BACKGROUND: Elderberry (Sambucus nigra L.) is considered an interesting fruit as food ingredient, due to its high content of anthocyanins that give products an attractive red colour. OBJECTIVE: The aim of present study was to evaluate the kinetics of elderberry monomeric anthocyanin (MAcy) and colour degradation due to thermal processing and storage. METHODS: Anthocyanins content was measured with pH-differential method. CIELab parameters were obtained with a Minolta Spectrophotometer, total phenolics were determined by Folin-Ciocalteu method. MAcy degradation and evolution of colour parameter a * were fitted to a first-order model. RESULTS:The degradation rate of a * was about three times lower than MAcy degradation rate. Activation energy for degradation of a * and MAcy were 140.6 and 144.6 kJ mol −1 respectively. Degradation rates (k) obtained during storage were 0.025 d −1 for MAcy and 0.0064 d −1 for a * . During storage, 50% reduction of initial values was at 120 days for MAcy and at 432 days for colour parameter a * at 25ºC. However, a high retention of polyphenols and antioxidant was noted. CONCLUSIONS: Kinetic parameters calculated for elderberry juice can be used to design a thermal treatment to obtain a high retention of colour and bioactive compounds.

Ligaria cuneifolia (R. et P.) Tiegh. (Loranthaceae) is a South American hemiparasitic species with antioxidant, antitumoral, antimicrobial, and antilipidemic activities attributed to its polyphenolic content. We studied the polyphenolic pattern of L. cuneifolia during different phenological stages: flowering, fruiting, and post-fruiting. The highest total phenolic content was found in stems at post-fruiting (214 ± 12.1 mg gallic acid eq·g−1 DW) and fruiting (209 ± 13.7 mg gallic acid eq·g−1 DW), followed by post-fruiting leaves (207 ± 17.5 mg gallic acid eq·g−1 DW). Flavonoids accumulated at higher levels in leaves and hydroxycinnamic acids in leaves at flowering and post-fruiting. The polyphenolic pattern was similar between organs from wild plants and in vitro cultures, although at a significantly lower level in the latter ones. The performance of calli growing under a 16 h photoperiod in a modified White medium with 1-naphthalene acetic acid (2.50 μM) and Kinetin (9.20 μM) was better than in the dark. When calli grew in media only with auxins (IAA, NAA, and 2,4-D, all at 2.50 µM concentration), its growth and polyphenolic content improved. Cell suspensions with 2.50 µM NAA and 9.20 µM KIN grew slowly and produced very small amounts of polyphenols. As for the antioxidant activity, it was detected in all samples (approximately 1000 µmol trolox eq·g−1 DW) except fruits, where a lower value was found (328 µmol trolox eq·g−1 DW). In vitro cultures have the lowest antioxidant activity when compared to methanolic extracts from organs of wild specimens. Finally, antimutagenic or mutagenic activity in wild plants and in vitro culture extracts was not detected by the Ames test.