Bioactivity and chemical profiling of the Juniperus excelsa, which support its usage as a food preservative and nutraceutical

Abstract

Leaves and cones of the genus Juniperus, regularly used as a spice, could be a candidate for new food preservative with significant nutraceutical qualities. The main goal of this study was to evaluate the bioactivity and chemical profiling of the Juniperus excelsa leaves and cones in order to support its usage as a health-promoting food additive. The content of 44 phenolics was determined using Liquid chromatography tandem-mass spectrometry (LS-MS/MS), with catechin and quercitrin being the most dominant, especially in leaves (234 and 142 mg/g of leaves dry weight, respectively). Gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) analysis showed a simple terpene composition both in leaves and in cones, with α-pinene (31 and 77%), cedrol (37 and 8%), and limonene (15 and 6%) as the most abundant compounds, respectively. J. excelsa showed a noteworthy antioxidant effect comparable with butylated hydroxyanisole (BHA), especially leaves extract towards HO • and lipid peroxidation (LP) inhibition, which is particularly important in food-quality maintenance. Essential oil of leaves showed significant anti-inflammatory activity by means of inhibition of eicosanoids production and considerable antimicrobial activity against the clinically relevant and/or foodborne illness-causing bacteria. Due to its considerable bioactivity and high content of phenolics with proven health benefits, usage of J. excelsa as a food additive with valuable nutraceutical properties should be supported.

Comparative Study on the Phytochemical Composition and Antioxidant Activity of Grecian Juniper (Juniperus excelsa M. Bieb) Unripe and Ripe Galbuli

“…The antioxidant activity and phenolic content of J. excelsa essential oils and extracts have been studied [ 17 , 21 ]; however, information about a possible correlation between variables is limited. The values in this study were lower than those presented by Lesjak et al [ 21 ] on phenolic content (94.7 mg GAE/g dw) and total flavonoids (30.5 QE/g dw) of the J. excelsa galbuli extracts from the location of island Golem Grad. The same authors reported noteworthy antioxidant activity determined by DPPH (5.3 µg/mL) and FRAP (86.7 mg of ascorbic acid equivalents/g of dw) of the J. excelsa galbuli extracts.…”

“…Juniperus excelsa galbuli are rich in phenolic compounds such as gallic acid, cinnamic acid, vanillic acid, hydroxybenzoic acid, sinapic acid, ellagic acid, myrcetin, and hesperidin [ 13 ] and demonstrated various biological effects such as antimicrobial [ 11 , 12 , 14 , 15 ], antifungal [ 16 ], antioxidant [ 17 , 18 , 19 , 20 ], anti-inflammatory [ 21 ], anticancer [ 22 ], antiviral, and cytotoxic activities [ 11 ]. Phytochemical analysis of various anatomical parts of the genus Juniperus showed the presence of sterols, flavonoids, lignans [ 23 , 24 , 25 ], polysaccharides [ 26 ], some aromatic compounds, and fatty acids [ 27 ].…”

Essential Oil Composition and Bioactivity of Two Juniper Species from Bulgaria and Slovakia

“…A review of the previous reports on the chemical composition of J. excelsa EO showed significant differences in its EO composition (Table 1). For example, α-pinene was predominant in samples from Tbilisi, Georgia (40%) [33], Iran (68% [34,48,49] and 66.4%) [35], Pakistan (64%) [44], Lebanon (86.8%) [55], Turkey (29.7-34.0%, 46.1%) [45,47]; limonene (23%) and α-terpinene (24%) in samples from Oman [36,50]; cedrol (37%) in samples collected between Greece and Albania [37]; and β-terpinyl acetate (38.0%) in samples from Turkey [56] (Table 1). In a study on two populations in the Republic of North Macedonia, Sela et al [32] reported that there were two chemotypes of J. excelsa EO: the pinene-and sabinene-chemotype.…”

Boylu ardıç (Juniperus excelsa M. Bieb) meyvelerinde silibinin ve rutin bileşenlerinin deneysel tasarım metodu kullanılarak sokshlet özütleme şartlarının belirlenmesi

“…(1) Burada β 0 sabit, k değişken sayısı, β i doğrusal değişkenlerin katsayısı, X i ve X j değişkenler, β ii quadratik değişkenlerin katsayısı, βij etkileşimli değişkenlerin katsayısı ve ise deneylerden kaynaklanan artıştır. Sokslet Boylu ardıcın makaron tekniği ile, 72 süreyle ekstraksiyonu ile bitkinin kozalak tohumlarında rutin miktarının 3,87 mg/g olarak bulunduğu bilgisi literatür mevcuttur [11]. Bu çalışmada uygulanan sokslet yöntemi verileri ile literatürde bulunan rutin miktarı arasında yaklaşık 12 kat kadar fark bulunmasının muhtemel nedeni, bitki tohumunda meyvesinden daha yüksek miktarda rutin'in bulunması ve/veya 72h süreyle uygulanan makaron tekniğinin metanol/su çözücüsü ile ekstraksiyonda daha verimli bir yöntem olmasından kaynaklanmasıdır.…”