Phenolic compounds play an important role in the defense system of the human organism against reactive oxygen species. They are present mainly in fruit and vegetables, but their bioavailability is the key factor determining their concentration in blood and tissues. The aim of this article was to study the transformations that apple polyphenols undergo during digestion. An in vitro model with dialysate membranes simulating the human alimentary tract was used for evaluating the composition and antioxidant properties of fresh apples and products of their digestion in dialysates. Epicatechin, chlorogenic acid, and procyanidins were the main antioxidant compounds in the whole fruits and flesh of the two varieties of apples analyzed. In the apple peel additionally quercetin glycosides were present. As a result of in vitro digestion both polyphenolic compounds concentration and the antioxidant activity of the dialysates increased as compared to the raw materials (from 35% to 95% and from 50% to 236%, respectively). In the simulated alimentary tract, it was proved that procyanidins disintegrate to (+)catechin, which is well absorbed from the small intestine, while chlorogenic acid and quercetin glycosides were characterized by a low bioavailability.

Sesame seeds must be dehulled before processing for the food industry because the husk provides undesirable darker color and bitter taste. Currently, sesame seeds are mechanically peeled but this procedure requires high volume of water, which is a scarce resource in most of the countries where sesame is consumed by humans. In this study, several chemicals have been used in order to facilitate the peeling process and reduce the water requirement. The feasibility of using chemicals was evaluated by studying the color (instrumental and sensory) and the microstructure of seeds. Addition of both NaClO and H₂O₂ before the mechanical dehulling of sesame seeds will be the recommended treatments for combining the dehulling and whitening steps of the sesame processing. This recommendation is supported by the high values of the L_* and dehulling percentage and the low values of the color coordinates a_* and b_*. Besides, the scanning electron microscopy proved that the NaClO treatment was able to remove the hulls without causing damage to the cotyledons.

Genotoxic and antigenotoxic activities against direct acting mutagen nifuroxazide, and indirect acting genotoxin aflatoxine B1 (AFB1) of extracts prepared from fruits of Pistacia lentiscus, were studied using the SOS chromotest with Escherichia coli PQ 37 as a tester organism. It was found that different extracts showed no genotoxicity when tested with E. coli PQ 37 strain either with or without microsomal extract. On the other hand, our results showed that ethyl acetate fraction and total oligomers flavonoids (TOF) extract obtained from P. lentiscus significantly decreased the genotoxicicity induced by AFB1 (10 µg/assay) and nifuroxazide (20 µg/assay). In addition to antigenotoxic activity, these extracts showed an important free radical scavenging activity towards the 2,2-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) free radical and an important antioxidant activity using xanthine/xanthine oxidase system.

Nitric oxide (NO) was applied to broccoli (Brassica oleracea L. var. italica) florets and analyzed its effect on chlorophyll degradation during postharvest senescence. Florets were treated with 1000 µL/L of NO for 5 h and placed in darkness at 20 °C. During storage, the NO treatment delayed yellowing and retarded the onset of chlorophyll degradation. The activity of lipoxygenase was not related to the development of yellowing during storage. However, the accumulation of malondialdehyde, which could be used as an index of lipid peroxidation, was higher in the control than observed in the NO treatment. In untreated broccoli florets during storage, lipid peroxidation influenced the yellowing of broccoli florets while NO-treated florets maintained chlorophyll levels and decreased lipid peroxidation.