Abstract
Sweet cherries (Prunus avium L.) are highly appreciated fruits for their taste, color, nutritional value, and beneficial health effects. In this work, seven new cultivars of sweet cherry were investigated for their main quality traits and nutraceutical value. The phytochemical profile of three classes of phenolic compounds and the antioxidant activity of the new cultivars were investigated through high-performance liquid chromatography with diode array detection (HPLC-DAD) and spectrophotometric assays, respectively, and compared with those of commonly commercialized cultivars. Cyanidine-3-O-rutinoside was the main anthocyanin in all genotypes, and its levels in some new cultivars were about three-fold higher than in commercial ones. The ORAC-assayed antioxidant capacity was positively correlated with the total anthocyanin index. The nutraceutical value of the new cultivars was investigated in terms of antioxidant/neuroprotective capacity in neuron-like SH-SY5Y cells. Results demonstrated that the new cultivars were more effective in counteracting oxidative stress and were also able to upregulate brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), a pro-survival neurotrophin, suggesting their potential pleiotropic role in counteracting neurodegenerations.
Highlights
Dietary habits play a crucial role in the prevention of chronic diseases such as cardiovascular diseases, cancer, diabetes, and neurodegenerative disorders [1]
The results presented here clearly indicate that the profile of bioactive polyphenol compounds is strictly dependent on genotype, and as concerns new cultivars, Marysa was the richest cultivar in colorless polyphenols, Gabriel in anthocyanins, and Lorenz in rutin
Our data agree with the results reported by Leong et al [60], who observed that cherry cultivars richest in anthocyanins were more effective in protecting Caco-2 cells from H2 O2 -induced damage compared to other cultivars
Summary
Dietary habits play a crucial role in the prevention of chronic diseases such as cardiovascular diseases, cancer, diabetes, and neurodegenerative disorders [1]. Sweet cherry (Prunus avium L.) fruits are among the most widely consumed fruits in temperate areas. Among the most desirable fruit quality traits, there are very early and/or late ripening time, large cherry size, light or dark red color, firmness, sweetness, and taste [4]. Several breeding programs have been conceived with the aim of releasing on the market new cultivars, possessing these kinds of improved quality attributes. For this purpose, more than thirty years ago the University of Bologna launched a sweet cherry breeding program, by crossing quality-selected European genotypes with self-fertile American counterparts [5], which allowed the release of the seven new cultivars here studied and characterized
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