Chemical profile and biological activity of tart cherry twigs: Possibilities of plant waste utilization

Abstract

© 2018 National Agricultural and Food Centre (Slovakia). Fruits of Prunus cerasus L. (tart cherry) represent a significant source of health beneficial compounds and have been widely used in food industry. Despite that, other plant parts, such as twigs, have not been investigated. Aim of this study was to investigate chemical profile of twig extracts prepared from plant material of three cultivars. Twig extracts were prepared using maceration and Soxhlet extraction approaches, and investigated regarding phenolics (5.85–14.80 mg·l-1) and saccharides (123.38–339.46 g·l-1) concentrations using high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) analysis. Total phenolics (99.34–139.77 g·kg-1), flavonoids (14.18–42.88 g·kg-1), anthocyanins (76.71–84.97 g·kg-1), condensed tannins (52.65–79.76 g·kg-1) and gallotannins (19.03–37.23 g·kg-1) contents were determined using spectrophotometric analysis. Biological activity was investigated using four antioxidant assays (total antioxidant capacity, 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) assay, lipid peroxidation assay and hydroxyl radical-scavenging activity). Cytotoxic activity was assessed on three different cell lines (Hep2c, RD and L2OB), while antimicrobial activity was established on 15 bacterial strains. Obtained results confirmed the presence of health beneficial compounds in twigs and indicated the possibility of utilization as a secondary source of those compounds.