Apple juice is rich in phenolic compounds that are important as natural antioxidants. In turn, blue honeysuckle berry juice is a valuable source of bioactive ingredients and can be an interesting and beneficial supplement to fruit juices. The aim of this study was to examine the physicochemical and sensory properties of the newly designed mixture of apple juice and blue honeysuckle berry juice. The addition of blue honeysuckle berry juice to apple juice had a significant effect on the content of anthocyanin and vitamin C in the newly designed fruit juices. After production, the content of anthocyanins and polyphenols in the blue honeysuckle berry juice was high (595.39 and 767.88 mg/100 mL, respectively). As the concentration of blue honeysuckle berry juice added to apple juice was increased, the polyphenol content also increased. The juices analyzed after 4 months of storage were lighter and showed a less intense red color than the juices analyzed directly after production. Antioxidant activity (ABTS assay) in the apple juice mixed with 10% blueberry juice was almost 3 times higher than the pure apple juice after 3 months of storage; the addition of 30% blueberry juice significantly increased the antioxidant activity of the apple juice. Thus, the results of this research have expanded the existing knowledge about the health and sensory properties of apple juice mixed with blue honeysuckle berry juice. These findings can be utilized in further research aiming at the development of new products that can meet consumer expectations.

The aim of the present study was to determine the antioxidant and antimicrobial properties in freeze-dried extracts of rose fruits (Rosa rugosa) obtained using various extraction techniques and to determine the effect of a selected extract on bacterial survival in model fluids imitating protein food. Ethanolic extracts from rose fruits showed higher antioxidant activity compared to other tested extracts. The rose fruits aqueous extract showed the highest inhibitory activity against most of the 10 bacterial strains tested. From the group of Gram-positive bacteria, the Bacillus cereus strain proved to be the most sensitive to the action of the rose extract. From the Gram-negative bacteria: Escherichia coli and Klebsiella pneumoniae were the most sensitive. The reduction in the number of bacterial cells in matrices imitating protein food depended on the concentration of the aqueous extract used. However, at none of the concentrations used was a complete inhibition of bacterial growth observed. We have confirmed that the traditional extraction and freeze-drying of rose fruits is still suitable for the food industry due to obtaining extracts with good antibacterial and antioxidant properties and the use of bio-solvents, such as water or ethanol, which are easily available in high purity and completely biodegradable.

Normally, plant phenolics are secondary metabolites involved in the defense mechanisms of plants against fungal pathogens. Therefore, in this study we attempted to quantify and characterize phenolic compounds in leaves of white and red horse chestnut with leaf miner larvae before and after Cameraria ohridella attack. A total of 17 phenolic compounds belonging to the hydroxycinnamic acid, flavan-3-ols and flavonol groups were identified and quantified in white and red horse chestnut leaf extracts. Significantly decreased concentrations of some phenolic compounds, especially of flavan-3-ols, were observed in infected leaves compared to the non-infected ones. Additionally, a higher content of polyphenolic compounds especially (−)-epicatechin and procyanidins in leaves of red-flowering than in white-flowering horse chestnut may explain their greater resistance to C. ohridella insects.

In this study, we aimed to investigate the effect of processing methods and storage time on selected parameters of quality in the purees of blue honeysuckle berries. We investigated the content of bioactive compounds such as anthocyanins, L-ascorbic acid, and total polyphenols (TPs). We tested four processing methods and two varieties of blue honeysuckle berry (Lonicera caerulea L.var. Sineglaska and Volshebnica). The purees were analyzed immediately after production, and after two and four months of storage at 20 °C without exposure to light. According to our results, thermal treatment of the fruits for 5 min resulted in obtaining purees with a higher content of anthocyanins and TPs, but lower content of L-ascorbic acid. However, sieving fruits that were not thermally treated resulted in a higher content of L-ascorbic acid. Furthermore, purees prepared from the fruits of the Volshebnica cultivar were richer in bioactive compounds than that of purees prepared from the Sineglaska cultivar. In addition, the content of anthocyanins, L-ascorbic acid, and TPs decreased with storage time.

HTST (high-temperature short-time) pasteurization and UHT (ultra-high-temperature) sterilization are techniques commonly used in the dairy industry. Although the use of these methods in fruit and vegetable processing is also well known, the multitude of diverse food matrices determines the need to test and adjust process parameters in order to obtain the best quality of the final product. HTST and UHT are methods that provide effective inactivation of microorganisms and enzymes. Despite the fact that UHT and HTST are thermal processes that cause degradation of bioactive ingredients or color change, in many cases, these two methods are superior to traditional pasteurization, which uses significantly longer exposures to high temperatures. Therefore, this article aims to review the effect of HTST and UHT processing on the quality of juices, nectars and beverages, taking into consideration the quality characteristics, like the presence of microorganisms, pH, titratable acidity, total soluble solids, turbidity, color parameters, contents of bioactive components, antioxidant activity, enzymatic activity and volatile compounds. The impacts of HTST and UHT methods on various food products are discussed, including the food matrix, preservation parameters and the mechanism of interaction. The ability to modify the processing parameters can allow for the selection of adequate preservation parameters for individual products and better results than other unconventional methods, such as HPP (high-pressure processing) or PEF (pulsed electric field). Based on the cited literature, it can be concluded that pH, titratable acidity and TSS most often experience slight changes. As for the other parameters considered, it is extremely important to choose the right temperature and duration for a specific food matrix.