Five Korean blueberries (’’Nelson’’, ’’Duke ’’, ’’Bluejay ’’, ’’Toro’’, and ’’Elliot ’’) were harvested at two maturity stages (unripe and ripe) to evaluate fruit quality and antioxidant activities. The Hunter L, a, and b color of ripe blueberries was lower than that of unripe fruit. Soluble solid concentration (SSC) and pH increased, and titratable acidity (TA) and firmness decreased as the blueberries matured. The ripe blueberry fruits showed a higher SSC/TA ratio than the unripe fruits. Although total anthocyanin, flavonoids, phenolics content, and antioxidant activity were higher in ripe blueberries than in unripe fruit, the unripe fruit had higher acetylcholinesterase (AChE) and butyrylcholinesterase (BChE) inhibition activities than ripe fruit in all cultivars. Total antioxidant activity was highly correlated with total flavonoids and phenolics. The relationships between the total antioxidant activity and the AChE or BChE inhibitory activity are negative. There were several physicochemical quality and antioxidant activity differences in blueberries, depending on the cultivar and the maturity at harvest. Unripe fruits also contain potential health-promoting bioactive compounds as functional food ingredients.

Although various physiological activities of compounds obtained from Paeonia lactiflora have been reported, the effects of P. lactiflora extract (PLE) on early atherosclerosis remain unclear. Therefore, in this study, we investigated the in vitro and in vivo antiatherosclerosis and in vitro antioxidant effects of PLE and its compounds. PLE suppresses the tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α-induced capacity of THP-1 cells to adhere to human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs), vascular cell adhesion molecule (VCAM)-1 expression, and nuclear factor kappa-light-chain-enhancer of activated B cells (NF-κB) signaling in HUVECs. PLE also suppresses TNF-α-induced nuclear translocation of NF-κB p65 from cytosol as well as the enhanced TNFA and C-C motif chemokine ligand 2 (CCL2) mRNA expression in HUVECs. We identified and quantified the following PLE compounds using high-performance liquid chromatography with diode array detection: methyl gallate, oxypaeoniflorin, catechin, albiflorin, paeoniflorin, benzoic acid, benzoylpaeoniflorin, and paeonol. Among these, methyl gallate had the strongest inhibitory effect on monocyte adherence to TNF-α-induced HUVECs and the VCAM-1 expression. Reverse transcriptase real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction showed that PLE compounds had a dissimilar inhibition effect on TNF-α-induced mRNA expression levels of CCL2, TNFA, and IL6 in HUVECs. Except for paeonol, the compounds inhibited lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced reactive oxygen species production in RAW264.7 cells. In vivo, oral administration of PLE improved TNF-α-induced macrophage infiltration to the vascular endothelium and expression of VCAM-1, as well as IL6 and TNFA gene expression in the main artery of mice. PLE could be useful as a nutraceutical material against early atherosclerosis via the combined effects of its components.

Onions are typically consumed as the bulb, but the peel and root are discarded as by-products during processing. This study investigated the potential functional use of these by-products by analyzing the polyphenols, antioxidant compounds, and antioxidant activity contained in onions. In this study, the bulb, peel, and root of five onion cultivars (‘Tank’, ‘Bomul’, ‘Gujji’ ‘Cobra’, and ‘Hongbanjang’) harvested in Korea were investigated. Caffeic acid and quercetin were most abundant in the peel, whereas methyl gallate was the predominant polyphenol in the bulb. Both DPPH and ABTS radical scavenging activity were higher in onion peel and root than in the bulb. These findings suggest that onion peel and roots, which are often discarded, have abundant antioxidant substances and excellent antioxidant activity. This study provides basic data for the future use of onion peel and roots as functional ingredients with high added value.

The present study investigated the fruits of aronia (Aronia melanocarpa) across different stages of maturity and analyzed their physicochemical properties, antioxidant compositions, and activities. The selected aronia cultivars (‘Viking’, ‘McKenzie’, and ‘Kingstar K1’ were categorized based on maturity into the immature stage (red tip), intermediary stage (red), and mature stage (dark purple). The key sugar components of aronia fruits were fructose, glucose, and sorbitol, while the main organic acid was found to be malic acid. The antioxidant content and activity of all three aronia cultivars showed significantly higher values for the red tip stage than the red or dark purple stages. However, the total anthocyanin content of aronia was the highest at the dark purple stage in three cultivars. The main polyphenols in aronia fruits were found to be catechol and chlorogenic acid, with a decreasing tendency as maturation progressed. As a result, the red tip stage of aronia fruits contains comparatively more abundant flavonoids, phenolic compounds and polyphenols than the dark purple stage, with higher antioxidant activity.

Sesame (Sesamum indicum L.) is a plant that belongs to the Pedaliaceae family which was first classified as a food source around 4000 years ago. Lignans (sesamin, sesamolin, sesamol, and sesaminol) present in sesame are the primary functional compounds that impart important health benefits. However, very little information is available on the lignan intake from sesame seeds and sesame oil products. Sesame oil is frequently and highly consumed in Korea and therefore is one of the important lignan intake sources due to the food eating habits of Koreans. Herein, we studied the distribution of lignans in sesame seeds (n = 21) and oil (n = 34) to estimate the daily lignan intake by the Korean population. High-performance liquid chromatography, in conjunction with statistical analysis, was used to determine the lignan content of seeds and oil. The estimated daily intake of total lignans from sesame seeds and oil, as estimated from the available domestic consumption data (Korea Nutrition and Health Examination Survey), is 18.39 mg/person/day for males and 13.26 mg/person/day for females. The contributions of lignan intake from sesame seeds and oil are 23.0% and 77.0%, respectively. This study provides preliminary information on lignan intake from sesame seeds and oil in the Korean population.