Background

The fruits of Malpighia glabra and M. emarginata (Family: Malpighiaceae) are commonly known as ‘Acerola cherry’ or ‘Barbados cherry’. Acerola fruits are well known for their high content of vitamin C, phenolic compounds, including benzoic acid derivatives, phenylpropanoids, flavonoids, anthocyanins, and carotenoids. In recent years, there is a growing interest in the role of Acerola as a nutraceutical or functional food with increasing market value. Extracts and bioactive compounds isolated from Acerola are studied for their various health promoting activities and biological activities such as antioxidant, antitumor, antihyperglycemic and skin protecting/skin whitening.

Scope and approach

This article reviewed the scientific studies regarding the bioactive chemical constituents and the health beneficial effects of Acerola extracts and isolated compounds. These findings may help in future research concerning Acerola and Acerola based nutritional products.

Key findings and conclusions

Acerola fruits can be considered as good candidates for the development of novel functional foods. However, detailed in vitro, in vivo and clinical studies, particularly mechanism-based studies are needed for the development of evidence-based functional food products in future.

中文翻译：

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Acerola（Malpighia spp。）的植物药理作用及其作为功能食品的潜力。

背景

马尔巴吉亚（Malpighia glabra）和玛格丽特（M. emarginata）（家族：马尔巴吉亚科）的果实通常被称为“ Acerola樱桃”或“巴巴多斯樱桃”。西印度樱桃果实以其高含量的维生素C，酚类化合物（包括苯甲酸衍生物，苯基丙烷，类黄酮，花青素和类胡萝卜素）含量而闻名。近年来，人们越来越关注Acerola作为具有市场价值的营养食品或功能食品的作用。研究了从金虎花中提取的提取物和生物活性化合物的各种健康促进活性和生物活性，例如抗氧化剂，抗肿瘤，降血糖和皮肤保护/皮肤美白。

范围和方法

本文回顾了有关生物活性化学成分以及针叶提取物和分离出的化合物对健康有益的科学研究。这些发现可能有助于未来有关针叶和基于针叶的营养产品的研究。

主要发现和结论

西印度樱桃果实可以被认为是开发新型功能性食品的良好候选者。但是，将来需要进行详细的体外，体内和临床研究，尤其是基于机理的研究，以开发基于证据的功能食品。