Carotenoids, vitamins (A, B2, C and E) and total folate of traditional foods from Black Sea Area countries.

Background: Carotenoids, vitamins (A, B2, C and E) and total folate are related to health promotion. However, there are still many food matrices for which the content of these compounds is not available. In order to fill this gap, traditional foods from Black Sea Area countries (BSAC) were analysed in order to investigate their potential health benefits.

Definition and documentation of traditional foods of the Black Sea Area Countries: potential nutrition claims.

Background: Nutrition and health claims are permitted in foods marketed in the European Union under Regulation 1924/2006. Quality products such as traditional foods might benefit from this act, as it can highlight their nutritional richness. In this study the nutritional content of 33 traditional foods from the Black Sea Area Countries was evaluated against the thresholds of the Regulation for nutrition claims.

Lack of effect of bioactive-rich extracts of pomegranate, persimmon, nettle, dill, kale and Sideritis and isolated bioactives on platelet function.

Background: The health benefits of fruit and vegetable-rich diets may be partly due to modulation of platelet activity by bioactive phytochemicals. The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of bioactive-rich plant extracts and isolated bioactive metabolites on platelet function. Blood samples (n =15 subjects) were treated with extracts of bioactive-rich plants consumed as traditional foods in the Black Sea region, or with human metabolites of the bioactives quercetin and sulforaphane.