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Berries, especially members of several families, such as Rosaceae (strawberry, raspberry, blackberry), and Ericaceae (blueberry, cranberry), belong to the best dietary sources of bioactive compounds (BAC). They have delicious taste and flavor, have economic importance, and because of the antioxidant properties of BAC, they are of great interest also for nutritionists and food technologists due to the opportunity to use BAC as functional foods ingredients. The bioactive compounds in berries contain mainly phenolic compounds (phenolic acids, flavonoids, such as anthocyanins and flavonols, and tannins) and ascorbic acid. These compounds, either individually or combined, are responsible for various health benefits of berries, such as prevention of inflammation disorders, cardiovascular diseases, or protective effects to lower the risk of various cancers. In this review bioactive compounds of commonly consumed berries are described, as well as the factors influencing their antioxidant capacity and their health benefits.

The L. (Ericaceae) genus consists of a globally widespread and diverse genus of around 4250 species, of which the most valuable is the subfamily. The current review focuses on the distribution, history, bioactive compounds, and health-related effects of three species: cranberry, blueberry, and huckleberry. Several studies highlight that the consumption of spp. presents numerous beneficial health-related outcomes, including antioxidant, antimicrobial, anti-inflammatory, and protective effects against diabetes, obesity, cancer, neurodegenerative diseases and cardiovascular disorders. These plants' prevalence and commercial value have enhanced in the past several years; thus, the generated by-products have also increased. Consequently, the identified phenolic compounds found in the discarded leaves of these plants are also presented, and their impact on health and economic value is discussed. The main bioactive compounds identified in this genus belong to anthocyanins (cyanidin, malvidin, and delphinidin), flavonoids (quercetin, isoquercetin, and astragalin), phenolic acids (gallic, -Coumaric, cinnamic, syringic, ferulic, and caffeic acids), and iridoids.

Cell cultures originating from 12 different plant species growing or grown in the Nordic countries were screened for their ability to synthesize polyphenols to assess their suitability for future studies and applications. The focus was on plant families Rosaceae and Ericaceae. On average, the Rosaceae cultures were the most efficient to produce hydrolysable tannins and the Ericaceae cultures were the most efficient to produce proanthocyanidins. This is in line with the general trend of polyphenols found in Rosaceae and Ericaceae leaves and fruits, even though several individual cell cultures differed from natural plants in their polyphenolic composition. Overall, several of the studied cell cultures exhibited capability in producing a large variety of polyphenols, including tannins with a high molecular weight, thus also showing promise for further studies concerning, for example, the accumulation of specific polyphenols or biosynthesis of polyphenols in the cell cultures.

Arbutus unedo L. (strawberry tree) has a circum-Mediterranean distribution, being found in western, central and southern Europe, north-eastern Africa (excluding Egypt and Libya) and the Canary Islands and western Asia. Fruits of the strawberry tree are generally used for preparing alcoholic drinks (wines, liqueurs and brandies), jams, jellies and marmalades, and less frequently eaten as fresh fruit, despite their pleasing appearance. An overview of the chemical composition of different parts of the plant, strawberry tree honey and strawberry tree brandy will be presented. The biological properties of the different parts of A. unedo and strawberry tree honey will be also overviewed.

Plants in nutrient-poor environments typically have low foliar nitrogen (N) concentrations, long-lived tissues with leaf traits designed to use nutrients efficiently, and low rates of photosynthesis. We postulated that increasing N availability due to atmospheric deposition would increase photosynthetic capacity, foliar N, and specific leaf area (SLA) of bog shrubs. We measured photosynthesis, foliar chemistry and leaf morphology in three ericaceous shrubs (Vaccinium myrtilloides, Ledum groenlandicum and Chamaedaphne calyculata) in a long-term fertilization experiment at Mer Bleue bog, Ontario, Canada, with a background deposition of 0.8 g N m⁻² a⁻¹. While biomass and chlorophyll concentrations increased in the highest nutrient搎treatment for C. calyculata, we found no change in the rates of light-saturated photosynthesis (A max ), carboxylation (V cmax ) or SLA with nutrient (N with and without PK) addition, with the exception of a weak positive correlation between foliar N and A max for C. calyculata, and higher V cmax in L. groenlandicum with low nutrient addition. We found negative correlations between photosynthetic N use efficiency (PNUE) and foliar N, accompanied by a species-specific increase in one or more amino acids, which may be a sign of excess N availability and/or a mechanism to reduce ammonium (NH₄) toxicity. We also observed a decrease in foliar soluble Ca and Mg concentrations, essential minerals for plant growth, but no change in polyamines, indicators of physiological stress under conditions of high N accumulation. These results suggest that plants adapted to low-nutrient environments do not shift their resource allocation to photosynthetic processes, even after reaching N sufficiency, but instead store the excess N in organic compounds for future use. In the long term, bog species may not be able to take advantage of elevated nutrients, resulting in them being replaced by species that are better adapted to a higher nutrient environment.

The chemical composition of eight (seven shoot and one inflorescence) essential oils (EOs) of H. plants growing in Eastern Lithuania is reported. The plant material was collected during different phases of vegetation (from April to October). The oils were obtained by hydrodistillation from air-dried aerial parts (leaves and inflorescences). In total, up to 70 compounds were identified by GC-MS and GC (flame-ionization detector, FID); they comprised 91.0 ± 4.7%-96.2 ± 3.1% of the oil content. Sesquiterpene hydrocarbons (54.1 ± 1.5%-76.1 ± 4.5%) were found to be the main fraction. The major compounds were palustrol (24.6 ± 2.6%-33.5 ± 4.4%) and ledol (18.0 ± 2.9%-29.0 ± 5.0%). Ascaridol isomers (7.0 ± 2.4%-14.0 ± 2.4% in three oils), myrcene (7.2 ± 0.3% and 10.1 ± 1.3%), lepalol (3.3 ± 0.3% and 7.9 ± 3.0%), and cyclocolorenone isomers (4.1 ± 2.5%) were determined as the third main constituents. The toxic activity of marsh rosemary inflorescence and shoot oils samples was evaluated using a brine shrimp ( sp.) bioassay. LC average values (11.23-20.50 µg/mL) obtained after 24 h of exposure revealed that the oils were notably toxic. The oil obtained from shoots gathered in September during the seed-ripening stage and containing appreciable amounts of palustrol (26.0 ± 2.5%), ledol (21.5 ± 4.0%), and ascaridol (7.0 ± 2.4%) showed the highest toxic activity. Radical scavenging activity of EOs depended on the plant vegetation stage. The highest activities were obtained for EOs isolated from young shoots collected in June (48.19 ± 0.1 and 19.89 ± 0.3 mmol/L TROLOX (6-hydroxy-2,5,7,8-tetra-methylchromane-2-carboxylic acid) equivalent obtained by, respectively, ABTS (2,2'-amino-bis(ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonic acid) diammonium salt) and DPPH (2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl) assays). Agar disc diffusion assay against pathogenic yeast revealed the potential antifungal activity of EOs. An alternative investigation of antifungal activity employed mediated amperometry at yeast -modified electrodes. The subjection of yeast cells to vapors of EO resulted in a three to four-fold increase of electrode responses due to the disruption of yeast cell membranes.

Urinary catheters are extensively used in hospitals, being responsible for about 75% of hospital-acquired infections. In this work, a de novo designed antimicrobial peptide (AMP) Chain201D was studied in the context of urinary catheter-associated infections. Chain201D showed excellent antimicrobial activity against relevant ATCC strains and clinical isolates of bacteria and yeast and demonstrated high stability in a wide range of temperatures, pH and salt concentrations. Moreover, the bactericidal activity of Chain201D immobilized on a model surface was studied against Escherichia coli (E. coli) and Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus), some of the most prevalent strains found in urinary catheter-associated infections. Chain201D was successfully tethered to ((1-mercapto-11-undecyl)-(tetra(ethylene glycol) (EG4)) terminated self-assembled monolayers (SAMs), (EG4-SAMs), activated by 1,1'-Carbonyldiimidazole (CDI) at different concentrations. Chain201D surfaces can bind and kill by contact a high percentage of adherent bacteria. These achievements are obtained without any peptide modification (for chemoselective conjugation) and without the use of a spacer. Moreover, increased amounts of immobilized AMP lead to higher numbers of adhered/dead bacteria, revealing a concentration-dependent behaviour and demonstrating that Chain201D has excellent potential for developing antimicrobial urinary catheters.

Nowadays, much research attention is focused on underutilized berry crops due to the high antioxidant activity of fruits. Black crowberry ( L.) represents an important source of flavonols (quercetin, rutin, myricetin, naringenin, naringin, morin, and kaempferol) and anthocyanins. The fruit components could be utilised as natural colourants or as a part of functional foods and, because of the high antioxidant activity, the berries of black crowberry can be used in the treatment of diseases accompanied with inflammation, or as an effective antibacterial and antifungal remedy. Moreover, the reduction of lipid accumulation and total cholesterol as well as an improvement of postprandial hyperglycaemia have been proven. This review summarizes for the first time the main antioxidants (flavonoids) of black crowberry fruits, with a focus on their health promoting activity.

Strawberry tree ( L.) honey (STH) has been used since ancient times as a folk medicine remedy, especially in certain Mediterranean countries. This honey, rich in phenolic content, is well recognized for its antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and antimicrobial activities, and is used for the treatment of skin lesions as well as gastrointestinal and respiratory disorders. This study investigated whether STH alleviates genome damage in human peripheral blood lymphocytes produced by the cytotoxic drug irinotecan. The phenolic profile of STH was previously estimated by ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography coupled to a linear ion trap-Orbitrap hybrid mass spectrometer. The effects of STH were evaluated at three concentrations (1×, 5×, and 10×), based on the daily consumption of the honey by an adult person. After 2 h of in vitro exposure, standard lymphocyte cultures for the analysis of chromosome aberrations and the cytokinesis-block micronucleus cytome assay were established. Our results demonstrate that STH offered remarkable geno- and cytoprotection when administered with irinotecan. These findings are relevant for drawing preliminary conclusions regarding the in vitro safety of the tested honey. However, further studies are needed with the application of more complex experimental models.

Phenolic compounds are well-known bioactive compounds in plants that can have a protective role against cancers, cardiovascular diseases and many other diseases. To promote local food development, a comprehensive overview of the phenolic compounds' composition and their impact on human health from typical Mediterranean plants such as L., Mill., L., L., L., var. L. is provided. Moreover, the potential use of these data for authenticity determination is discussed. Some of the plants' phenolic compounds and their impact to human health are very well determined, while for others, the data are scarce. However, in all cases, more data should be available about the content, profile and health impacts due to a high variation of phenolic compounds depending on genetic and environmental factors. Quantifying variation in phenolic compounds in plants relative to genetic and environmental factors could be a useful tool in food authentication control. More comprehensive studies should be conducted to better understand the importance of phenolic compounds on human health and their variation in certain plants.