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Hawthorn (Crataegus spp., family: Rosaceae) extracts have been used as pharmaceutical preparations owing to positive effects on cardiovascular system. The AlCl3-based official method employed for the determination of pharmacologically active compounds was compared with other techniques such as Folin-Ciocalteau method and HPLC-DAD. Antioxidant activity was determined by ABTS radical cation assay. Methods were applied on extracts from buds and sprouts collected from common hawthorn (C. monogyna Jacq., C. laevigata (Poir.) DC.) located in Northeastern Italy. Phenolic content determined by AlCl3-based method, Folin-Ciocalteau method, and HPLC-DAD was in the range 23,534-27,728, 75,284-100,616 and 57,317-58,639 mg kg-1 of dry matter (DM), respectively, in buds, and 17,280-19,330, 27,653-38,590, and 30,635-32,185 mg kg-1 DM, respectively, in sprouts. Antioxidant activity ranged from 119,864 to 174,640 and 31,484 to 52,584 mg Trolox eq. kg-1 DM in buds and sprouts, respectively. Phenolic amount and profile were significantly affected by phenological stage and sampling location. Antioxidant activity was related to flavan-3-ol and hydroxycinnamic acid amount, and to non-phenolic substances. AlCl3-based method underestimated total phenolic content owing to lack of selectivity to important phenolic classes whereas Folin-Ciocalteau method was affected by non-phenolic interfering substances. HPLC-DAD proved to be more effective in determining hawthorn phenolics., Journal of Applied Botany and Food Quality, Vol. 93 (2020): Journal of Applied Botany and Food Quality

In recent years the interest of consumers and manufacturers on traditional foods and biodiversity has been constantly growing. The definition of traditional foods has been scientifically elaborated with different approaches, mainly based on a top-down approach. During BaSeFood, a 3 year research programme, investigations were carried out in Black sea area countries, Italy and Portugal, following a scheme of qualitative cross-cultural, on-site surveys of traditional foods and plant raw materials; the information collected has been the basis for both an extensive documentation and the selection and sampling of material to be entered in the experimental phase. A similar scheme was followed in an area of Northern Tuscany (Italy), focussing on local species and critical points in food preparation. The experimental part, was aimed at: a) evaluating the variability of local populations of the selected crops, with respect to key phytochemical compounds content; b) analyze the retention of phytochemicals following cooking/processing. Primitive wheats, mainly represented by Triticum monococcum and Triticum dicoccum, and leafy vegetables of Brassicaceae and Asteraceae families were locally collected as target species. The fate of primitive wheats phytochemicals was monitored during traditional processing of glume removal and kernel crushing, in comparison with a modern plant: besides the efficiency of the process, no relevant differences were found in bioactive compounds retention. In Brassica, retention of main phytochemical compounds was evaluated following the most common cooking methods (boiling, steaming and stir frying), also applying kinetic modelling. Retention was mainly affected by cooking method and duration, plant matrix (extractability) and the chemical nature of individual compounds. Finally, glucosinolate thermal degradation was analyzed in different binary model systems, containing broccoli, to assess the effect of added ingredients during thermal treatment. Added ingredients could play an important role on retention, however further studies are still necessary to better understand which mechanisms are involved.

BACKGROUND: Kales are often a key ingredient of traditional foods, containing high amounts of indolic glucosinolates (precursors of indole-3-carbinol and ascorbigen), carotenoids and phenolics. The present trend to associate traditional foods crops with health-promoting properties suggested to investigate the degradation kinetic of three Brassica oleracea landraces' phytochemicals subjected to boiling, steaming and stir-frying. RESULTS: Boiling led to substantial losses due to leaching. Glucosinolates followed a second-order degradation kinetic (20% of their initial values after 10 min in Nero di Toscana). Phenolic content in leaves + cooking water remained unchanged, whereas their antioxidant capacity was reduced. Carotenoid content increased during the first minutes of boiling. Steaming showed the highest retention of phytochemicals, with often zero-order degradation kinetic, having however a strong effect on colour. Stir-frying produced high losses for all measured compounds; also, β-carotene reduced its content to 10–23% independently of variety. Conversion values for indole-derived compounds ranged from non-detectable to 23.5%. CONCLUSION: Variety strongly affected observed degradation rates because of a different glucosinolate composition and leaf structure. With this research, more information has been gained on the degradation kinetic of B. oleracea landraces' phytochemical compounds upon cooking, highlighting the possibility of improving bioactive component retention. © 2016 Society of Chemical Industry.