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BACKGROUND: Berry pomaces obtained after commercial juice production contain phytochemicals which may find use as antioxidants, food additives and biomedical products. Oil extraction from seeds provides additional value but the availability of phytochemicals before and after oil extraction is not well established. OBJECTIVE: This pilot study defines the content and composition of phytochemicals from raspberry and black currant pomaces after extraction with water-ethanol mixes, but also before and after milling/ oil extraction. METHODS: The total phenol (TPC), total anthocyanin (TAC) and antioxidant content of extracts was assessed. Their phytochemical composition was studied using liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MSn). RESULTS: TPC and TAC increased with increasing % ethanol. Anthocyanins were major components in blackcurrant pomace and were more readily extracted than total phenols. Total oil content and composition was not influenced by solvent pre-extraction. Milling/ oil extraction markedly increased TPC from raspberry but not from blackcurrant pomace. LC-MSn confirmed characteristic phytochemical compositions and that increasing % ethanol increased yield of certain components. Milling increased specific ellagitannins, proanthocyanins and triterpenoids from raspberry. CONCLUSIONS: Milling/ oil extraction increased the yield and phytochemical diversity of extracts from raspberry but not from blackcurrant pomace which suggests that the phytochemicals from blackcurrant pomace are largely available on the pomace surfaces.

Honey is known to have antimicrobial, immunomodulatory and wound healing properties. The biological properties of honey have been attributed to phytochemicals derived from their source plants and research has focused on identifying the bioactive phytochemicals with therapeutic potential. In this study, we determined the ability of 5 honeys from Kazakhstan and manuka honey to stimulate TNF-α and TGF-β production by human keratinocytes. TNF-α and TGF-β levels increased over time in honey treated and untreated keratinocytes, whereas cells treated with sugar solutions that matched those of the honeys had reduced levels of both cytokines. This suggests that the non-sugar phytochemical components of the honeys may have prevented this decrease. Analysis by LC-MS confirmed that the honeys contained a diverse range of phytochemicals. Some phytochemicals e.g. pinobanksin and vanillin were present at different levels across the honey types, whereas other components, e.g. dicarboxylic acids and their glycosides, were abundant in all honeys.

Honey is known to have antimicrobial, immunomodulatory and wound healing properties. The biological properties of honey have been attributed to phytochemicals derived from their source plants and research has focused on identifying the bioactive phytochemicals with therapeutic potential. In this study, we determined the ability of 5 honeys from Kazakhstan and manuka honey to stimulate TNF-α and TGF-β production by human keratinocytes. TNF-α and TGF-β levels increased over time in honey treated and untreated keratinocytes, whereas cells treated with sugar solutions that matched those of the honeys had reduced levels of both cytokines. This suggests that the non-sugar phytochemical components of the honeys may have prevented this decrease. Analysis by LC-MS confirmed that the honeys contained a diverse range of phytochemicals. Some phytochemicals e.g. pinobanksin and vanillin were present at different levels across the honey types, whereas other components, e.g. dicarboxylic acids and their glycosides, were abundant in all honeys.

In this work, Hydrophilic Interaction Liquid Chromatography – Mass Spectrometry (HILIC-MS) was applied to assess the metabolic profiles of different tissues and industrially relevant co-products of alginate extraction from Laminaria hyperborea samples obtained in different seasons. This is the first metabolomic analysis in L. hyperborea and it allowed the putative identification of 59 metabolites using positive and negative mode MS data, predicted exact mass data and matching with database and literature searches. Another 16 components were detected but these could not be identified as yet. The metabolites ranged from known and abundant components (e.g., iodide, mannitol and various betaines) to components not previously noted in this species. The levels of these components varied between tissues and co-products with some metabolites seemingly specific to certain samples. The components also varied between winter and summer samples, perhaps reflecting seasonality in their biosynthesis and accumulation in the tissues and co-products.Therefore, the method can be used to survey the seasonal metabolomic variation across the full year and thereby track when components of potential specific commercial interest were maximally accumulated and help plan the most efficient exploitation of the harvested biomass. The method could also define variation in components in L. hyperborea from different locations or potential biotopes of this species. This initial work extends our ability to understand the phenotype of seaweeds whilst also identifying new components and new commercial opportunities.