Sostanze di natura polifenolica e minerali in frutti del genere Prunus e loro prodotti di trasformazione (Polyphenolic substances and minerals in Prunus genus fruits and products of their processing).

Cherry from Prunus cerasus is widely used for its well known properties. The most important Italian area for cherry prodn. is the country around Vignola (Modena). The very short period of harvesting and the difficult preservation, require that a large amt. of fresh fruits is transformed in preserves and jams. We detd. the content of polyphenolic compds. in fresh cherries, cherry jams, and some com. jams to show the presence of compds. with high pharmacol. activity and potential beneficial effects on health. Micromineral (Zn, Fe, Mn) and macromineral (Ca, Mg, P, Na, K) nutrients were also detd. The polyphenol content in cherries was sufficiently high and the processing to jams did not cause many changes. The anthocyanidins were practically absent in com. jams. The cherries contained sufficient amts. of Ca and P, high levels of K, and low levels of Na.