Abstract
Berries are traditionally an important part of the Nordic diet. About 50
different berries are grown in the northern region, and about half of them
are edible. The most well-known and important wild berries are lingonberry,
bilberry, raspberry, cloudberry, cranberry, buckthorn berry and crowberry. The
annual crop of lingonberry and bilberry in Finland has been estimated to be
as large as 500 million kg and 250 million kg, respectively. However, only a
small part of this is harvested. Thus wild berries in the Nordic region form
an enormous natural source, only a fractional part of which has been
advantaged so far. In North America cranberry along with blueberry are two
important native fruits which are commercially grown. Around 500 million tons
are produced every year. Only 5% of the annual crop is harvested for fresh
fruit and most of it is used for processing. Interest in the composition of
berries has been intensified because of the increased awareness of their
possible health effects. Berry fruits are rich sources of bioactive compounds,
such as phenolics and organic acids, which have antimicrobial activities
against harmful bacteria and human pathogens. Among different berries and
berry phenolics, especially cranberry, cloudberry, raspberry, strawberry and
bilberry possess clear antimicrobial effects against e.g. salmonella and
staphylococcus. These antimicrobial effects on different bacteria may also be
species or strain dependent in character. Complex phenolic polymers, like
ellagitannins, are strong antibacterial agents present in cloudberry and
raspberry. Several mechanisms of action in the growth inhibition of bacteria
are involved, such as destabilization of cytoplasmic membrane,
permeabilization of plasma membrane, inhibition of extracellular microbial
enzymes, direct actions on microbial metabolism and deprivation of the
substrates required for microbial growth. Antimicrobial activity of berries
may also be related to antiadherence of bacteria to epithelial cells, which is
a prerequisite for colonization and infection of many pathogens. The
antiadherence properties have so far been reported to cranberry phenolics.
Berry juices are often very acidic due to high content of organic acids, and
this may have an impact on the antimicrobial properties of the phenolics. Thus
pH is a very important parameter when evaluating the antimicrobial activity
of the berry compounds either in various food matrices or in the human body.
Antimicrobial berry compounds may have important applications in the future in
food industry as well as in medicine.
Original language | English |
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Publication status | Published - 2004 |
Event | The Satellite Symposium on Berries in Cancer Prevention: from experimental findings to humans - Lahti, Finland Duration: 10 Jul 2004 → 11 Jul 2004 |
Conference
Conference | The Satellite Symposium on Berries in Cancer Prevention |
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Country/Territory | Finland |
City | Lahti |
Period | 10/07/04 → 11/07/04 |