Technologically Driven Approaches for the Integrative Use of Wild Blackthorn (Prunus spinosa L.) Fruits in Foods and Nutraceuticals

Different technological approaches were used in this study for the valorization of blackthorn (Prunus spinosa L.) fruits in marmalade, jam, jelly, and nutraceuticals. Marmalade showed the highest concentrations of polyphenols (7.61 +/- 0.05 mg gallic acid equivalents/g dry weight (DW)) and flavonoids (4.93 +/- 0.22 mg catechin equivalents/g DW), whereas jam retained the highest content of anthocyanins (66.87 +/- 1.18 mg cyanidin-3-O-glucoside equivalents/g DW). A good correlation between polyphenol and flavonoid contents and antioxidant activity was found, the highest value being 21.29 +/- 1.36 mmol Trolox/g DW for marmalade. Alternatively, the fresh pulp was enriched with inulin, followed by inoculation with Lactobacillus acidophilus, and freeze-dried, allowing a powder to be obtained with a viable cell content of 6.27 x 10(7) CFU/g DW. A chromatographic analysis of blackthorn skin revealed that myricetin (2.04 +/- 0.04 mg/g DW) was the main flavonoid, followed by (+)-catechin (1.80 +/- 0.08 mg/g DW), (-)-epicatechin (0.96 +/- 0.02 mg/g DW), and vanillic acid (0.94 +/- 0.09 mg/g DW). The representative anthocyanins were cyanidin 3-O-glucoside, cyanidin 3-O-rutinoside, and peonidin 3-O-glucoside, with an average concentration of 0.75 mg/g DW. The skin extract showed comparable IC50 values for tyrosinase (1.72 +/- 0.12 mg/mL), alpha-amylase (1.17 +/- 0.13 mg/mL), and ff-glucosidase (1.25 +/- 0.26 mg/mL). The possible use of kernels as calorific agents was demonstrated through the evaluation of calorific power of 4.9 kWh/kg.

Automated summary

Different technological approaches were used to exploit blackthorn fruits for marmalade, jam, jelly, and nutraceuticals. Each product had different concentrations of polyphenols, flavonoids, and anthocyanins, with marmalade having the highest content of these compounds. The use of blackthorn pulps enriched with inulin and Lactobacillus acidophilus resulted in a viable cell content in the freeze-dried powder. The skins of blackthorn revealed the presence of various flavonoids and anthocyanins, and the extract showed potential for tyrosinase, alpha-amylase, and ff-glucosidase inhibition. The kernels of blackthorn also demonstrated calorific power.