Phytochemical characterization, nutritional value and antioxidant activity oft he berry like fruits from Hypericum Androsaemum L.

Hypericum androsaemum L. (family Hypericaceae) is a small evergreen shrub, fairly common in damp woods and hedgerows within the Mediterranean Basin, mainly in Western and Southern Europe, South-Western Asia, North Africa, while it has been introduced elsewhere [1]. Among Hypericum species, H. androsaemum has the peculiarity to produce fleshy ‘berry-like’ fruits that ripen from red to shiny black (Figure 1). The plant is also known as ‘tutsan’, meaning ‘tout-saine’, i.e. ‘all-heal’, name given for its supposed medicinal properties. In fact, it has been used for its diuretic effect and infusions of the leaves for liver, kidney and bladder ailments [2].In the present work, we presented a comprehensive analysis on the phytochemical composition, nutritional properties and antioxidant potential of the ‘berry-like’ fruits of H. androsaemum collected both from wild and cultivated plants in central Italy. The phenolic profile of methanolic extracts and infusions of red and black fruits was obtained by HPLC-DAD, and correlated with their antioxidant properties which were evaluated by the DPPH, β-Carotene/linoleic acid and hypochlorous acid tests. The red berries showed higher levels of phenolic compounds such as shikimic and chrlorogenic acids with respect to black berries. In addition, the infusion obtained from red berries gave the highest values of antioxidant activity. The results of the chemical composition and estimated energetic value obtained for the fruits of tutsan displayed that carbohydrates were the most abundant macronutrient of fruits, ranging from 16.18% in red berries to 19.21% in black berries and one hundred g of berries provided from 76 (red berries) to 91 kcal (black berries). The composition of the essential oil and aroma components of the fruits were investigated by GC-FID, GC-MS, and HS-SPME-GC-MS. It was found that red fruits have higher content of essential oil and of monoterpene hydrocarbons with respect to black fruits (0.3 vs 0.1%, and 84.0 vs 78.8%, respectively) [3]. The obtained results could explain the past and current usage of H. androsaemum as food and in folk medicine; also they may support its further uses in health and in nutrition as a functional food. References [1] Allen, D. A., & Hatfield, G. (2004). Medicinal plants in folk tradition. An ethnobotany of Britain and Ireland. Portland, Oregon, USA: Timber Press, Inc. [2] Valentão, P., Carvalho, M., Fernandes, E., Carvalho, F., Andrade, P. B., Seabra, R. M., & Bastos, M. d. L. (2004). Protective activity of Hypericum androsaemum infusion against tert-butyl hydroperoxide-induced oxidative damage in isolated rat hepatocytes. Journal of Ethnopharmacology, 92, 79-84. [3] Caprioli, C., Alunno, A., Beghelli, D., Bianco, A., Bramucci, M., Frezza, C., Iannarelli, R., Papa, F., Quassinti, L., Sagratini, G., Tirillini, B., Venditti, A., Vittori, S., Maggi, F. Polar constituents and biological activity of the berry-like fruits from Hypericum androsaemum L. Frontiers in Plant Science, 2016, 7, 1-12.