Fruits Vinegar: Quality Characteristics, Phytochemistry, and Functionality

The popularity of fruits vinegar (FsV) has been increased recently as a healthy drink wealthy in bioactive compounds that provide several beneficial properties. This review was designed in the frame of valorization of fruits vinegar as a by-product with high value added by providing overall information on its biochemical constituents and beneficial potencies. It contains a cocktail of bioactive ingredients including polyphenolic acids, organic acids, tetramethylperazine, and melanoidins. Acetic acid is the most abundant organic acid and chlorogenic acid is the major phenol in apple vinegar. The administration of fruits vinegar could prevent diabetes, hypercholesterolemia, oxidative stress, cancer, and boost immunity as well as provide a remarkable antioxidant ability. The production techniques influence the quality of vinegar, and consequently, its health benefits.

Identification and Isolation of Caffeic, Chlorogenic and Ferulic Acids in Aerial Parts of Capparis spinosa wildly grown in Iraq

Capparis spinosa is one of the oldest genera grown in Iraqi land with worldwide traditional medicinal uses beside the culinary uses. These uses were own to the presence of many phytochemical including flavonoids, polyphenols. Among the reported polyphenolic acids are caffeic, chlorogenic and ferulic acids with well-known powerful antioxidant properties. The present work aimed to identify the presence of these polyphenolic acids in Iraqi caper naturally gown in the rural area of middle Iraq following standard chromatographic procedures. Aerial parts of the plant (buds, berries and leaves) were extracted with hydroalcoholic solvent by maceration method. Thin layer chromatographic techniques and HPLC analysis were performed to identify the presence of polyphenolic acids in ethyl acetate fraction of the hydroalcoholic extracts. The result obtained in this work revealed the presence of these phenolic acids in investigated extracts. Chromatographic analysis confirms the presence of considerable amounts of these acids in ethyl acetate fraction when the separated spots were compared with Rf values and UV spectra of standards. Such data give a promising use of aerial parts of Iraqi caper for globally reported medicinal uses.

Phytochemical Profile and Antioxidant Activity of Aerial and Underground Parts of Salvia bulleyana Diels. Plants

Plants have been used for medical purposes since ancient times. However, a detailed analysis of their biological properties and their associated active compounds is needed to justify their therapeutic use in modern medicine. The aim of the study was to identify and quantify the phenolics present in hydromethanolic extracts of the roots and shoots of the Chinese Salvia species, Salvia bulleyana. The qualitative and quantitative analyses were carried out by ultrahigh-performance liquid chromatography with electrospray ionization mass spectrometry detection (UHPLC-PDA-ESI-MS), and high-performance liquid chromatography with photodiode array (HPLC-PDA) detection. The extracts of S. bulleyana were also screened for their antioxidant activity using ferric ion (Fe3+) reducing antioxidant power (FRAP), 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH), diammonium 2,2′-azino-bis(3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonate) cation (ABTS), superoxide radical anion (O2•–), and inhibition of lipid peroxidation assays. The S. bulleyana extracts were found to contain 38 substances, of which 36 were phenols, with a total level of 14.4 mg/g DW (dry weight) in shoots, and 23.1 mg/g DW in roots. Twenty-eight phenols were polyphenolic acids or their derivatives, the most abundant in shoots being rosmarinic acid, and in roots, salvianolic acid K followed by rosmarinic acid. The other major phenolic acids were caffeic acid, caffeoyl-threonic acids, isomers of lithospermic acid, salvianolic acid F, salvianolic acid B, and yunnaneic acid E. In addition to polyphenolic acids, nine flavonoids were detected in the shoot extract. While both extracts showed significant antioxidant activity, the shoot extract, containing both polyphenolic acids and flavonoids, demonstrated a slightly greater antioxidant potential in some of the anti-radical tests than the roots. However, the root extract proved to be slightly more effective in the lipid peroxidation inhibition test. Thus, S. bulleyana was demonstrated as a promising source of antioxidants, and worthy of further more detailed studies.

Estimation of antioxidative potential of thyme (Thymus alpestris L.)

Family Lamiaceae (labia) includes a large number of cosmopolitan speciesincluding Thymus alpestris (Thyme) characterized by the presence of essential oilsand phenolic compounds. It represents a perennial semi-shrubby plant. Theantioxidant potential of thyme is due to the presence of polyphenolic acids andflavonoids. The topic of this paper is the extraction of thyme (Thymus alpestris)with 40% ethanol and 50% ethanol, using Soxhlet method (circulatoryextraction), after which, the content of phenolics and flavonoids was determinedin order to confirm the antioxidant potential of this plant species. The resultsshow that 40% ethanol extract has the highest content of phenolics andflavonoids and the highest antioxidant potential, resultingly.

Antioxidant Components and Antioxidant Activities of Hydroglyceroalcoholic Extract from Fresh Mushroom Mycelium

The in vitro antioxidant activity, as well as the hydroglyceroalcoholic extracts main active components from mycelia of Pleurotus ostreatus and Coprinus comatus, were determined. The mycelium submitted for extraction was obtained by submerged cultivation in a bioreactor. The hydroglyceroalcoholic extracts, in particular, those of P. ostreatus PSI101109 and PQMZ91109 mycelium had a considerable antioxidant activity, and was compared to the overall constituent of flavonoids plus phenolic compounds. According to the extracts HPLC assessment, the key phenolic acid evident from the extracts was gentisic acid. The homogentisic, gallic and protocatechuic acids were also determined. Catechin was identified as well, except for C. comatus M8102 and P. ostreatus PBS281009 mycelia extracts. Since catechol and gentisic acid levels were high, respectively, there was a correlation with the absence of carotenoid compounds in hydroglyceroalcoholic extracts (P. ostreatus PSI101109). There is a correspondence between the hydroglyceroalcoholic extracts� key antioxidant activities with the catechin and polyphenolic acids levels identified in each extract.