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Representatives of the Prunus genera, found in almost every country and continent, have been recognized not only for their delicious fruits and nuts, but also because of their beneficial properties. To date, numerous cultivars have been phytochemically studied, leading to the identification of various compounds including terpenes, tannins, flavonoids, phenolic acids, carotenoids, fatty acids, and so on. Pharmacological studies on Prunus species have also revealed a variety of bioactive potentials including antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, hypolipidemic, antidiabetic, brain protecting, and other evidence based uses. This review covers articles, retrieved from scientific databases, using “Prunus” as search term (“all fields”) and with a specific time frame set for search. Information about Prunus amygdalus, Prunus armeniaca, Prunus cerasifera, Prunus persica, Prunus domestica, Prunus avium, and Prunus cerasus was selected and summarized giving information about their ethnopharmacological uses, isolated phytochemicals, and pharmacological activities., Представители на род Prunus могат да бъдат открити в почти всяка страна и континент. Те са признати не само заради вкусните си плодове и ядки, но и заради полезните си свойства. Към днешна дата многобройни сортове са фитохимично проучени, което е довело до идентифицирането на различни съединения, включително терпени, танини, флавоноиди, фенолни киселини, каротеноиди, мастни киселини и др. Фармакологичните проучвания върху видовете Prunus разкриват различни биоактивни потенциали, включително антиоксидантни, противовъзпалителни, хиполипидемични, антидиабетни, предпазващи мозъка и други приложения, базирани на научни доказателства. Този обзор обхваща статии, извлечени от научни бази данни, използващи „Prunus“ като термин за търсене („всички полета“) и със специфична времева рамка, зададена за търсене. Подбрана и обобщена е информация за Prunus amygdalus, Prunus armeniaca, Prunus cerasifera, Prunus persica, Prunus domestica, Prunus avium и Prunus cerasus, давайки информация за техните етнофармакологични употреби, изолирани фитохимикали и фармакологични дейности.

In the present study the carbohydrate content of aqueous extracts of fresh Portulaca oleracea leaves and stems was assessed in details for the first time. The total phenolic content was appraised and the antioxidant capacity of the obtained by different extraction procedures extracts was evaluated as well. To determine the antioxidant activities of the extracts, several complementary tests were used. The leaves extracts showed the higher results in accordance with the DPPH and the FRAP assays. The present study revealed that the leaves are rich in polyphenolics, and due to the established carbohydrate constituents in both leaves and stems the plant extracts can be used as a natural source of antioxidants in culinary and as ingredient with nutritional value.

BACKGROUND: Carotenoids, vitamins (A, B2, C and E) and total folate are related to health promotion. However, there are still many food matrices for which the content of these compounds is not available. In order to fill this gap, traditional foods from Black Sea Area countries (BSAC) were analysed in order to investigate their potential health benefits. RESULTS: The most abundant carotenoid was β-carotene. Plum jam was the sample with the highest β-carotene content (608 μg 100 g−1 edible portion). The group of vegetables and vegetable-based foods contributed most to β-carotene content. Evergreen cherry laurel presented the highest L-ascorbic acid content (29.9 mg 100 g−1 edible portion), while the highest riboflavin and total folate contents were found for roasted sunflower seeds. Approximately 61% of the analysed samples showed quantifiable amounts of α-tocopherol but did not contain retinol. CONCLUSION: Despite the great variability in the content of carotenoids, vitamins and total folate, most of the analysed traditional foods from BSAC can be considered good sources of these compounds. Therefore, owing to their putative health benefits, the consumption of those with higher contents of these compounds should be encouraged and promoted. The research leading to these results received funding from the European Community’s Seven Framework Programme (FP7/2007-2013) under grant agreement n.º 227118.