Preprint Article Version 1 This version is not peer-reviewed

Morphological Characterization, Polyphenolic Profile, and Bioactive Properties of Limoncella, an Ancient Mediterranean Variety of Sweet Citrus

Lucia Potenza
,
Roberta Saltarelli
,
Francesco Palma
* ,
Laura Di Patria
,
Sabrina Burattini
,
Giosuè Annibalini
,
Pietro Gobbi
,
Laura Valentini
,
Giovanni Caprioli
,
Agnese Santanatoglia
,
Sauro Vittori
,
Elena Barbieri
Version 1 : Received: 17 September 2024 / Approved: 17 September 2024 / Online: 17 September 2024 (14:17:19 CEST)

How to cite: Potenza, L.; Saltarelli, R.; Palma, F.; Di Patria, L.; Burattini, S.; Annibalini, G.; Gobbi, P.; Valentini, L.; Caprioli, G.; Santanatoglia, A.; Vittori, S.; Barbieri, E. Morphological Characterization, Polyphenolic Profile, and Bioactive Properties of Limoncella, an Ancient Mediterranean Variety of Sweet Citrus. Preprints 2024, 2024091335. https://doi.org/10.20944/preprints202409.1335.v1 Potenza, L.; Saltarelli, R.; Palma, F.; Di Patria, L.; Burattini, S.; Annibalini, G.; Gobbi, P.; Valentini, L.; Caprioli, G.; Santanatoglia, A.; Vittori, S.; Barbieri, E. Morphological Characterization, Polyphenolic Profile, and Bioactive Properties of Limoncella, an Ancient Mediterranean Variety of Sweet Citrus. Preprints 2024, 2024091335. https://doi.org/10.20944/preprints202409.1335.v1

Abstract

Limoncella of Mattinata, a rare and ancient Mediterranean citrus fruit, was investigated by sequence analysis of the ribosomal internal transcribed spacer regions, which assigns it as a variety of Citrus medica L. Morphological, chemical, and biomolecular approaches were used to characterize flavedo and albedo, parts usually rich of bioactive compounds. The morphological findings showed albedo and flavedo cellular structures as “reservoirs” of nutritional components. Both albedo and flavedo hydroalcoholic extracts were rich in polyphenols, but they were different in compounds and quantity. The flavedo is rich in p-coumaric acid and rutin, whereas the albedo contains high levels of hesperidin and quercitrin. Antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and genoprotective effects for albedo and flavedo were found. The results confirmed the health properties of flavedo and highlighted that albedo is also a rich source of antioxidants. Moreover, this study valorizes Limoncella of Mattinata's nutritional properties, cueing its crops' repopulation.

Keywords

albedo; flavedo; bioactive compound; functional food

Subject

Biology and Life Sciences, Food Science and Technology

Copyright: This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

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