The hawthorn (Crataegus pinnatifida Bge.) fruit as a new dietary source of bioactive ingredients with multiple beneficial functions

Jin Xin Ma, Wei Yang, Chester Yan Jie Ng, Xu Dong Tang, Sunny Wong, Ren You Gan*, Linda Zhong*

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalJournal articlepeer-review

3 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

The discovery of new natural sources has brought increased attention to the development of functional foods. The hawthorn (Crataegus pinnatifida Bge.) fruit is an underutilized fruit due to its benefits for human health and good taste. It contains a variety of bioactive ingredients, contributing to its multiple beneficial functions and applications. This review summarized and discussed the main bioactive ingredients, beneficial functions based on in vitro, in vivo, and human studies, and different applications of the hawthorn fruit according to the updated literature in the past 3 years. Hawthorn berries contain phenolic acids, flavonoids, proanthocyanidins, pectin, and many other bioactive components, which have a variety of beneficial functions, such as antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, antibacterial, antidiabetic, intestinal protection, cardiovascular protection, hepatoprotection, anti-cancer, and neuroprotection. Its potential molecular mechanism and different food-related applications such as hawthorn wine and antioxidant drink are discussed in detail in this review. Additionally, hawthorn berries are shown to be safe when consumed within the proper dosage. Collectively, this updated review indicates that the hawthorn fruit can be a new dietary source of bioactive ingredients with multiple beneficial functions and can be affordably developed into functional and medicinal foods for the prevention and management of certain chronic diseases.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)1534-1558
Number of pages25
JournalFood Frontiers
Volume5
Issue number4
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Jul 2024

Scopus Subject Areas

  • Food Science

User-Defined Keywords

  • application
  • bioactive components
  • bioactivities
  • hawthorn
  • health benefits

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