The phenolic profile of strawberry tree (Arbutus unedo L.) honey

Jurič, Andreja; Gašić, Uroš; Karačonji, Irena Brčić; Jurica, Karlo; Milojković‐Opsenica, Dušanka

doi:10.2298/jsc191217018j

Cited by 15 publications

(18 citation statements)

References 24 publications

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“…A strong positive relationship was found between total phenolic content (TPC) and 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH), TPC and concentration of homogentisic acid homogentisic acid (HGA), and between DPPH and HGA in strawberry tree honey from Croatia [ 66 , 67 ]. A further study on Croatian strawberry tree honey revealed fifty-two phenolic compounds (twenty-seven phenolic acids and twenty-five flavonoids).…”

Section: Antioxidant Activity and Other Health Benefitsmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Sardinian Bitter Honey: From Ancient Healing Use to Recent Findings

2021

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Sardinian bitter honey, obtained from the autumnal flowering of the strawberry tree (Arbutus unedo L.), has an old fame and tradition in popular use, especially as a medicine. Its knowledge dates back over 2000 years, starting from the Greeks and Romans to the present day. There are many literary references from illustrious personalities of the past such as Cicero, Horace, Virgil, and Dioscorides, until recent times, associated with the peculiar anomaly of its taste, which lends itself to literary and poetic metaphors. The curiosity of its bitter taste is also what led to the first studies starting in the late 1800s, aimed to reveal its origin. Other studies on its botanical source and characteristics have been carried out over time, up to the most recent investigations, which have confirmed its potential for use in the medical field, thanks to its antioxidant, antiradical, and cancer-preventing properties. These benefits have been associated with its phenolic component and in particular with the prevailing phenolic acid (homogentisic acid). Later, other strawberry tree honeys from the Mediterranean area have also shown the same properties. However, Sardinian bitter honey maintains its geographical and historical identity, which is recognized by other Mediterranean cultures.

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Section: Antioxidant Activity and Other Health Benefitsmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Sardinian Bitter Honey: From Ancient Healing Use to Recent Findings

2021

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“…The STH sample was collected in Vrgorac (43.20 °N 17.37 °E), Croatia in 2016. Its botanical origin was confirmed earlier by melissopalynological and sensory analyses ( 9 ) and identification of its specific chemical marker HGA. The mass fraction of HGA in the honey sample, also determined earlier by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) ( 10 ), was 306.8 mg/kg.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 63%

“…Several studies have shown that STH has a very high content of phenolic compounds and strong antioxidant capacity. Compared to other types, this unifloral honey has greater ability to defend the body from harmful reactive oxygen species (ROS) ( 4 , 5 ). It also exerts antibacterial and anti-inflammatory activity with high anti-mutagenic and anti-proliferative properties important for tumour prevention and treatment ( 6 , 7 ).…”

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confidence: 99%

Cytotoxic activity of strawberry tree (Arbutus unedo L.) honey, its extract, and homogentisic acid on CAL 27, HepG2, and Caco-2 cell lines

Jurič

Turković

Karačonji

et al. 2022

Archives of Industrial Hygiene and Toxicology

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Strawberry tree (Arbutus unedo L.) honey (STH), also known as “bitter honey”, is a traditional medicine widely used in the Mediterranean area. Regardless of geographical origin, it usually has a very high content of phenolic compounds and strong antioxidant capacity. Yet, little is still known about the effects of STH, its phenolic extract (STHE), and its main bioactive compound – homogentisic acid (HGA) – at the cell level. The aim of this study was to estimate total phenolic content, DPPH radical scavenging activity, and ferric reducing antioxidant power of STH made in Croatia and investigate cytotoxic and pro-oxidative effects of STH, STHE and HGA on three human cell lines: tongue squamous cell carcinoma (CAL 27), hepatocellular carcinoma (HepG2), and epithelial colorectal adenocarcinoma cells (Caco-2) cells. These substances were tested at four concentrations (0.5–5× average human daily intake of STH) and over 30 min and 1 and 2 h. Croatian STH had a total phenolic content of 1.67 g gallic acid equivalents (GAE) per kg of honey, DPPH radical scavenging activity of 2.96 mmol Trolox equivalents (TE) per kg of honey, and ferric reducing antioxidant power (FRAP) of 13.5 mmol Fe2+ per kg of honey. Our results show no clear and consistent time- or concentration-dependent cytotoxicity in any of the cell lines. ROS levels in all the three cell types at almost all exposure times were not significantly higher than control. The most important observation is that the tested substances have low cytotoxicity and high biocompatibility, regardless of concentration, which is a good starting point for further research of their biological effects in other models.

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“…As a bitter substance in bamboo shoots, homogentisic acid was first reported in Japan, and Chizu Hasegawa suggested that homogentisic acid is responsible for a special taste of bamboo shoot, called egumi-taste, described as bitter and pungent [28,64]. Homogentisic acid has also been found to be the main bitter substance of bitter strawberry honey produced in Italy [65,66]. Homogentisic acid, one of the differentially downregulated metabolites in this study, together with the typical bitter phenolic acids mentioned above, could be mapped to the tyrosine metabolism pathway.…”

Section: Molecular Basis Of Reducing the Bitter Taste Of P Amarus Bam...mentioning

confidence: 99%

Integrated Metabolomic and Transcriptomic Analysis Reveals the Effect of Artificial Shading on Reducing the Bitter Taste of Bamboo Shoots

Huang

Xun

et al. 2022

Horticulturae

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Bamboo shoot is a delicious and nutritious forest vegetable. It has been found that bamboo shoots collected from low-light environments have a less bitter taste. The molecular mechanism of light in the regulation of bitter substance accumulation in bamboo shoots is still unclear. In this study, we applied a shading treatment to Pleioblastus amarus bamboo shoots in the preharvesting period. The reduction in the bitterness intensity was confirmed by a sensory test. An integrated metabolomic and transcriptomic analysis was performed on P. amarus bamboo shoots grown under shading treatment and normal growing conditions, and 56 differentially accumulated metabolites and 178 differentially expressed genes were identified. The results showed that the contents of a series of phenolic acids related to the tyrosine metabolism pathway were downregulated under shading treatment, revealing that shading decreased the accumulation of phenolic acids and further mediated the resulting bitter taste of the bamboo shoots. This work will be helpful for understanding the regulatory mechanisms governing the bitter tasting substances in bamboo shoots grown under a shading treatment and provides a reference for the use of shading treatment in cultivation practices to improve the taste of bamboo shoots.

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The phenolic profile of strawberry tree (Arbutus unedo L.) honey

Cited by 15 publications

References 24 publications

The Sardinian Bitter Honey: From Ancient Healing Use to Recent Findings

The Sardinian Bitter Honey: From Ancient Healing Use to Recent Findings

Cytotoxic activity of strawberry tree (Arbutus unedo L.) honey, its extract, and homogentisic acid on CAL 27, HepG2, and Caco-2 cell lines

Integrated Metabolomic and Transcriptomic Analysis Reveals the Effect of Artificial Shading on Reducing the Bitter Taste of Bamboo Shoots

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