title: Castanea sativa Mill. Flowers amongst the most powerful antioxidant matrices: a phytochemical approach in decoctions and infusions.
abstract: Infusions and decoction of chestnut tree flowers have been used for different medical purposes, but their phytochemical profile and antioxidant activity are still mostly unknown. Herein, decoctions and infusions of flowers from the two most appreciated chestnut cultivars (longal and judia) in Trás-os-Montes, Portugal, were prepared and characterized with regard to their content in free sugars, organic acids, and phenolic compounds, such as flavonoids and hydrolyzable tannins, and their antioxidant activity. Overall, the decoction of the cultivar judia was the sample with both the highest quantity of flavonoids and antioxidant activity. The phenolic compound with the highest abundance in all samples was trigalloyl-HHDP-glucoside, followed by pentagalloyl glucoside. The sample with the highest quantity of total phenolic compounds was judia infusion, closely followed by longal decoction, which also gave the highest quantities of ellagitannins. Regarding sugars and organic acids, the profiles were more similar. These results corroborate ancestral claims of the health benefits of infusions and decoctions of chestnut flowers.
authors.affiliation: Mountain Research Center (CIMO), ESA, Polytechnic Institute of Bragança, Campus de Santa Apolónia 1172, 5301-855 Bragança, Portugal ; Department of Nutrition and Bromatology II, Faculty of Pharmacy, Complutense University of Madrid, Pza Ramón y Cajal, s/n., 28040 Madrid, Spain.
authors.forename: Márcio
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Carocho
authors.affiliation: Mountain Research Center (CIMO), ESA, Polytechnic Institute of Bragança, Campus de Santa Apolónia 1172, 5301-855 Bragança, Portugal.
authors.forename: Lillian
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Barros
authors.affiliation: Mountain Research Center (CIMO), ESA, Polytechnic Institute of Bragança, Campus de Santa Apolónia 1172, 5301-855 Bragança, Portugal.
authors.forename: Albino
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Bento
authors.affiliation: Grupo de Investigación en Polifenoles (GIP), Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Salamanca, Campus Miguel de Unamuno, 37007 Salamanca, Spain.
authors.forename: Celestino
authors.identifier: 0000-0001-6592-5299
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Santos-Buelga
authors.affiliation: Department of Nutrition and Bromatology II, Faculty of Pharmacy, Complutense University of Madrid, Pza Ramón y Cajal, s/n., 28040 Madrid, Spain.
authors.forename: Patricia
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Morales
authors.affiliation: Mountain Research Center (CIMO), ESA, Polytechnic Institute of Bragança, Campus de Santa Apolónia 1172, 5301-855 Bragança, Portugal.
authors.forename: Isabel C F R
authors.initials: IC
authors.lastname: Ferreira
mesh_terms: D000704:Analysis of Variance; D000975:Antioxidants / Q000032:analysis* / Q000737:chemistry; D002241:Carbohydrates / Q000032:analysis / Q000737:chemistry; D002264:Carboxylic Acids / Q000032:analysis / Q000737:chemistry; D029962:Fagaceae / Q000737:chemistry*; D005419:Flavonoids / Q000032:analysis / Q000737:chemistry; D035264:Flowers / Q000737:chemistry*; D010936:Plant Extracts / Q000737:chemistry*
chemical_list: D000975:Antioxidants; D002241:Carbohydrates; D002264:Carboxylic Acids; D005419:Flavonoids; D010936:Plant Extracts