The international tendency for growing and production of small fruits shows a permanent increasing. Bulgaria is a traditional important producer of small berries in Europe. A large variety of small fruit products are wide spread and typical for Bulgarian nutriment. Aside with the growing demand in production of small fruit, there is an obvious tendency in food quality, breeding and technology requirements improvement. Breeding purposes comprise improvement of many traits, but selection of disease resistant cultivars, with higher yield and improved consumers properties such as fruit color, shape, smell and transportation ability are among the most important tasks. Recent progress in molecular analyses and agriculture biotechnologies has enormous impact on selection, technology, testing, preservation and processing of agricultural products. Metabolomics assay as a new dimension in these studies and practice focuses the attention on the biochemical contents of cells and tissues, and has a rapidly growing significance in knowledge of small fruits value for human health. Berry fruits are very rich sources of bioactive compounds as phenolics and organic acid. Bioactive berry compounds, their characterization and utilization in functional foods and clinical assessment of antimicrobial properties for human health are among the major targets of contemporary research. Phenolic compounds in berries inhibit the growth of range of human pathogens. Especially raspberry, strawberry, cranberry, crowberries showed evidence of antimicrobial effects against bacterial pathogens as Salmonella and Staphylococcus. The evaluation of small fruit genetic resources for the presence of bioactive compounds and their properties as natural agents is of doubtless significance and will be with great benefit for breeders, food and pharmaceutical industry.

Wild berry species are known to exhibit a wide range of pharmacological activities. They have long been traditionally applied for their antiseptic, antimicrobial, cardioprotective and antioxidant properties. The aim of the present study is to reveal the potential for selective antiviral activity of total methanol extracts, as well as that of the anthocyanins and the non-anthocyanins from the following wild berries picked in Bulgaria: strawberry (Fragaria vesca L.) and raspberry (Rubus idaeus L.) of the Rosaceae plant family, and bilberry (Vaccinium myrtillis L.) and lingonberry (Vaccinium vitis-idaea L) of the Ericaceae. The antiviral effect has been tested against viruses that are important human pathogens and for which chemotherapy and/or chemoprophylaxis is indicated, namely poliovirus type 1 (PV-1) and coxsackievirus B1 (CV-B1) from the Picornaviridae virus family, human respiratory syncytial virus A2 (HRSV-A2) from the Paramyxoviridae and influenza virus A/H3N2 of Orthomyxoviridae. Wild berry fruits are freeze-dried and ground, then total methanol extracts are prepared. Further the extracts are fractioned by solid phase extraction and the non-anthocyanin and anthocyanin fractions are eluted. The in vitro antiviral effect is examined by the virus cytopathic effect (CPE) inhibition test. The results reveal that the total extracts of all tested berry fruits inhibit the replication of CV-B1 and influenza A virus. CV-B1 is inhibited to the highest degree by both bilberry and strawberry, as well as by lingonberry total extracts, and influenza A by bilberry and strawberry extracts. Anthocyanin fractions of all wild berries strongly inhibit the replication of influenza virus A/H3N2. Given the obtained results it is concluded that wild berry species are a valuable resource of antiviral substances and the present study should serve as a basis for further detailed research on the matter.

ABTRACTOver the past 10 years, researchers have become increasingly interested in polyphenols. The main reason for this interest is the recognition of the antioxidant properties of polyphenols, their great abundance in our diet, and their probable role in the prevention of various diseases associated with oxidative stress, such as cancer, cardiovascular and neurodegenerative diseases (51). Furthermore, polyphenols, which constitute the active substances found in many plants, modulate the activity of a wide range of enzymes and cell receptors (1). In this way, in addition to having antioxidant properties, polyphenols have several other specific biological actions that are poorly understood.Not all polyphenols are absorbed with equal efficiency. Knowledge of the bioavailability and metabolism of the various polyphenols is necessary in order to evaluate their biological activity within target tissues. The types and distribution of polyphenols in foods and the bioavailability of polyphenols are the topics of ...