Lectins are ubiquitous proteins characterized through their ability to bind different types of carbohydrates. It is well known that active lectins from insufficiently prepared legumes can cause adverse human health effects. The objective of this study was to determine the activity of lectins in samples across plant families representing commercially available edible plants, and the feasibility of inactivating lectins through soaking and boiling. Lectins were extracted from the plant families Adoxaceae, Amaranthaceae, Cannabaceae, Fabaceae, Gramineae, Lamiaceae, Linaceae, Pedaliaceae, and Solanaceae. A hemagglutination assay based on non-treated or trypsin treated rabbit erythrocytes was used to measure the lectin activity. The results showed the highest lectin activity in species from the Fabaceae family and demonstrated that soaking and boiling have an effect on the levels of active lectins. This is the first large study that combines lectin activity obtained from two different assays with raw and processed edible plants. In addition, we examined the current risk assessment, and regulations necessary for an adequate official reporting of results. We encourage the scientific community to further explore this field and agree on harmonized methods for analysis and interpretation, and hope that our methodology can initiate this development.

Apples are known to be a rich source of phenolic compounds, however detailed studies about their content in the individual parts of apple trees are reported rarely. For this purpose, we tested various stationary phases for the determination of phenolic compounds in leaves, bark, and buds. Phloridzin, phloretin, chlorogenic acid, rutin, and quercitrin were analyzed with high performance liquid chromatography coupled with diode array detection. A YMC Triart C18-ExRS 150 × 4.6 mm, 5 µm particle size analytical column with multilayered particle technology was used. The separation was performed with a mobile phase that consisted of acetonitrile and 0.1% phosphoric acid, according to the gradient program, at a flow rate of 1 mL/min for 12.50 min. The concentration of phenolic compounds from 13 cultivars was in the range of 64.89–106.01 mg/g of dry weight (DW) in leaves, 70.81–113.18 mg/g DW in bark, and 100.68–139.61 mg/g DW in buds. Phloridzin was a major compound. The total antioxidant activity was measured using flow analysis and the correlation with the total amount of phenolic compounds was found. This finding can lead to the re-use of apple tree material to isolate substances that can be utilized in the food, pharmaceutical, or cosmetics industries.

Apple trees (Malus domestica Borgh) are a rich source of dihydrochalcones, phenolic acids and flavonoids. Considering the increasing demand for these phytochemicals with health-benefitting properties, the objective of this study was to evaluate the profile of the main bioactive compounds—phloridzin, phloretin, chlorogenic acid and rutin—in apple tree bark, leaves, flower buds and twigs. The variety in the phenolic profiles of four apple tree cultivars was monitored during the vegetation period from March to September using chromatography analysis. Phloridzin, the major glycoside of interest, reached the highest values in the bark of all the tested cultivars in May (up to 91.7 ± 4.4 mg g−1 of the dried weight (DW), cv. ‘Opal’). In the leaves, the highest levels of phloridzin were found in cv. ‘Opal’ in May (82.5 ± 22.0 mg g−1 of DW); in twigs, the highest levels were found in cv. ‘Rozela’ in September (52.4 ± 12.1 mg g−1 of DW). In the flower buds, the content of phloridzin was similar to that in the twigs. Aglycone phloretin was found only in the leaves in relatively low concentrations (max. value 2.8 ± 1.4 mg g−1 of DW). The highest values of rutin were found in the leaves of all the tested cultivars (10.5 ± 2.9 mg g−1 of DW, cv. ‘Opal’ in September); the concentrations in the bark and twigs were much lower. The highest content of chlorogenic acid was found in flower buds (3.3 ± 1.0 mg g−1 of DW, cv. ‘Rozela’). Whole apple fruits harvested in September were rich in chlorogenic acid and phloridzin. The statistical evaluation by Scheffe’s test confirmed the significant difference of cv. ‘Rozela’ from the other tested cultivars. In conclusion, apple tree bark, twigs, and leaves were found to be important renewable resources of bioactive phenolics, especially phloridzin and rutin. The simple availability of waste plant material can therefore be used as a rich source of phenolic compounds for cosmetics, nutraceuticals, and food supplement preparation.