FOOD. Science. Technology. Quality

Food. SCIENCE. Technology. Quality

Food. Science. TECHNOLOGY. Quality

Food. Science. Technology. QUALITY

Authors

ANNA KRZEPIŁKO, ROMAN PRAŻAK, BARBARA SKWARYŁO-BEDNARZ, AGATA ŚWIĘCIŁO

Title

Buds, leaves, and seeds of blackcurrant - source of bioactive substances with pro-health properties

Abstract

Blackcurrant is a plant cultivated for its tasty fruit eaten fresh and in a processed form. The blackcurrant fruit is a valuable diet component because of its high content of health-promoting compounds such as vitamin C, phenolic compounds, and minerals. Buds, leaves, and seeds of blackcurrant constitute a relatively unknown source of bioactive compounds with pro-health and medicinal properties. Traditional medicine utilizes buds, leaves and currant seeds to treat certain diseases. Contemporary scientific research confirms the beneficial effect of those underestimated parts of the blackcurrant plant. The main bioactive compounds contained in black currant buds are essential oils including hydrocarbons and terpenes. Bud oils are characterized by a strong antibacterial and antifungal activity. Another group of bioactive substances are phenolic compounds, mainly rutin, epicatechin, and kaempferol. Owing to those substances, the buds have antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties. Oil made from seeds of black currant can be an excellent source of unsaturated fatty acids and tocopherols, especially α-tocopherol. It also contains sterols known for the anti-atherosclerotic and anticancer activity. Black currant seed extracts contain large amounts of beneficial biologically active substances such as phenolic compounds and polysaccharides, mainly galactans. Owing to their high content of various phenolic compounds and essential oils, leaf extracts have antioxidant properties. Black currant leaves have a unique fatty acid composition with the potential anti-cancer, anti-inflammatory and antimicrobial activity. The potassium to sodium ratio in the leaves is high and this explains the diuretic effect of their infusions. The paper presents some application examples of the buds, seeds, and leaves. The objective of the study was to systematise the knowledge of the pro-health applications of extracts from those raw materials.

Keywords

blackcurrant, buds, seeds, leaves, bioactive compounds

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