Search

Cucurbita genus has received a renowned interest in the last years. This plant species, native to the Americas, has served worldwide folk medicine for treating gastrointestinal diseases and intestinal parasites, among other clinical conditions. These pharmacological effects have been increasingly correlated with their nutritional and phytochemical composition. Among those chemical constituents, carotenoids, tocopherols, phenols, terpenoids, saponins, sterols, fatty acids, and functional carbohydrates and polysaccharides are those occurring in higher abundance. However, more recently, a huge interest in a class of triterpenoids, cucurbitacins, has been stated, given its renowned biological attributes. In this sense, the present review aims to provide a detailed overview to the folk medicinal uses of Cucurbita plants, and even an in-depth insight on the latest advances with regards to its antimicrobial, antioxidant and anticancer effects. A special emphasis was also given to its clinical effectiveness in humans, specifically in blood glucose levels control in diabetic patients and pharmacotherapeutic effects in low urinary tract diseases.

Tagetes (marigold) is native to America, and its cultivation currently extends to other countries in Africa, Asia, and Europe. Many species of this genus, such as T. minuta, T. erecta, T. patula, and T. tenuifolia, are cultivated as ornamental plants and studied for their medicinal properties on the basis of their use in folk medicine. Different parts of the Tagetes species are used as remedies to treat various health problems, including dental, stomach, intestinal, emotional, and nervous disorders, as well as muscular pain, across the world. Furthermore, these plants are studied in the field of agriculture for their fungicidal, bactericidal, and insecticidal activities. The phytochemical composition of the extracts of different Tagetes species parts are reported in this work. These compounds exhibit antioxidant, antiinflammatory, and enzyme inhibitory properties. Cultivation and the factors affecting the chemical composition of Tagetes species are also covered. In the current work, available literature on Tagetes species in traditional medicine, their application as a food preservative, and their antimicrobial activities are reviewed.

Nettles (genus Urtica, family Urticaceae) are of considerable interest as preservatives in foods for both human and animal consumption. They have also been used for centuries in traditional medicine. This paper reviews the properties of nettles that make them suitable for wider applications in the food and pharmaceutical industries. Nettles contain a significant number of biologically-active compounds. For example, the leaves are rich sources of terpenoids, carotenoids and fatty acids, as well as of various essential amino acids, chlorophyll, vitamins, tannins, carbohydrates, sterols, polysaccharides, isolectins and minerals. Extracts from the aerial parts of nettles are rich sources of polyphenols, while the roots contain oleanol acid, sterols and steryl glycosides. Due to the variety of phytochemicals and their proportions they contain, nettles show noticeable activity against both Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria. These properties make nettles suitable for a range of possible applications, including functional food, dietary supplements and pharmacological formulations. Despite these benefits, the nettle is still an underestimated plant source. This paper provides a unique overview of the latest research on nettle plants focusing on the possibilities for transforming a common weed into a commercial plant with a wide range of applications. Special attention is paid to the antimicrobial activity of the active compounds in nettles and to possible uses of these valuable plants in food and feed formulations.

The objective of this study was to develop a method for the thermally-assisted acidic hydrolysis of waste biomass from the sugar industry (sugar beet pulp and leaves) for chemical and biotechnological purposes. The distillates, containing furfural, can be catalytically reduced directly into furfurayl alcohol or tetrahydrofurfuryl alcohol. The sugars present in the hydrolysates can be converted by lactic bacteria into lactic acid, which, by catalytic reduction, leads to propylene glycol. The sugars may also be utilized by microorganisms in the process of cell proliferation, and the biomass obtained used as a protein supplement in animal feed. Our study also considered the effects of the mode and length of preservation (fresh, ensilage, and drying) on the yields of furfural and monosaccharides. The yield of furfural in the distillates was measured using gas chromatography with flame ionization detector (GC-FID). The content of monosaccharides in the hydrolysates was measured spectrophotometrically using enzymatic kits. Biomass preserved under all tested conditions produced high yields of furfural, comparable to those for fresh material. Long-term storage of ensiled waste biomass did not result in loss of furfural productivity. However, there were significant reductions in the amounts of monosaccharides in the hydrolysates.

The aim of the study was to identify and quantitatively assess of carotenoids and isoprenoid quinones biosynthesized by six different strains of acetic acid bacteria, belonging to genus Asaia, that are common beverage-spoiling bacteria in Europe. Bacterial cultures were conducted in a laboratory liquid culture minimal medium with 2% sucrose. Carotenoids and isoprenoid quinones were investigated using UHPLC-DAD-ESI-MS analysis. In general, tested strains of Asaia spp. were able to produce 10 carotenoids and 3 isoprenoid quinones: menaquinone-7, menaquinone-8, and ubiquinone-10. The main identified carotenoids in Asaia lannensis strains were phytofluene, neurosporene, α-carotene, while for Asaia bogorensis, neurosporene, canthaxanthin, and zeaxanthin were noted. What is more, tested Asaia spp. were able to produce myxoxanthophyll, which has so far been identified primarily in cyanobacteria. The results show that A. lannensis are characterized by statistically higher concentrations of produced carotenoids, as well as a greater variety of these compounds. We have noted that carotenoids were not only accumulated by bacterial cells, but also some strains of A. lannensis produced extracellular carotenoids.

The aim of the study was to evaluate antioxidant activity and total phenolic content of juice from three different types of fruits: elderberry (Sambucus nigra), lingonberry (Vaccinium vitis-idaea) and cornelian cherry (Cornus mas), and their action against adhesion of bacterial strains of Asaia lannensis and Asaia bogorensis isolated from spoiled soft drinks. The antioxidant profiles were determined by total antioxidant capacity (2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl, DPPH), and ferric-reducing antioxidant power (FRAP). Additionally, total polyphenol content (TPC) was investigated. Chemical compositions of juices were tested using the chromatographic techniques: high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) and liquid chromatography–mass spectrometry (LC-MS). Adhesion properties of Asaia spp. cells to various abiotic materials were evaluated by luminometry, plate count and fluorescence microscopy. Antioxidant activity of fruit juices expressed as inhibitory concentration (IC50) ranged from 0.042 ± 0.001 (cornelian cherry) to 0.021 ± 0.001 g/mL (elderberry). TPC ranged from 8.02 ± 0.027 (elderberry) to 2.33 ± 0.013 mg/mL (cornelian cherry). Cyanidin-3-sambubioside-5-glucoside, cyanidin-3-glucoside, and cyanidin-3-sambubioside were detected as the major anthocyanins and caffeic, cinnamic, gallic, protocatechuic, and p-coumaric acids as the major phenolic acids. A significant linear correlation was noted between TPC and antioxidant capacity. In the presence of fruit juices a significant decrease of bacterial adhesion from 74% (elderberry) to 67% (lingonberry) was observed. The high phenolic content indicated that these compounds may contribute to the reduction of Asaia spp. adhesion.