were monitored before and after simulated gastrointestinal digestion. Several parameters that provide interrelated information about food quality were additionally evaluated, including oxalic acid and individual sugars content, total titratable acidity, and acetylcholinesterase inhibitory activity. Signi cant loss of contents of total phenolics and avonoids measured after digestion resulted in the recovery of 27.07 and 36.4%, respectively. The same negative tendency was observed for betalains bioaccessibility. While nearly 27% of betaxanthins were present after the simulated digestion, almost all betacyanins (96.07%) have been lost. The HPLC analysis of phenolic acids of beetroot juice revealed the presence of chlorogenic, caffeic, p-coumaric, and sinapic acids. After digestion, a 2.5-fold higher concentration of chlorogenic acid was found, however caffeic and p-coumaric acids were no longer detected. The results concerning the antioxidant activity of digested juice were inexplicit. According to the DPPH assay, there was a complete recovery of antioxidant activity, while no activity was detected employing the ABTS assay. Following the cupric ion reducing antioxidant capacity (CUPRAC) and ferric-reducing antioxidant power (FRAP), approximately half of the initial activity was retained. Despite the losses, red beetroot remains a valuable source of biologically active substances. Better understanding of their transformation during digestion is further needed.

Exploring the chemical composition and biological activity of different fruit varieties is essential for the valorization of their health claims. The current study focuses on a detailed comparative analysis of three early- and two mid-ripening peach varieties: “Filina” (peach), “July Lady” (peach), “Laskava” (peach), “Gergana” (nectarine), and “Ufo 4” (flat peach). They were characterized in terms of essential nutrients such as carbohydrates (sugars and dietary fibers), amino acid content, and lipids as well as mineral content, fat-soluble vitamins, carotenoids, and chlorophyll. Polyphenolic compounds and the related antioxidant activity were also assessed. The methanolic extract of the peel seems to be richer in the studied biologically active substances compared to the fleshy part of the fruit. Anthocyanins were most abundant in “Gergana” and “July Lady” extracts (6624.8 ± 404.9 and 7133.6 ± 388.8 µg cyanidin-3-glucoside/100 g fw, resp.). The total phenol content of the samples varied from 34.11 ± 0.54 to 157.97 ± 0.67 mg gallic acid equivalents (GAE)/100 g fw. “Filina” and “July Lady” varieties possessed the highest antioxidant activity. Overall, the results of this study confirm that the studied peach varieties have satisfactory nutritional value and are potential sources of biologically active substances. Each variety represents an individual palette of nutrients that should be considered separately from the other.

Allium ursinum L. is widely used as a spice as well as a traditional medicine. The aim of this work was to evaluate the antioxidant and antimicrobial activities (AMAs) of A. ursinum extract, obtained by pressurised-liquid extraction. Several reliable procedures such as 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl, 2,2-azinobis-3ethyl benxothiazoline-6-sulphonic acid, ferric-reducing antioxidant power assay and oxygen radical absorbance capacity assays were carried out. Vegetable oil stability was evaluated by using Rancimat test. Moreover, AMA was performed on different microorganisms. On the basis of the results obtained, it is confirmed that the A. ursinum extract could be used as a natural ingredient in food and/or pharmaceutical industries.

Fruits contain a number of useful substances including antioxidants. Their bio-accessibility after passing through the digestive tract is of primary importance when considering their benefits. In this respect, we investigated the effect of in vitro digestion on the phytochemicals of eight fruit juices. Freshly prepared juices from pomegranate, orange and grapefruit were used as well as commercially available juices from cherry, black grapes and aloe vera, blackberry and chokeberry, and two types of chokeberry and raspberries. Spectrophotometric and HPLC methods were used in order to analyse the sugar content, the total phenolic (TPC) and flavonoid contents (TFC), anthocyanins, phenolic acids and antioxidant activity. Principle component analysis was used to explain the differentiation among the types of fruit juice. Sugar recovery variation was between 4%–41%. The bio-accessibility of TPC ranged from 13.52%–26.49% and of flavonoids between 24.25%-67.00%. The pomegranate juice and the juice of black grapes and aloe vera kept 58.12 and 50.36% of their initial anthocyanins content, while for the other samples less than 1.10% was established. As a result, а maximum of 30% remaining antioxidant activity was measured for some of the samples, but for most this was less than 10%. In conclusion, fruit juices are a rich source of biologically active substances, but a more detailed analysis of food transformation during digestion is needed.

Nettle (Urtica dioica L.), tansy (Tanacetum vulgare L.), bladder campion (Silene vulgaris (Moench) Garcke, waterpepper (Polygonum hydropiper L.), common centaury (Centaurium erythraea Pers.) and rose hip fruit (Rosa canina L. cv. Plovdiv 1) were used for preparation of different water extracts (infusion, decoction and microwave extract) and ethanol (tincture) extracts. Carotenoids (lutein, lycopene and β-carotene), tocopherols (α-, γ- and δ-), organic acids (ascorbic, malic, fumaric and citric), five macro- and three microelements, sugars and uronic acids content in the obtained extracts were analyzed. Among the investigated plants, stinging nettle, bladder campion and rose hip fruit were evaluated as most potential with respect to bioactive compounds and microelements. The results showed that the selected six medicinal plants and their extracts can be presented as sources of dietary fibers and micronutrients, which may encourage further application as food supplements and beverages as well as to motivate plant use as a dietary alternative in different foods. The present study is a first detailed analysis with respect to sugar content of decoction, infusion and tincture of S. vulgaris.

The present study investigated Haberlea rhodopensis Friv. – a less‐explored Balkan endemic plant. The purpose was to determine the total phenolic content and antioxidant activity of alcohol extracts derived from the leaves of H. rhodopensis Friv. by applying reliable methods. The phenolic concentration in the examined extracts, calculated as mg gallic acid equivalent (GAE)/g leaf dry weight (DW), ranged from 99.03 to 151.24 mg GAE/g DW. The results from the total phenolics assay and the antioxidant activity tests were significantly correlated. The methanol and 70% ethanol extracts, which had the highest total phenolic content values (151.24 and 150.67 mg GAE/g DW, respectively), ranked the highest radical scavenging activity according to the 2,2′‐azino‐bis‐3‐ ethylbenzothiazoline‐6‐sulfonic acid assay (1.451 and 1.343 mMTE/g DW, respectively). The major phenolic acids and some flavonoid aglycones and glycosides were analyzed by high‐performance liquid chromatography. Luteolin (2,706.20 µg/g DW), hesperidin (2,641.46 µg/g DW), sinapic acid (1,296.78 µg/g DW) and ferulic acid (619.80 µg/g DW) were predominant in the H. rhodopensis 70% alcohol extract. PRACTICAL APPLICATIONS The research yielded novel information about Haberlea rhodopensis, a less‐explored endemic plant. The aim of the present study was to determine the antioxidant capacity of this resurrection plant with a focus on phenolic antioxidants rather than enzymes. High‐performance liquid chromatography analysis was performed to quantify the major phenolic acids and flavonoids. The antioxidant potential of the extracts obtained was estimated using different approved methods. The results suggested the possibility of practical application of H. rhodopensis leaf extracts because of the established free radical‐scavenging activity.

The present study was designed to investigate the antioxidant and antimicrobial activities of pressurized liquid extracts from Haberlea rhodopensis Friv. The total phenolic content was performed using the Folin-Ciocalteu phenol reagent. To determine the antioxidant activities of the extracts, several complementary tests were used: ABTS and DPPH radical scavenging activities, oxygen radical absorbance capacity, and ferric-reducing antioxidant power assay. The phenolic concentration was 15.98±0.09 and 9.42±0.06 mg GAE g -1 DW for 70 and 85% ethanol extracts, respectively. Of all the performed methods, the highest antioxidant activity values were measured by the ORAC assay -224.6±6.6 and 154.0±9.9 μM TE g -1 DW for 70 and 85% ethanol extracts, respectively. Results also showed that both extracts exhibited very weak antimicrobial activity against the examined microorganisms. However, the 70% ethanol extract possessed higher inhibition ability, which correlated with higher total phenolic content and antioxidant activity.