A Real Superfood: Scientists Have Found Dozens of New Beneficial Substances in Honeysuckle Fruits. Scientists have discovered 44 new biologically active compounds in honeysuckle fruits

Russian and Turkish researchers have studied the composition of honeysuckle berries, which have powerful antioxidant properties.

Scientists have discovered 44 new biologically active compounds, many of which are unique to each species and variety.

During the work, it was possible to determine which variety is the richest in useful substances. This will help in the selection and production of various drugs against cancer and HIV.

The scientists examined the berries of two species of this plant: wild Kamchatka honeysuckle and blue honeysuckle cultivated on plantations.

The data obtained can be used to create new dietary supplements and drugs for the complex therapy of HIV and cancer. This was reported to RT by the press service of Tomsk State University (TSU). The study was conducted with the support of the Russian Science Foundation. The results were published in the Turkish Journal of Agriculture and Forestry.

The study involved specialists from the TSU Agrobiotek Institute of Agricultural Sciences, the Kamchatka Research Institute of Agriculture, the FEFU Institute of Agricultural Sciences, the Vavilov All-Russian Institute of Plant Protection, the Siberian Federal Scientific Center of the Russian Academy of Sciences, and Ataturk University (Erzurum, Türkiye). 

Honeysuckle is often considered a so-called superfood due to its high nutritional value: the berries are rich in compounds that are beneficial to the human body (a superfood is usually a product with a high content of useful substances).

The authors of the work studied samples of two types of honeysuckle, some collected in the forest, others on farmland, and compared how growing conditions affect the chemical composition of the berries.

The results of the study will find application in the selection of agricultural varieties and may also be useful in collecting wild honeysuckles.

The analysis showed that all samples contained a total of 151 biologically active compounds, 44 of which were isolated for the first time.

Researchers have discovered a big difference in the chemical composition of blue and Kamchatka honeysuckle. Although the plants belong to the same genus, the composition of their fruits coincided by only 14% in terms of biologically active compounds.

For example, 88 compounds were found in blue honeysuckle, and 57 in the Tomichka variety. More than half of the compounds are unique.

Two-thirds of the compounds found in all samples are polyphenols. They protect plants from diseases and excessive ultraviolet radiation. Polyphenols are used in pharmaceuticals, as well as in the production of dietary supplements and functional nutrition.

Thus, scientists have discovered myricetin in blue honeysuckle, which is also found in blackberries, parsley and goji berries.

According to several scientific studies, this substance is potentially capable of inhibiting the development of cancer and HIV as part of complex therapy. In addition, anonain, which can slow the progression of cervical cancer, has been found in all varieties of blue honeysuckle.

‘We are currently also conducting research into which genes in honeysuckle are responsible for its size, skin density and other indicators important for industry, which will help to process the berry more deeply in the future,’ bioinformatician and professor at TSU’s Agrobiotek Research Institute of Agricultural Sciences Muhammad Amjad Nawaz told media. PLEASE SHARE OUR STORIES

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