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Biological properties of fruits of Lycium barbarum (goji berries) have been ascribed to their high content of nutrients and phenolics. Comprehensive studies aimed at unambiguously identifying the phenolic components in goji berries are still lacking. In this paper, we report on the isolation and NMR-based identification of the major phenolics in commercially available goji berries. Together with already known phenolics, including caffeic acid, p-coumaric acid, rutin, scopoletin, N-trans-feruloyl tyramine, and N-cis-feruloyl tyramine, an unreported N-feruloyl tyramine dimer was characterized as the most abundant polyphenol isolated from the berries. Usually divalent molecules show enhanced biological activities than their corresponding monomers.

Experimental evidence suggests that moderate consumption of wine has health promoting properties that have been mainly attributed to the wine polyphenol content. However, a systematic analysis of the major healthy molecules contained in wines has not been conducted yet. Our study explored the potential arsenal of beneficial molecules contained in wine from both a qualitative and quantitative perspective. The experimental approach was based on chromatography and untargeted NMR spectroscopy. In addition to already known bioactive molecules, for the first time, xanthurenic acid and oleanic acid were identified in wine in relatively high concentrations. On account of their many biological activities, these two molecules widen the range of potential beneficial effects of wine and pave the way toward the evaluation of their still unexplored sensory properties.

Sorbus domestica fruits (sorbs) are commonly harvested and consumed for their nutritious qualities and have long been used as natural remedy against diabetes in the popular medicine. Recently, sorbs have been described as sources of antioxidant compounds including polyphenols. Chemical analyses carried out on sorbs collected in Southern Italy have led to the isolation of a chlorogenic acid isomer as the main antioxidant compound contained in the fruit butanol extract. NMR studies have identified the isolated compound as (1S,3R,4S,5R)5-O-Caffeoylquinic acid. In comparison to chlorogenic acid, the isolated isomer features an inverted configuration at C4. Such configurational inversion causes the chlorogenic acid stereoisomer acid to assume a preferential conformation remarkably different from that of chlorogenic acid. This seems to account for the enhanced potency of (1S,3R,4S,5R)5-O-Caffeoylquinic acid to reduce both the glucose and cholesterol uptakes by the cell line HepG2 when compared to chlorogenic acid.