title: Castanea spp. buds as a phytochemical source for herbal preparations: botanical fingerprint for nutraceutical identification and functional food standardisation.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Many plant species may be used for the production of herbal preparations containing phytochemicals with significant antioxidant and anti-inflammatory capacities and health benefits: Castanea spp. is among the most commonly used herbal medicines. The aim of this research was to perform an analytical study of chestnut bud preparations, in order to identify and quantify the main bioactive compounds, and to obtain a specific chemical fingerprint to evaluate the single class contribution to the herbal preparation phytocomplex. The analyses were performed using a high-performance liquid chromatograph coupled to a diode array detector.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Castanea spp. was identified as a rich source of anti-inflammatory and antioxidant compounds: the observed analytical fingerprint demonstrated that these bud preparations represent a rich source of bioactive compounds (104.77 ± 1.14 g kg(-1) FW) in relation to different genotypes, specific sampling sites and several phenological stages.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  This study showed that the observed analytical fingerprint can be considered an important tool for assessing the chemical composition and bioactivities of the chestnut-derived products, considering the Castanea genus as a new source of natural health-promoting compounds. This study allowed the development of an effective tool for quality control by fingerprinting the bud preparation in order to develop a new generation of standardised preparations.
authors.affiliation: Dipartimento di Scienze Agrarie, Forestali e Alimentari, Università degli Studi di Torino, Via Leonardo da Vinci 44, 10095 -, Grugliasco (TO), Italy.
authors.forename: Dario
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Donno
authors.forename: Gabriele Loris
authors.initials: GL
authors.lastname: Beccaro
authors.forename: Maria Gabriella
authors.initials: MG
authors.lastname: Mellano
authors.forename: Luca
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Bonvegna
authors.forename: Giancarlo
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Bounous
mesh_terms: D019587:Dietary Supplements / Q000032:analysis*; D005504:Food Analysis; D055951:Functional Food / Q000032:analysis*; D019684:Magnoliopsida / Q000737:chemistry*; D010936:Plant Extracts / Q000737:chemistry*
chemical_list: D010936:Plant Extracts
keywords: HPLC; bioactive compounds; bud preparations; chestnut; quality control