title: Nutritional, antioxidative, and antimicrobial analysis of the Mediterranean hackberry (Celtis australisL.).
abstract: Celtis australisis a deciduous tree commonly known as Mediterranean hackberry or the European nettle tree. The fruit of hackberry are seldom used for nutritional purposes. The nutritional and physicochemical properties of ripe hackberry fruit from Istria (Marasi village near Vrsar, Croatia) were determined, including water, total fiber, protein, vitamin, mineral, and phenolic contents. This analysis demonstrates that the hackberry fruit is a valuable source of dietary fiber, protein, and vitamins, and of pigments such as lutein,β-carotene, zeaxanthin, and tocopherols. The seasonal differences associated with the different growth stages for the element composition, total phenolic content, and phenolic profile were also determined for hackberry mesocarp and leaves. Water and ethanol extracts were prepared from mesocarp and leaves harvested at different growth stages and their phenolic profiles and antioxidant and antimicrobial activities were investigated. This study demonstrates that water and ethanol extracts of hackberry fruit and leaves collected at different growth stages contain epicatechin, gallic acid, vanillic acid, 3,4-dihydroxybenzaldehyde, delphinidin-3,5-di-O-glucoside, cyanidin-3,5-di-O-glucoside, and pelargonidin-3,5-di-O-glucoside. They also show some antimicrobial and antifungal activities. Further studies are needed to identify and define the active ingredients of these hackberry leaf ethanol extracts.
authors.affiliation: Biotechnical Faculty University of Ljubljana Jamnikarjeva 101 Ljubljana SI-1000 Slovenia.
authors.forename: Ajda
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Ota
authors.affiliation: Science and Research Centre of Koper University of Primorska Zelena ulica 8 Izola SI-6310 Slovenia.
authors.forename: Ana Miklavčič
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Višnjevec
authors.affiliation: Biotechnical Faculty University of Ljubljana Jamnikarjeva 101 Ljubljana SI-1000 Slovenia.
authors.forename: Rajko
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Vidrih
authors.affiliation: Agricultural Department in Poreč University of Rijeka Carla Huguesa 6 Poreč Croatia.
authors.forename: Željko
authors.initials: Ž
authors.lastname: Prgomet
authors.affiliation: Institute Jožef Stefan Jamova cesta 39 Ljubljana SI-1000 Slovenia.
authors.forename: Marijan
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Nečemer
authors.affiliation: Biotechnical Faculty University of Ljubljana Jamnikarjeva 101 Ljubljana SI-1000 Slovenia.
authors.forename: Janez
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Hribar
authors.affiliation: Biotechnical Faculty University of Ljubljana Jamnikarjeva 101 Ljubljana SI-1000 Slovenia; Centre of Excellence for Integrated Approaches in Chemistry and Biology of Proteins (CIPKeBiP) Jamova cesta 39 Ljubljana SI-1000 Slovenia.
authors.forename: Nina Gunde
authors.initials: NG
authors.lastname: Cimerman
authors.affiliation: Biotechnical Faculty University of Ljubljana Jamnikarjeva 101 Ljubljana SI-1000 Slovenia.
authors.forename: Sonja Smole
authors.initials: SS
authors.lastname: Možina
authors.affiliation: Science and Research Centre of Koper University of Primorska Zelena ulica 8 Izola SI-6310 Slovenia.
authors.forename: Milena
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Bučar-Miklavčič
authors.affiliation: Biotechnical Faculty University of Ljubljana Jamnikarjeva 101 Ljubljana SI-1000 Slovenia; Centre of Excellence for Integrated Approaches in Chemistry and Biology of Proteins (CIPKeBiP) Jamova cesta 39 Ljubljana SI-1000 Slovenia.
authors.forename: Nataša Poklar
authors.initials: NP
authors.lastname: Ulrih
keywords: Antimicrobial activity; Celtis australis; nutritional analysis; phenols; triple‐quadrupole tandem mass spectrometry; ultrahigh‐pressure liquid chromatography