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eliminates the risk of chronic diseases, 1 cup a day to cure and prevent sickness! Metal-chelating and free radical-scavenging capacities please read this research paper about its amazing properties! You will receive 250cl of tea made from the leaves & fruits in a container.
Pyracantha is a plant with edible and medicinal value and widely distributed from eastern Asia to southern Europe but is underutilized and has great potential. As scientists gradually study its properties, it was found that Pyracantha contains various phytochemical components such as pigments and phospholipids. Meanwhile, Pyracantha is also rich in phenolic substances, such as flavonoids. The extract of Pyracantha shows strong biological properties, such as inhibition of tyrosinase activity, anti‐oxidative, and tumor‐preventive effects. Pyracantha bioavailability releases quantities of compounds in the food matrix from the digestive process that are important for its health‐promoting properties. The extraction of biologically active substances in Pyracantha would be applied in various aspects. Their extracts can also be used as health food, food additives, and cosmetics. As the interaction of phytochemicals, proteins, and phenolic compounds can affect the pharmacological activity and bioavailability of Pyracantha , it is important to understand the mechanism of effect, which can further allow consumers to choose a healthier Pyracantha dietary culture. This review aims to prove the nutritional components and pharmacological activities of Pyracantha and to make consumers better aware of the benefits of Pyracantha in connection with their bioavailability and application, in order to provide a reference for further research and development of Pyracantha resources.
BIOACTIVE CHARACTERISTICS AND BIOACTIVE COMPOUNDS OF PYRACANTHA
According to epidemiological studies, having foods rich in natural antioxidants strengthens the antioxidant capacity of organisms and eliminates the risk of chronic diseases (Prior & Cao, 2000). Because of this, antioxidant-rich Pyracantha also has tonic, cardiotonic, and diuretic properties (Fico et al., 2000; Keser, 2014; Sarikurkcu & Tepe,
2015). Previous studies have shown that Pyracantha is rich in bioactive compounds, such as polyphenols, fatty acids, vitamins, and minerals (Keser, 2014; Sarikurkcu & Tepe, 2015). In particular, it has been demonstrated that flavonoids and phenolic acids show significant metal-chelating and free radical-scavenging capacities (Keser, 2014). It
serves as a natural antioxidant in the food, cosmetics, and pharmaceutical sectors and may be used as a biomonitor to track the presence of heavy metals in the environment (Akguc et al., 2010).
Nutritional components
In previous research, the contents of soluble sugar, soluble protein, and vitamin C in the fruit of Pyracantha were determined, with values of 149.40, 105.00, and 0.32 mg/g, respectively (Han & Zhang,2019). It has been found that the fruit of firethorn contains the following nutrients: 18 kinds of amino acids, multivitamins (VB1, VB2, VB3, VC, VE, and VPP), mineral elements, soluble sugars, and proteins Rufu et al., 1990). The nutritional components of Pyracantha were analyzed, and the results indicated that Pyracantha is rich in pectin, protein, total sugar, amino acids, and trace elements Fe, Zn, Cu, and Mn (Han & Zhang, 2019). The contents of soluble sugar, vitamin C, and organic acids in the fruits of four species of Pyracantha, including P. coccinea,P. crenulata,P. angustifolia, andP. fortuneana, have been detailed reported (Yunjiang et al., 2006). These results indicated that the fruit of Pyracantha was rich in nutrition and had a broad application prospect. 4.2 Macronutrients—carbohydrates, protein, and
fatty acids Previously, plant polysaccharides, isolated and extracted from P. fo r -
tuneana,have been reported by several studies to have biological activity (Huang et al., 2007;Yuanetal.,2010),including solid resistance to free radical activity and the ability to influence the growth, apoptosis, and senescence of cancer cells (Yao et al., 2019). For instance, a water-soluble polysaccharide was extracted by the extraction optimization process with the response surface model (Yao et al., 2019). In specific, the yield of the polysaccharide was 2.08%, and when the raw material to water ratio was 36.28. It performed well in scavenging activities in vitro tests and showed significant cytotoxicity to ovarian cancer SK-OV-3 cells. Besides, Selenium-rich polysaccharide purification derived from P. fortuneana has also been reported to have substantial potential anticancer effects in breast cells.
4.3 Micronutrients—vitamins and minerals
Vitamins are considered an essential organic substance to prevent
health problems. The composition can be a crucial feature for identify-
ing medicinal or edible plants. Vitamin C works as an antioxidant in the
body and interacts directly with oxidants, protecting other substances
against oxidative damage. Furthermore, vitamin C reduces the risk
of gastric cancer and prevents cardiovascular diseases. As stated by
Saklani et al. (2011), ascorbic acid content varied significantly among
different species. For example, the highest amount of vitamin C was
identified in the fruits of P. crenulata (5.30 ±0.54 mg/100 g fw), fol-
lowed by Pyrus pashia (4.59 ±0.25 mg/100 g fw), whereas the lowest
was found in Ficus palmata (2.93 ±0.18 mg/100 g fw). Moreover,
47.10 ±0.25 and 45.36 ±0.28 mg/100 g dw Vitamin C were detected
in P. angustifolia and P. fortuneana from Wang et al. (2018). In Australia,
the recommended daily intake (RDI) of vitamin C is 45 mg a day, that is,
100 g of extract of these two species could provide the RDI of vitamin
C for an adult.
Generally, 12 kinds of minerals elements could be detected in
Pyracantha with different but abundant content, especially in the fruits
of P. angustifolia and P. fortuneana. The sequence of detected minerals
content in both species is K <Ca <Mg <Na <Fe <Mn <Zn <Cu
(Wang et al., 2018). Among those 12 minerals, the content of K is the
highest existing in both P. angustifolia and P. fortuneana, 171.97 ±2.94
and 149.98 ±3.34 mg/100 g, respectively (Wang et al., 2018). As an
essential mineral in the human body, K contributes to maintaining
nerve and muscle excitability and protecting cardiovascular health
(Kuang et al., 2016; Wang et al., 2018). Wang et al. (2018) also claimed
that the high proportion of K but a low percentage of Na in the fruits
of P. angustifolia could perform more effectively in the reduction of the
instance of cardiovascular disease through improving the metabolism
of intracellular glucose and protein.
Although the contents of zinc and copper in Pyracantha are the
lowest second in the sequence (about 0.32 mg/100 g of Zn and
0.2 mg/100 g of Cu), both are significant to the growth of the human
body to the immune system. Additionally, zinc plays a vital role in
improving children’s appetite via maintaining the typical taste and
olfaction (Wang et al., 2018). Copper mainly works as an enzyme to
maintain hematopoietic function and the nervous system integrity
in organs and tissues (Osredkar & Sustar, 2011; Wang et al., 2018).
Compared to the trace amount in other fruits and vegetables, Pyracan-
tha could be utilized as a natural Cu and Zn supplement source. For
instance, onion and pepper contain only 0.12 and 0.17 mg/100 g of Cu
(Aydinalp & Marinova, 2012), whereas 100 g of raw carrots and gala
apples contain 0.24 and 0.05 mg of Zn (Gianguzzi et al., 2017;Sharma
et al., 2012).
BIOLOGICAL AND MEDICINAL PROPERTIES
The pharmacological effects of Pyracantha are mainly reflected in the
aspects of anti-oxidation, enzyme inhibitory activity, antibacterial, and
hypolipidemic (Table 3).
5.1 Antioxidant activity
The antioxidant activity of Pyracantha may be due to the presence of
plant polyphenols, which can eliminate free radicals by accepting or
donating electrons (Keser, 2014; Yoshimura, 2014). Plant polyphenols
are powerful antioxidants that can delocalize unpaired electrons, scav-
enge free radicals, chelate metal ions, and limit the activity of oxidases.
The following three ways are how Pyracantha produces its antioxidant
action (Yoshimura, 2014).Thefirstandmostcommonishydrogenatom
transfer, which results in the formation of stable water molecules. In
order to achieve the antioxidant effect, antioxidants and oxidized sub-
strates compete with peroxyl radicals created during the oxidation
process. This prevents the spread of the self-oxidative chain reaction.
This process is used by the tests for 2,2′-diphenyl-L-picrylhydrazyl
(DPPH), 2,2′-azino-bis(3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonic acid) (ABTS),
and hydroxyl radical-scavenging activity (•OH-RSA). SET,or single elec-
tron transfer, is the second method. By taking or giving up electrons,
phenolic compounds can neutralize free radicals. This mechanism is
the basis for the ferric reducing antioxidant power (FRAP), RPA, and
total antioxidant capacity (TAC) assays. It has been demonstrated that
the tea polyphenols in Pyracantha are efficient free radical scavengers
Additionally, compared to flavonols, tea polyphenols are more reac-
tive with hydroxyl radicals, superoxide anions, and azide radicals. The
last mechanism occurs when many ortho phenolic hydroxyl groups in
phenolic compounds interact intricately with metal ions to create a
stable five-membered ring chelate. The majority of metal ions com-
bine with phenolic compounds to produce precipitates because of the
many coordination groups in phenolic compounds, their high complex-
ing capacity, and the stability of their complexes. This method suggests
that the FICA assay can also be used to calculate the antioxidant
capacity of samples.
There are several in vitro methods used to assess the antioxi-
dant capacities of medicinal plants, including ABTS, hydroxyl, DPPH
radical-scavenging, FRAP, and TAC (Gu et al., 2019). Free-radical-
scavenging activity is one of the most common methods for determin-
ing the antioxidant properties of a plant substance. The DPPH radical-
scavenging model can be widely used to evaluate antioxidant activities
in a relatively short time (Keser, 2014). Moreover, due to the lack of
oxygen radicals in the assay, Shahidi and Zhong (2015) found that the
DPPH scavenging performed does not mimic the radical-scavenging
mechanism that occurs in real food or biological systems. Moreover,
accordingtoABTSassay,ABTS
•+can be dissolved in hydrophilic or
lipophilic media, and its concentration is unaffected by medium ionic
strength, but it is sensitive to incubation time, antioxidant/ABTS•+
ratio, and end-point determination (Shahidi & Zhong, 2015). There-
fore, the presence of phenolic compounds confirms that Pyracantha is
a promising source of natural antioxidants.
Enzyme inhibitory activity
Enzyme activity is related to many chronic diseases and neuropathy,
for instance, the formation of melanin in the human brain, which is cru-
cial in Parkinson’s disease (Khan, 2007). Other studies have also found
that acetylcholinesterase and butyrylcholinesterase can be inhibited
by plant extracts, leading to an increase in acetylcholine concentra-
tions in the brain and increasing communication between brain nerve
cells, thereby treating neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s
disease (Orhan et al., 2014). Tyrosinase can hydroxylate tyrosine to
L-DOPA and subsequently oxidizes it to dopaquinone. Dopaquinone
and its derivatives biosynthetic melanin by tyrosinase are thought to
play a significant role in the degeneration of the substantia nigra stria-
tum dopaminergic neurons of Parkinson’s disease (Zengin et al., 2015).
Ethanol extracts of Pyracantha had a good inhibitory effect on some
enzyme activities, including α-amylase, tyrosinase, and α-glucosidase.
Both water and methanol extracts exhibited weak inhibitory activity
against butyryl cholinesterase and acetylcholinesterase. In addition,
it has a dose-dependent inhibitory effect on the release of histamine
from rat abdominal mast cells stimulated by the condensation of N-
methyl-p-methoxyphenethylamine and formaldehyde Pyracantha.By
comparing the α-glucosidase inhibitory effects of Pyracantha in various
extracts, α-glucosidase inhibitory capability was found to be posi-
tively related to phenolic acids and flavonoids, with high correlation
coefficients (0.938 and 0.851).
Antibacterial and antifungal activity
The mechanism of herbal medicine in killing or inhibiting the growth
of bacteria can be divided into three categories. The first one is the
destruction of the microbial cell wall and cell membrane. After that,
active substances permeate the cytoplasmic membranes or enter the
cells and inhibit the normal synthesis of DNA and proteins (Liu et al.,
2017). The second is to change the microbial structure through the
influence of genes and proteins. Finally, it interferes with the energy
metabolic activity in bacterial cells to inhibit the production of a free
radical (Arora & Kaur, 2007;Rios&Recio,2005). Pyracantha genus has
been shown to evaluate the antimicrobial activities of some microbial
strains. Turker et al. (2012) reported that ethanolic extractof P. coccinea
fruits showed remarkable antioxidant effects against Gram-positive
bacteria, such as Bacillus cereus,Enterococcus faecium,Staphylococcus
hominis,andStaphylococcus aureus. Besides, S. aureus and Streptococ-
cus pyogenes were significantly against the hot ethanolic extracts of
P. coccinea fruits (Turker et al., 2012). Through the research on the
antibacterial activity of the extract of Pyracantha, it was found that
the 1% hydrochloric acid ethanol extract of Pyracantha hasanantibac-
terial effect on S. aureus,Escherichia coli, and an unknown bacterium,
among which E. coli has an obvious inhibitory effect on the fun-
gus Penicillium. However, Yotova and Medhat (2012) also found that
antimicrobial activities were not present in fruit extracts of P. coc-
cinea. This is because of differences in extract concentration, target
microorganisms, and composition of samples.
5.4 Antiacid activity
Gastric ulcer is caused by the imbalance between intragastric protec-
tive factor and invasive factor, which is dominated by invasive factor
(Rao et al., 2000). P. angustifolia extract has the function of protect-
ing gastric mucosa from the ulcer caused by anhydrous ethanol. It also
remits the acidity of gastric contents produced by pyloric ligation and
accelerates the healing of indomethacin-induced lesions. This proves
its use in traditional medicine and its effectiveness in gastric ulcers
(Patricia et al., 2015). The decrease of alcohol extract in blood conges-
tion suggests that it can protect the gastric mucosa from ethanol. This
may be due to the cytoprotective effect, which avoids mucosal destruc-
tion or protects the mucosa from ethanol invasion by increasing mucus
secretion. Another reason may be that the presence of polysaccharides
in the extract protects the mucosa (Patricia et al., 2015).
5.5 Anti-inflammation effect
Flavonoids, triterpene acids and other components in Pyracantha
japonicus have good anti-inflammatory activity potential. Yang and Lee
(2019)’s research showed that Pyracantha has high content of apigenin
and naringenin. Both substances contain anti-inflammatory activity.
Second, arbutin, as an important active substance in Pyracantha japon-
icus, can relieve symptoms of urinary tract infections and reduce the
need for antibiotics for the treatment of urinary tract infections (Wang
et al., 2022). Pyracantha oil can significantly inhibit capillary perme-
ability, inhibit exudation, reduce swelling, and increase phagocytosis.
The ferulic acid contained in Pyracantha can improve inflammation
and relieve skin damage caused by ultraviolet rays (Baas et al., 1994).
Pyracantha fruit extract has been shown to attenuate CdCl2-induced
inflammation in rat kidney tissue by increasing B-cell lymphoma 2, and
NAD(P)H quinone dehydrogenase 1, and decreasing tumor necrosis
factor.
for more indepth information about this amzing medicinal plant :
https://www.https//www.researchgate.net/publication/372976385_Pyracantha_as_a_promising_functional_food_A_comprehensive_review_on_bioactive_characteristics_pharmacological_activity_and_industrial_applicationsresearchgate.net/publication/372976385_Pyracantha_as_a_promising_functional_food_A_comprehensive_review_on_bioactive_characteristics_pharmacological_activity_and_industrial_applications