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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

BACKGROUND: Wild fennel (Foeniculum vulgare Mill. subsp. piperitum) florets are used as a typical spice in central and southern Italy. Although fennel (Foeniculum vulgare Mill.), belonging to the Apiaceae (syn. Umbelliferae) family, is a well-known vegetable and aromatic plant, whose main phytochemical compounds have been extensively analysed and investigated as flavouring agents and for their putative health promoting functions, its florets have not been specifically considered up to now. Therefore, the volatile and phenolic composition of florets from an Italian wild fennel crop was determined at different developmental stages, and compared to that of leaves and fruits. Moreover, florets of nine Italian wild fennel populations of different geographical origin from northern–central Italy were also analysed. RESULTS: The total phenolic amount increased from leaves to florets, reaching its highest value in early florets, at 58 012 mg kg−1 of dry matter (DM), then constantly decreased in fruits. In florets of wild populations, phenolics ranged from 6666 to 43 368 mg kg−1 DM. The total amount of volatile compounds was more than twice higher in florets (21 449 mg kg−1 DM) than in leaves (10 470 mg kg−1 DM), reaching its highest value in fruits (50 533 mg kg−1 DM). Estragole and trans-anethole were the main compounds of the volatile fraction. Total volatiles ranged from 24 367 to 60 468 mg kg−1 DM in florets of local populations. CONCLUSION: Significant changes in the total amount and profile of both phenolic and volatile compounds occurred during plant development. The consistent increase of estragole at later developmental stages supported the claim of different sensory properties of florets and fruits. Geographical origin significantly affected phenolic and volatile composition of wild fennel florets. © 2017 Society of Chemical Industry.

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.

Garlic-based extracts have been surveyed as healthy promoting supplements in relation to their content of organosulfur compounds. The present study investigated the effect of high pressure extraction and maceration, and four extraction solvents (three hydroalcoholic mixtures and sunflower oil) on the total and relative amounts of the main organosulfur compounds of clove and stem extracts of the Italian ecotype "Aglio Rosso di Sulmona" (Sulmona Red Garlic). Organosulfur compounds were more abundant in cloves than in stem extracts. High pressure extraction led to higher recoveries of hydrophilic compounds than maceration whereas the highest amounts of lipophilic compounds were detected in macerates. A higher alliin-to-allicin conversion ratio was detected in clove, in comparison to stem extracts. Sunflower oil fostered allicin decay to compounds such as ajoenes, vinyldithiins and sulfides. The use of specific extraction methods may lead to standardised grade extracts, both from native raw materials and by-products.

Many wild species of the Asteraceae family are used as edible leafy vegetables. A distinctive trait characterizing these is the presence of sesquiterpene lactones, responsible of typical bitter taste and putative health-promoting effects against chronic-degenerative diseases. In this study, several edible leafy species of the Asteraceae family have been collected in the wild and characterized for their sesquiterpene lactones and 4-hydroxyphenylacetic acid inositol derivatives content by ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography coupled to Orbitrap high resolution mass spectrometry. The following species were considered: “aspraggine” (Helminthia echioides), “barba di becco” (Tragopogon pratensis), “caccialepre” (Reichardia picroides), “cicoria” (Cichorium intybus), “dente di leone” (Taraxacum officinale), “erba grassella” (Hypochaeris radicata), “grespigno” (Sonchus asper, Sonchus oleraceus), “ragaggiolo” (Chondrilla juncea), “gallina grassa” (Crepis vesicaria), “pie di gallina” (Crepis sancta) and “radicchiello” (Crepis leontodontoides). A database containing retention times and selected m/z ions for the identification of fifteen sesquiterpene lactones and six 4-hydroxyphenylacetic acid inositol derivatives was developed. Total sesquiterpene lactone content showed a remarkable variability among species (0.14-140.45 mg kg−1 of dry matter). The highest values were observed in Cichorium samples (94.29-140.45 mg kg−1 dm), that also showed higher lactucine contents. Six 4-hydroxyphenylacetic acid derivatives were identified in Taraxacum officinale.

Alkylresorcinols, fatty acid content, and antioxidant activity were analysed in Triticum monococcum, T. dicoccum, T. timopheevi, T. palaeo-colchicum and T. macha accessions from Turkey, Georgia, Armenia, Bulgaria and Italy, also including modern durum wheat (T. durum) and bread wheat (T. aestivum) varieties as controls, grown in a common environment. Total alkylresorcinol content ranged between 478.3 and 1153.9 mg kg−1 dm, with the highest contents detected in T. aestivum, T. macha and some T. monococcum accessions. All alkylresorcinol homologues effectively contributed at genotype discrimination. Hexaploid wheats showed higher A19 (23.3–27.5%) and lower A23 (14.0–15.9%) and A25 (4.3–8.1%) relative contents, with respect to other species. C18:2 (50.4–62.3%), C18:1 (14.5–25.8%) and C16 (13.3–16.7%) were the most abundant fatty acid compounds in all accessions. PUFA/MUFA, C18:1/C16 and C18:1/C18:2 ratios significantly differed among genotypes, with special respect to T. monococcum, T. aestivum and T. macha. Significant differences were also observed for protein and total phenolic content, and antioxidant activity. The data indicate that some genotypes could represent interesting sources of specific compounds, with a potential use either as promising material for the selection of improved varieties or raw materials to manufacture foods with naturally enhanced content of health promoting compounds.

This study compared alkylresorcinols, fatty acids and antioxidant activity retention following hulled wheat processing by traditional and modern plants. Glume removal and kernel crushing were considered as characterising steps. Samples were collected from two traditional einkorn wheat bulgur processing plants in Turkey, one emmer wheat processing plant in Armenia and a modern two stage processing plant in Italy, also including pearling. Whole kernels showed higher alkylresorcinol contents (759–1037 mg kg−1 dm) and antioxidant activity with respect to the correspondent crushed products. Following crushing a decrease of total alkylresorcinol content was observed, with lowest amounts detected in the semolina-like fractions. Pearling did not determine a significant decrease of alkylresorcinols of the pearled output. However the waste obtained from pearling, mainly composed of bran parts, showed the highest alkylresorcinol amount (1493 mg kg−1 dm) and antioxidant activity. The waste from pearling resulted also the richest fraction of unsaturated alkylresorcinol homologues and unsaturated fatty acids. Among fatty acids, C18:2, C18:1 and C16 resulted the most abundant compounds in all fractions. All the plants showed similar performance, with higher alkylresorcinol decreases due to the loss of specific parts of kernel, such as germ and bran.

BACKGROUND: A recent interest in edible wild leafy vegetables has been documented. Consumers often associate these species with health promotion. In this study, several wild species of the Asteraceae family and Knautia integrifolia (Dipsacaceae) were locally documented for their use in traditional cuisine and sampled from the wild. RESULTS: Phenolic compounds were identified and quantified by ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography coupled to Orbitrap high-resolution mass spectrometry. Hydroxycinnamic acids ranging from 1388 to 53 076 mg kg−1 dry weight (DW) were the most abundant compounds in all species (69–98% of the total phenolic content) except Tragopogon pratensis. Thirty compounds were identified as flavonoids, mostly as glycosidic forms of luteolin, apigenin, kaempferol and quercetin. The sum of flavonoids ranged between 212 and 12 598 mg kg−1 DW; they represented 65% of the total phenolic content for T. pratensis. Three anthocyanins were detected, representing in most cases less than 1% of the total phenolic content (3–627 mg kg−1 DW). Higher anthocyanin contents were observed for Cichorium types. CONCLUSION: Different phenolic profiles were observed between species, especially considering the class of flavonoids. Individual species may be of some interest for their content of specific minor flavonoids. © 2017 Society of Chemical Industry.