Anthocyanins are known to possess potent anticarcinogenic properties against several cancers thus demonstrating potential for cancer prevention. Black currant (Ribes nigrum L., Grossulariaceae) fruits have a high anthocyanin content. This "superfruit" is known to possess various pharmacological effects including alleviation of chronic oxidative stress and inflammation. In contrast to a large vo...

Polyphenol-rich extracts from certain berries inhibited a-glucosidase activity in vitro. The twomost effective berry extracts, from black currant and rowanberry, inhibited a-glucosidase with IC50 values respectively of 20 and 30 lg GAE/ml and were as effective as the pharmaceutical inhibitor, acarbose. These berry extracts differed greatly in their polyphenol composition: black currant was domi...

Anthocyanin extracts of two blueberries, Vaccinium myrtillus (bilberry) and Vaccinium ashei (rabbiteye blueberry), and of three other berries, Ribes nigrum (black currant), Aronia melanocarpa (chokeberry), and Sambucus nigra (elderberry), were analyzed by high-performance liquid chromatography coupled with photodiode array detection and electrospray ionization - mass spectrometry (LC/PDA/ESI-MS...

It is usually thought that adequate winter chill is required for the full flowering of many temperate woody species. This paper investigates the sensitivity of blackcurrant bud burst and flowering to natural weather fluctuations in a temperate maritime climate, and compares a range of chill models that have been proposed for assessing the accumulation of winter chill. Bud break for four contras...

Anthocyanins are effective antioxidants but they have also been proposed to have other biological activities independent of their antioxidant capacities that produce health benefits. Examples range from inhibition of cancer cell growth in vitro, induction of insulin production in isolated pancreatic cells, reduction of starch digestion through inhibition of a-glucosidase activity, suppression o...

Although the fruits are the economic driver for the black currant industry, the buds and leaves are excellent sources of beneficial phenolic compounds that may contribute to the future value of the crop. In this study, extraction of phenolic compounds for different parts of the black currant plant was optimized, and an efficient method for their separation by HPLC was developed. This allowed th...

Administration of apple juice, black currant juice, or a 1:1 combination of the two juices significantly decreased the level of the lipid peroxidation biomarker malondialdehyde in plasma of female rats, whereas the protein oxidation biomarker 2-amino-adipic semialdehyde, was significantly increased following administration of orange juice, black currant juice, or the 1:1 combination of apple an...

Background Anthocyanin is a component known to induce vasorelaxation and vasodilation in rat aortic rings [1] and is present in high amounts in New Zealand Sujon blackcurrant. During typing work in humans, an activity of low intensity, peripheral blood flow was increased by blackcurrant intake [2]. It is not known whether anthocyanin would affect the cardiovascular responses at different exerci...

Black currants (Ribes nigrum) and red currants (Ribes rubrum) are highly appreciated for the food and therapeutic value of their fruits. Mineral composition was determined in eight black currants cultivars (‘Record’, ‘Bogatar’, ‘Deea’, ‘Abanos’, ‘Blackdown’, ‘Ronix’, ‘Tinker’, ‘Tenah’) and three red currants cultivars (‘Rosu timpuriu’, ‘Abundent’, ‘Houghton Castle’). For both species analyzed, ...