{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,9]],"date-time":"2026-09-09T14:14:00Z","timestamp":1788963240221,"version":"build-2803163510"},"reference-count":35,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"15","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2025,8,7]],"date-time":"2025-08-07T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1754524800000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Plants"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Wild edible plants, historically valued for their medicinal properties, can be a sustainable source of food, cosmetics, and pharmaceuticals. The blue berries of Prunus spinosa L., known as blackthorns, have antioxidant, astringent, and antimicrobial benefits. To preserve these properties after harvesting, understanding the best storage methods is essential. In this study, blackthorns were preserved using different methods (air-drying, freezing, or freeze-drying) to determine the optimal procedure for preserving their antioxidant activity. The fruits were extracted using a 50:50 (V\/V) mixture of ethanol and water. The different extracts were phytochemically characterized for their phenolic content and antioxidant activity. The Folin\u2013Ciocalteu test revealed total phenolic contents of 7.97 \u00b1 0.04, 13.99 \u00b1 0.04, and 7.39 \u00b1 0.08 (mg GAE\/g raw material) for the three types of extracts, respectively. The total flavonoid contents were 2.42 \u00b1 0.16, 3.14 \u00b1 0.15, and 2.32 \u00b1 0.03 (mg QE\/g raw material), respectively. In line with the polyphenol analysis, the antioxidant activity as determined by DPPH method was higher for the frozen extract, with a value of 91.78 \u00b1 0.80%, which was confirmed by the ROS test on keratinocytes. These results show that both air-drying and freeze-drying processes negatively impact the preservation of antioxidant activity in blackthorns, suggesting that freezing may be the best preservation method before bioactive compound extraction.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/plants14152454","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2025,8,8]],"date-time":"2025-08-08T08:09:35Z","timestamp":1754640575000},"page":"2454","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":4,"title":["Influence of Various Fruit Preservation Methods on the Phenolic Composition and Antioxidant Activity of Prunus spinosa L. Fruit Extract"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"14","author":[{"given":"Valentina","family":"Sallustio","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Drug Delivery Research Laboratory, Department of Pharmacy and Biotechnology, Alma Mater Studiorum, University of Bologna, Via San Donato 19\/2, 40127 Bologna, Italy"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-5523-5622","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Joana","family":"Marto","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Research Institute for Medicines (iMed.ULisboa), Faculty of Pharmacy, Universidade de Lisboa, Avenida Professor Gama Pinto, 1649-038 Lisboa, Portugal"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-6799-2740","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Lidia Maria","family":"Gon\u00e7alves","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Research Institute for Medicines (iMed.ULisboa), Faculty of Pharmacy, Universidade de Lisboa, Avenida Professor Gama Pinto, 1649-038 Lisboa, Portugal"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-0541-390X","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Manuela","family":"Mandrone","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"PharmaBot Laboratory, Department of Pharmacy and Biotechnology, Alma Mater Studiorum, University of Bologna, Via Irnerio 42, 40126 Bologna, Italy"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-6171-278X","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Ilaria","family":"Chiocchio","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"PharmaBot Laboratory, Department of Pharmacy and Biotechnology, Alma Mater Studiorum, University of Bologna, Via Irnerio 42, 40126 Bologna, Italy"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-9310-4957","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Michele","family":"Protti","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Pharmaco-Toxicological Analysis Laboratory (PTA Lab.), Department of Pharmacy and Biotechnology, Alma Mater Studiorum, University of Bologna, Via Belmeloro 6, 40126 Bologna, Italy"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-0644-9461","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Laura","family":"Mercolini","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Pharmaco-Toxicological Analysis Laboratory (PTA Lab.), Department of Pharmacy and Biotechnology, Alma Mater Studiorum, University of Bologna, Via Belmeloro 6, 40126 Bologna, Italy"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Barbara","family":"Luppi","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Drug Delivery Research Laboratory, Department of Pharmacy and Biotechnology, Alma Mater Studiorum, University of Bologna, Via San Donato 19\/2, 40127 Bologna, Italy"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Federica","family":"Bigucci","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Drug Delivery Research Laboratory, Department of Pharmacy and Biotechnology, Alma Mater Studiorum, University of Bologna, Via San Donato 19\/2, 40127 Bologna, Italy"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Angela","family":"Abruzzo","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Drug Delivery Research Laboratory, Department of Pharmacy and Biotechnology, Alma Mater Studiorum, University of Bologna, Via San Donato 19\/2, 40127 Bologna, Italy"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Teresa","family":"Cerchiara","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Drug Delivery Research Laboratory, Department of Pharmacy and Biotechnology, Alma Mater Studiorum, University of Bologna, Via San Donato 19\/2, 40127 Bologna, Italy"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2025,8,7]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","first-page":"101116","article-title":"Potentiality of Neglected and Underutilized Species (NUS) as a Future Resilient Food: A Systematic Review","volume":"16","author":"Talucder","year":"2024","journal-title":"J. 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