Pinus Species as Prospective Reserves of Bioactive Compounds with Potential Use in Functional Food—Current State of Knowledge

Abstract

The pine (Pinus L.) is the largest and most heteromorphic plant genus of the pine family (Pinaceae Lindl.), which grows almost exclusively in the northern hemisphere. The demand for plant-based remedies, supplements and functional food is growing worldwide. Although pine-based products are widely available in many parts of the world, they are almost absent as food ingredients. The literature shows the beneficial effects of pine preparations on human health. Despite the wide geographical distribution of pine trees in the natural environment, there are very few data in the literature on the widespread use of pine in food technology. This study aims to present, characterise and evaluate the content of phytochemicals in pine trees, including shoots, bark and conifer needles, as well as to summarise the available data on their health-promoting and functional properties, and the potential of their use in food and the pharmaceutical industry to support health. Various species of pine tree contain different compositions of bioactive compounds. Regardless of the solvent, method, pine species and plant part used, all pine extracts contain a high number of polyphenols. Pine tree extracts exhibit several described biological activities that may be beneficial to human health. The available examples of the application of pine elements in food are promising. The reuse of residual pine elements is still limited compared to its potential. In this case, it is necessary to conduct more research to find and develop new products and applications of pine residues and by-products.

Antioxidant Properties and Monoterpene Composition of 13 Different Pine Resin Samples from Turkey

“…Pine products are rich in antioxidants. To date, different parts of the trees (bark, needles, shoots, seeds), various extraction methods, and solvents have been used in the studies investigating the antioxidant properties of Pinus trees (Dziedziński et al, 2021).…”

“…They concluded that pine needles would have potent antioxidative activity due to the high phenolic compounds. Dziedziński et al (2021) reported that the total phenolics of alcoholic extract for Pinus brutia tree barks were 412.42 mgGAE g -1 and the aqueous extracts obtained from the shoots of P. sylvestris was 0.86 mgGAE g -1 dry weight basis. It was expressed that the alcoholic extracts have higher total phenolic values than the aqueous extracts.…”

“…Many previous studies clearly stated that the antioxidant activity of the plant products was affected by whether extraction solvents contain water. The use of aqueous mixtures of water and organic solvents, such as ethanol, methanol, acetone, isopropanol, or acetonitrile, remarkably increases the antioxidant efficacy of the extracts (Dziedziński et al, 2021). Vankatesan et al (2019) investigated the antioxidant activity of Pinus densiflora needle extracts in water:ethanol mixture ratios of 0, 20, 40, 60, 80, and 100 percent.…”

“…The genus Pinus includes about 100 species, used from its leaves to its bark and seeds in many countries in the Northern hemisphere. (Mármol et al, 2019;Dziedziński et al, 2021). The resin produced from pine (Pinus spp.)…”

Heavy Metals and Sulphur in Needles of Pinus sylvestris L. and Soil in the Forests of City Agglomeration

“…The most important of them are α-Pinene, δ-3-carene, germacrene-4-ol, and bornyl acetate. The main sesquiterpenes are β-caryophyllene, germacrene D, bicyclogermacrene, δ-cadinene, γ-cadinene, germacrene D-4-ol, cubenol and α-cadinol [4,5]. Research has shown that essential oil exhibits antiparasitic, anti-hyperglycemic, anti-allergenic, anti-viral, anti-spasmodic properties, as well as insecticidal and larvicidal properties [6,7].…”