Currently, the incidence of lifestyle diseases is increasing due to inappropriate nutrition and environmental pollution. To prevent these diseases, various groups of bioactive compounds are needed with a broad spectrum of action and without adverse side effects. Polyphenolic compounds are the most widely studied group of this type of compounds. They occur widely in plants, but their content depends on many factors, including the type of plant, climatic conditions, and the date of harvest. The spectrum of bioactivity of phenolic compounds is determined by their chemical structure, concentration, and interaction with other compounds. Traditional recipes have been studied to search for active plant ingredients. Leaves of shrubs and fruit trees were used in folk medicine as a panacea for many diseases and have been forgotten with time, but their benefits are now being rediscovered. In recent years, much new information about biological activity of phenolic compounds from berry bushes (black currant, raspberry, and aronia) was published. This was reviewed and discussed in this article. The mineral content of their leaves was also summarized because minerals constitute a significant component of plant infusions. It has been shown that high antioxidant and biological activity of leaf extracts results from the presence of active phenolic compounds, which occur in definitely higher amounts than in fruits. Therefore, the leaves of berry bushes seem to be a promising source of substances that can be used as replacements for synthetic agents in the treatment and prevention of lifestyle diseases.
Summary Ozonation is an innovative way to preserve high quality of seed during storage and it is an alternative to harmful organophosphorus agents. Disclosure of changes in the rapeseed oil under the influence of oxidative action of ozone on the seeds was the aim of the work and is presented for the first time. Two ozone concentrations and different length of ozonation were applied. The changes in tocopherols, phenolics, flavonoids contents, antiradical activity and oxidative stability were examined. The average vitamin E concentration was 33 mg per 100 g of oil before and 31.7 after ozonation of seeds. The average content of phenolic compounds was 14.3 mg of sinapic acid g−1 and 16.9 after the ozone treatment. Changes in the flavonoids content and antioxidant activity were observed too. Ozonation caused a decrease in the vitamin E concentration which resulted also in reducing the quenching of free radicals and reduction of oil induction time.
Natural defensive substances synthesized by plants that could replace synthetic pesticides in the protection of plants against insect invasions are constantly being sought. The study assessed changes in the qualitative and quantitative composition of secondary metabolites in horse chestnut leaves collected in different locations and differing in the sensitivity of the plant to the invasion by the horse-chestnut leaf miner. An attempt was made to identify compounds that are most responsible for the increased plant resistance to this threat. Additionally, changes in the anatomy of chestnut leaves affected by the pest were presented. It was noticed that the trees differed in the composition of secondary metabolites already in the initial growing season, which should be related to the influence of habitat conditions. The analysis of the profile of the compounds in non-infested and infested horse chestnut leaves revealed a clear response of the plant to the stress factor, i.e., the foraging of the horse-chestnut leaf miner. Catechins seem to be compounds involved in plant resistance. The leaf anatomy showed enhanced accumulation of phenolic compounds at the pest foraging sites. Hypertrophy and thickened and cracked cell walls of the spongy parenchyma were visible in the vicinity of the mines.
Witamina C należy do grupy egzogennych składników odżywczych, które muszą być dostarczane w codziennej diecie. Jest to związek o działaniu wielokierunkowym. Ze względu na wysoką aktywność chemiczną witamina C jest związkiem nietrwałym. Ulega szybkiej degradacji w tkankach roślinnych pod wpływem zewnętrznych czynników stresowych, do których należą m.in. zabiegi kulinarne. Z kolei jej powolny rozkład jest procesem naturalnym zachodzącym podczas przechowywania owoców i warzyw. Do warzyw zasobnych w witaminę C należy papryka, zarówno słodka, jak i ostra. Przechowywanie owoców po zbiorze, jak również sposób konserwacji przed długoterminowym przechowywaniem wpływają na zmiany zawartości tego składnika. W pracy określono zawartość oraz trwałość witaminy C (sumy kwasu L-askorbinowego i dehydroskorbinowego) w owocach czterech odmian papryki czerwonej. Analizowano dwie odmiany słodkie (‘Aifos’, ‘Barbórka’) oraz dwie ostre (‘Cyklon’, ‘Cayenne’). Owoce przechowywano przez dwa tygodnie w warunkach chłodniczych jako owoce świeże, a także długoterminowo – w postaci mrożonej i liofilizowanej. Zawartość witaminy C oznaczono metodą spektrofluorymetryczną w reakcji z o-fenylenodiaminą (OPDA). Największe starty omawianego związku w owocach papryki przechowywanej w warunkach chłodniczych odnotowano w pierwszym tygodniu ich przechowywania. Wśród czterech badanych odmian największą zawartość witaminy C wykazano w ostrej papryce ‘Cayenne’ (470,9 mg/100 g św.m). Na podstawie uzyskanych wyników stwierdzono, że stabilność witaminy C podczas przechowywania i przetwarzania owoców papryki była zmienna wśród badanych odmian. Mrożenie było najkorzystniejszym sposobem utrwalania papryki, zarówno pod względem jakościowym, jak i ekonomicznym.
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