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Edible Horticultural Plants: Chemical Properties, Nutritional Quality and Bioactive Components

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A special issue of Plants (ISSN 2223-7747). This special issue belongs to the section "Horticultural Science and Ornamental Plants".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 20 May 2024 | Viewed by 6128

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Special Issue Editor

Dr. Alen Albreht

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Guest Editor

Laboratory for Food Chemistry, Department of Analytical Chemistry, National Institute of Chemistry, Hajdrihova 19, SI-1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia
Interests: analytical chemistry; green chemistry; natural compounds; chemical mechanisms; phytochemicals; chemical modification of bioactive compounds; interactions between small and macromolecules
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Dear Colleagues,

Plants have long been known to be a rich natural source of countless bioactive compounds. For thousands of years, they have represented invaluable active ingredients of many traditional ointments and have been an inspiration for the development of a wide array of successful pharmaceutical products. On the other hand, plants are a renewable food source, and new concepts for strategies to ensure their sustainable use will play a major role in the near future. To unlock the true potential of new, but also known, edible horticultural plants, the latter need to be scrutinized in order to identify the key bioactive components that have a beneficial effect on human health, as well as those which should be avoided (endogenous or exogenous toxic constituents, pollutants, or other chemical species with unwanted effects). Thus, this Special Issue welcomes quality contributions on the chemical properties, nutritional quality, and bioactive components of edible horticultural plants. Papers that incorporate green chemistry aspects at the core of their methodology are especially encouraged.

Dr. Alen Albreht
Guest Editor

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Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2700 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

renewable materials
sustainability
green technologies
vegetables
fruits
invasive alien plant species
ornamental plants
growing conditions
cultures
cultivation
nutritional quality
bioactive compounds
chemical constituents
natural compounds
extraction
analysis
fingerprinting
profiling
selectivity
isolation

Published Papers (4 papers)

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Research

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26 pages, 7729 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Phytochemical Statistical Mapping of Red Grape Varieties Cultivated in Romanian Organic and Conventional Vineyards

by Cristina Mihaela Nicolescu, Marius Bumbac, Cristiana Radulescu, Claudia Lavinia Buruleanu, Radu Lucian Olteanu, Sorina Geanina Stanescu, Laura Monica Gorghiu, Bogdan Catalin Serban and Octavian Buiu

Plants 2023, 12(24), 4179; https://doi.org/10.3390/plants12244179 - 15 Dec 2023

Viewed by 982

Abstract

Red grapes are rich in phytochemicals such as phenolics and flavonoids, which are strongly correlated with their antioxidant activity. Thus, grapes as-harvested and grape extracts, especially those obtained from their seeds and pulp, have been reported to have health benefits, and accordingly, grapes and their derivatives are considered potential functional food ingredients. The total phenolic content, total flavonoid content, and the antioxidant activity of skin, pulp, and seeds of four grape varieties grown both in conventional and organic vineyards were examined in this study. Phytochemical characteristics of one native Romanian variety, Feteasca Neagra, were compared with data measured for three red grape varieties more commonly cultivated worldwide (Merlot, Pinot Noir, and Muscat Hamburg). It was found that the seeds of the Pinot Noir variety grown in an organic system contained the highest total phenolics of 169.53 ± 7.32 mg gallic acid equivalents/g and the highest total flavonoid content of 388.25 ± 10.72 mg quercetin equivalents/g, values corresponding to high antioxidant activity (312.84 ± 12.81 mg ascorbic acid equivalents/g). The total flavonoid content in the hydroalcoholic extracts obtained from seeds of Pinot Noir (organic vineyard) was around 24.5-fold higher than that of the skin of Pinot Noir (conventional vineyard). Experiments showed that seeds of all four tested grape varieties are good sources of total flavonoids, not only of total phenolics. When referring to the organic vineyard, the skin and pulp grapes showed good results for the total phenolic content. The antioxidant activities of the hydroalcoholic extracts were well-correlated with the total phenolic content and total flavonoid content. Lower values of these parameters were found for extracts obtained from skin and pulp than for those obtained from seeds of the same grape variety regardless of the culture management system (organic/conventional). Data mining techniques such as regression analysis, principal component analysis, and clustering analysis were applied to establish the potential correlation between the phytochemical content and the antioxidant activities of the red grapes on the one hand, and grape variety, anatomical parts, and vineyard type (organic/conventional) on the other hand. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Edible Horticultural Plants: Chemical Properties, Nutritional Quality and Bioactive Components)

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12 pages, 683 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Characterization of Targeted Phenolic Compounds in Globe Artichoke Heads and Waste from Vegetatively and “Seed”-Propagated Genotypes

by Anna Bonasia, Giulia Conversa, Corrado Lazzizera and Antonio Elia

Plants 2023, 12(13), 2579; https://doi.org/10.3390/plants12132579 - 7 Jul 2023

Cited by 2 | Viewed by 763

Abstract

In the globe artichoke, both the edible portion and the waste biomass are recognized as valuable sources of bioactive compounds. For this study, heads with 30 cm–long floral stems including two to three leaves were harvested from five genotypes, which included two traditional vegetative-propagated varietal types (“Brindisino” and “Violetto di Foggia”) and three “seed”-propagated hybrids (“Tempo”, “Opal”, and “Madrigal”). The study aimed to determine the total and individual polyphenolic concentrations (measured spectrophotometrically and using HPLC) and antioxidant activity (AA) in different artichoke parts, namely the “hearts” (H), head waste (HW), stem waste (SW), and leaf waste (LW). “Brindisino” SW exhibited the highest accumulation of luteolin (26,317 mg kg⁻¹ F.W.), while “Tempo” H displayed the highest cynarin content (190 mg kg⁻¹ F.W.). “Tempo” HW and H showed the highest levels of apigenin (640 mg kg⁻¹ F.W.), and the greatest source of chlorogenic acid was found in the HW of “Opal” and the H of “Brindisino” (4300 mg kg⁻¹ F.W.). The hybrids generally exhibited lower total polyphenolic concentrations than the traditional genotypes, particularly evident in the LW. The SW demonstrated the highest concentration of total polyphenols (18,000 mg kg⁻¹ F.W.), followed by the edible H and non-edible HW (12,000 mg kg⁻¹ F.W.), while the LW exhibited the lowest concentration (2000 mg kg⁻¹ F.W.). Interestingly, the AA did not precisely align with the total polyphenolic concentration, showing slight variations between the examined parts and genotypes. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Edible Horticultural Plants: Chemical Properties, Nutritional Quality and Bioactive Components)

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18 pages, 1173 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Mineral Content and Phytochemical Composition of Avocado var. Hass Grown Using Sustainable Agriculture Practices in Ecuador

by William Viera, Pablo Gaona, Iván Samaniego, Andrea Sotomayor, Pablo Viteri, Michelle Noboa, Jorge Merino, Paúl Mejía and Chang Hwan Park

Plants 2023, 12(9), 1791; https://doi.org/10.3390/plants12091791 - 27 Apr 2023

Cited by 2 | Viewed by 2160

Abstract

Avocado demand has increased in recent years due to the nutraceutical properties that this fruit has and its positive impacts on human health; however, avocado production also requires sustainable alternatives to improve its cultivation. The objective of this study was to carry out characterization of the mineral content and phytochemical compounds in avocado fruit of the Hass variety grown using sustainable agricultural practices in Ecuador. Our results show an increase in fruit quality traits, such as firmness, and in the content of soluble solids, protein, fiber, fat, carotenoids, Ca, Mg, Zn and stearic acid in the pulp of the avocado Hass variety, as well as an initial trend of yield increase with the application of sustainable practices. Moreover, antioxidant activity was associated with polyphenol content. There were positive correlations of Mg with K and Ca, and of flavonoids with linolelaidic, linoleic and linolenic acids. Overall, our results indicate that avocado can be used as a functional and nutritional food due to its phytochemical composition and the mineral content of its pulp, which contributes to the promotion of its consumption and encourages healthy eating. In addition, the use of sustainable practices, such as fertigation and the application of microorganisms, is also promoted for growing avocado. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Edible Horticultural Plants: Chemical Properties, Nutritional Quality and Bioactive Components)

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Review

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19 pages, 1774 KiB

Open AccessReview

Recent Insights into the Morphological, Nutritional and Phytochemical Properties of Indian Gooseberry (Phyllanthus emblica) for the Development of Functional Foods

by Pawar Gayatri Avinash, Hamid, Rafeeya Shams, Kshirod Kumar Dash, Ayaz Mukarram Shaikh, Diána Ungai, Endre Harsányi, Tejas Suthar and Béla Kovács

Plants 2024, 13(5), 574; https://doi.org/10.3390/plants13050574 - 20 Feb 2024

Viewed by 1666

Abstract

Aonla, commonly known as Indian gooseberry (Phyllanthus emblica), is a plant native to India with various therapeutic and dietary benefits. This review covers the taxonomical, morphological, and species-level classifications of aonla fruit, including its flower biology, maturation, harvesting, and yield metrics. It also discusses the nutritional, physico-chemical, and phytochemical characteristics and the total antioxidant and antimicrobial activities and mineral compositions of several aonla fruit cultivars. Additionally, the health benefits of aonla are reviewed, including its analgesic, antipyretic, antioxidative, anti-inflammatory, anti-aging, ulcerogenic, chemo-protective, neuroprotective, free radical scavenging, hypoglycaemic, and immunogenic properties, which make it beneficial in the treatment and prevention of various illnesses. Further various forms of fruit extract are also considered to be beneficial for the improvement of plant and animal health. Overall, aonla is a valuable fruit with significant potential for use in improving human health. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Edible Horticultural Plants: Chemical Properties, Nutritional Quality and Bioactive Components)

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