Bioactive compounds of sweet and sour cherry stems obtained by subcritical water extraction

BACKGROUND: Sweet cherries (Prunus avium L.) and sour cherries (Prunus cerasus L.) contain substantial amounts of anthocyanins and polyphenolics, and their stems have been used in traditional medicine for centuries. However, comparative data on the composition of sweet and sour cherry stems using the same analytical methodologies are limited. Moreover, there is no data in terms of biological activity of subcritical water extracts of cherry stems. RESULTS AND DISSCUSION: Results obtained by using several assays that focused on different mechanisms showed that subcritical water extracts of sour and sweet cherry stems were powerful antiradicals and antioxidants. Anti-proliferative properties measured by MTT (3-[4,5- dimethylthiazol-2-yl]-2,5 diphenyl tetrazolium bromide) test showed prominent cytotoxicity against different tumor cell lines. Inhibitory concentrations obtained were in the range 8.38–11.40 µg mL-1. GC–MS (gas chromatography mass spectrometry) analysis showed the presence of alcohols, fatty acids, organic acids and other organic compounds. However, the chemical compositions of the two samples observed were similar, indicating similar chemical composition of sour and sweet cherry stems. CONCLUSION: Subcritical water extracts of cherry stem demonstrated excellent biological activity and the potential to be used for pharmaceuticals or supplements due to confirmed high antioxidant, antiradical and antitumor activity.