Phenolic compounds, especially phenolic acids (PAs), are believed to be one of the major contributors to the antioxidant activity of cereal grains. This study determined and compared phenolic concentration, radical scavenging activities, individual PA concentrations of emmer cultivars, and breeding lines to common wheat in a three-year controlled field experiment under organic management. It was found that common wheat had the highest ability to scavenge DPPH radicals (51.7%), followed by emmer Farvento (35.4%). DPPH scavenging activity of bound phenolic extracts was higher compared to free ones. Total phenolic concentration was the highest for common wheat (1902.6 µg FAE g⁻¹ DM) compared to the highest level of all emmer cultivars—Farvento (1668.3 µg FAE g⁻¹ DM). The highest PAs concentration was determined for emmer Farvento (431.3 µg g⁻¹ DM) and breeding line PN 4-41 (424.5 µg g⁻¹ DM). Free PAs concentration was the lowest for common wheat (29.5 µg g⁻¹ DM). The dominant free PA was ferulic (66.3%), followed by syringic (11.7%), sinapic (7.4%), p-hydroxybenzoic (5.3%), salicylic (3.8%), p-coumaric (3.6%), and caffeic (2.1%). Bound ferulic acid accounted for 94.0% of total bound PAs, followed by p-coumaric (2.8%), p-hydroxybenzoic (0.8%), syringic (0.8%), caffeic (0.6%), sinapic (0.6%), and salicylic (0.4%). Emmer cultivar Farvento was distinguished by the highest concentration of individual free and bound forms of PAs. Effect of growing year was more evident on the concentration of free PAs compared to bound PAs. Extremely dry and hot weather during maturity stages has a negative impact on analysed free and bound PAs.

Sarcopoterium spinosum (L.) is a medicinal plant traditionally used for the treatment of various diseases including cancer in the Near- and Middle East. The fractions and constituents of the ethanol extract of S. spinosum were screened for in vitro cytotoxic activities on Jurkat (acute T-lymphoblastic leukemia), HeLa (cervical adenocarcinoma), MCF-7 (mammary gland adenocarcinoma), Caco-2 (human colorectal adenocarcinoma), and MDA-MB-231 (mammary gland adenocarcinoma) cell lines using the MTT (3-(dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide) assay. The ethanol extract was subsequently re-extracted with ethyl acetate and in its sub-fraction obtained by column chromatography three compounds (stachydrine, benzalkonium chloride and rutine) were the first time identified by nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) analyses. The most active subfraction showed cytotoxic activity against HeLa, MCF-7, and Caco-2 cell lines. The three compounds mentioned, as standards of high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) quality, were studied individually and in combination. Cytotoxic activity observed might be due to the presence of benzalkonium chloride and rutin. Benzalkonium chloride showed the strongest growth suppression effect against HeLa cells (IC₅₀ 8.10⁻⁷ M) and MCF-7 cells (IC₅₀ 5.10⁻⁶ M). The mixture of stachydrine and benzalkonium chloride allowed a synergistic cytotoxic effect against all tested cancer and normal cells to be obtained. Anti-cancer activity of the plant extract of S. spinosum remains under-investigated, so this research describes how the three major compounds identified in the ethyl acetate extract can exert a significant dose dependent in vitro cytotoxicity.

The aims of this study were to evaluate and compare the radical scavenging activities (DPPH), phenolic concentrations and concentrations of selected phenolic acids (PAs) of spelt cultivars and breeding lines with common wheat in a three-year controlled field experiment under conditions of organic farming. No significant variations were observed in the total and free DPPH of Altgold, Ebners Rotkorn, Ostro and PN-1-36 with common wheat. The total DPPH ranged from 52.13% to the lowest value of 44.01% in Franckenkorn. Total, free and bound phenolic concentrations were the highest for common wheat (1902.55 µg FAE g⁻¹ DM of total), while all spelt cultivars achieved significantly lower values (from 1434.94 µg FAE g⁻¹ DM in Franckenkorn to 1650.22 µg FAE g⁻¹ DM in Ebners Rotkorn). Bound phenolic compounds represented 86.3% of the total ones. An extremely dry and warm ripening period had a negative impact on the synthesis of phenolic compounds. The highest concentration of total PAs was observed in spelt Ebners Rotkorn (681.75 µg g⁻¹ DM) and the lowest in common wheat (396.05 µg g⁻¹ DM). The total share of free and bound PAs was 5.7% and 74.8%, respectively. The extremely dry and very warm grain filling period had a more evident negative impact on the concentration of free PAs compared to bound forms. The dominant free PA was ferulic (70.48%), followed by syringic (9.30%), p-HBA (5.59%), sinapic acid (5.40%), salicylic (4.18%), p-coumaric acid (3.22%) and caffeic acid (1.93%). Spelt cultivar Ebners Rotkorn was distinguished by the highest concentration of free and bound forms of PAs.