In this study, the total phenolic, total flavonoids, phenolic compounds, the mineral content, and antioxidant activity of fruit extracts of seven wild species (Crataegus monogyna Jacq., Prunus spinosa L., Rosa canina L., Hippophaë rhamnoides L., Rubus fruticosus L., Prunus padus, Cornus mas L.) were investigated. The results indicated significant differences (p < 0.05) in the total phenolics and total flavonoids content, between the seven analyzed species. These ranged from 184.69 to 727.29 mg GAE/100 g FW and 17.27 to –165.55 mg QE/100 g FW, respectively. The antioxidant activity found in fruits was not directly affected by the total phenolic content (TPC). This activity was linked to a larger extent to the type of individual phenolic compounds and to a lesser extent to the TPC, because fruits with higher TPC have not always presented the highest values of antioxidant activity. HPLC analysis of methanolic extract showed the presence of phenolic acids (i.e. gallic, vanillic, chlorogenic, caffeic, syringic, p-coumaric, ferulic, sinapic, salycilic, elagic, and trans-cinnamic) and flavonoids (i.e. catechin, epicatechin, rutin, myricetin, and quercetin). Significant differences (p < 0.05) were observed in each individual mineral between fruits from wild flora. The fruits tissues of wild species turned out to be a good source of calcium (Ca), magnesium (Mg), sodium (Na), iron (Fe), manganese (Mn), copper (Cu), chromium (Cr), zinc (Zn), and boron (B). The results demonstrated that wild species possessed great potential for food production as sources of bioactive compounds such as phenolic compounds and minerals, for food supplements or functional foods.

This research investigated the nutritional and antioxidant composition of tomato processing waste with the aim to enable the development of new alternatives for the recycling of this by-product. The samples of dried tomato waste were found to contain 176.2 g/kg protein, 21.9 g/kg fat, 524.4 g/kg crude fiber and 42.1 g/kg ash. The essential amino acids represented 34.2% of total protein, the most abundant being leucine, followed by lysine and isoleucine. Unsaturated fatty acids represent 77.04% of the total fatty acids, linoleic being the major one. The results confirmed that dried tomato wastes contain considerable amounts of lycopene (510.6 mg/kg) and β-carotene (95.6 mg/kg) and exhibited good antioxidant properties. Total phenolics showed average contents of 1229.5 mg GAE/kg, of which flavonoids accounted for 415.3 mg QE/kg. Ellagic and chlorogenic acids were the most abundant phenolic acids while among flavonoids only rutin and myricetin were quantified.

Fruits is a scientific journal for original articles and reviews on fruit crops in temperate, Mediterranean, subtropical and tropical regions

In the present work, four of the most widely used culinary herbs (parsley, dill, lovage and celery leaves) in the Romanian traditional cuisine were assessed for some nutritional quality parameters (moisture content, titratable acidity, ascorbic acid content and mineral content), total phenolics content, total flavonoids content and antioxidant activity by 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) radical scavenging assay. In addition, high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) coupled with diode-array detection was applied for the identification and quantification of some individual phenolic compounds in the selected aromatic herbs. Although parsley showed the highest ascorbic acid content (206.32 mg/100 g fw), it registered the lowest antioxidant activity. Fresh lovage recorded the highest total phenolic content (577.04 mg GAE/100 g), total flavonoids content (298.38 mg QE/100 g) and antioxidant activity, followed by dill and celery leaves. Among the identified phenolic acids, ellagic acid was predominant in lovage and celery leaves whereas sinapic and vanillic acids were prevalent in dill. Among flavonoids, myricetin was predominant in parsley and celery leaves whereas rutin was predominant in dill and lovage.

In this study, various vegetable oils were enriched with carotenoids originating from dry tomato waste using ultrasound-assisted extraction, microwave-assisted extraction and maceration. Analyses of total carotenoids, color and oxidative stability (determined by free radical scavenger activity, peroxide value, Rancimat method and DSC analysis) were carried out. Commercial oils without enrichment were used for comparison. The results showed that the carotenoid contents of the oils increased significantly by increasing incorporation of dry tomato waste. Also, maceration proved to extract significantly higher amounts of these compounds. In some oils the extraction of dry tomato waste improved their oxidative and thermal stability while in others it caused an increase in the peroxide value and a decrease in induction time. Finally, the color parameters of the oils were significantly influenced. Enriched oils could be a potential source of bioactive compounds and might have significant antioxidant activity when ingested as part of a dietary regime.