title: Chemical characterisation and bioactive properties of Prunus avium L.: the widely studied fruits and the unexplored stems.
abstract: The aim of this study was to characterise sweet cherry regarding nutritional composition of the fruits, and individual phytochemicals and bioactive properties of fruits and stems. The chromatographic profiles in sugars, organic acids, fatty acids, tocopherols and phenolic compounds were established. All the preparations (extracts, infusions and decoctions) obtained using stems revealed higher antioxidant potential than the fruits extract, which is certainly related with its higher phenolic compounds (phenolic acids and flavonoids) concentration. The fruits extract was the only one showing antitumor potential, revealing selectivity against HCT-15 (colon carcinoma) (GI50∼74 μg/mL). This could be related with anthocyanins that were only found in fruits and not in stems. None of the preparations have shown hepatotoxicity against normal primary cells. Overall, this study reports innovative results regarding chemical and bioactive properties of sweet cherry stems, and confirmed the nutritional and antioxidant characteristics of their fruits.
authors.affiliation: Mountain Research Center (CIMO), ESA, Polytechnic Institute of Bragança, Campus de Santa Apolónia, 1172, 5301-855 Bragança, Portugal.
authors.forename: Claudete
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Bastos
authors.affiliation: Mountain Research Center (CIMO), ESA, Polytechnic Institute of Bragança, Campus de Santa Apolónia, 1172, 5301-855 Bragança, Portugal. Electronic address: lillian@ipb.pt.
authors.forename: Lillian
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Barros
authors.affiliation: GIP-USAL, Facultad de Farmacia, Universidad de Salamanca, Campus Miguel de Unamuno, 37007 Salamanca, Spain.
authors.forename: Montserrat
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Dueñas
authors.affiliation: Mountain Research Center (CIMO), ESA, Polytechnic Institute of Bragança, Campus de Santa Apolónia, 1172, 5301-855 Bragança, Portugal; Centro de Química, Universidade do Minho, Campus de Gualtar, 4710-057 Braga, Portugal.
authors.forename: Ricardo C
authors.initials: RC
authors.lastname: Calhelha
authors.affiliation: Centro de Química, Universidade do Minho, Campus de Gualtar, 4710-057 Braga, Portugal.
authors.forename: Maria João R P
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Queiroz
authors.affiliation: GIP-USAL, Facultad de Farmacia, Universidad de Salamanca, Campus Miguel de Unamuno, 37007 Salamanca, Spain.
authors.forename: Celestino
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Santos-Buelga
authors.affiliation: Mountain Research Center (CIMO), ESA, Polytechnic Institute of Bragança, Campus de Santa Apolónia, 1172, 5301-855 Bragança, Portugal. Electronic address: iferreira@ipb.pt.
authors.forename: Isabel C F R
authors.initials: IC
authors.lastname: Ferreira
mesh_terms: D000975:Antioxidants / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000494:pharmacology*; D005638:Fruit / Q000737:chemistry*; D010936:Plant Extracts / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000494:pharmacology*; D018547:Plant Stems / Q000737:chemistry; D027861:Prunus / Q000737:chemistry*
chemical_list: D000975:Antioxidants; D010936:Plant Extracts
keywords: Antioxidant activity; Antitumor potential; Fruits/stems; Nutrients; Phytochemicals; Prunus avium