Hemp Seeds (Cannabis sativa L.) as a Valuable Source of Natural Ingredients for Functional Foods-A Review.

Hemp (Cannabis sativa L.) has experienced a significant resurgence in popularity, and global interest in diversifying its use in various industries, including the food industry, is growing. Therefore, due to their exceptional nutritional value, hemp seeds have recently gained increasing interest as a valuable ingredient for obtaining high-quality foods and dietary supplements. Hemp seeds stand out for their remarkable content of quality proteins, including edestin and albumin, two distinct types of proteins that contribute to exceptional nutritional value. Hemp seeds are also rich in healthy lipids with a high content of polyunsaturated fatty acids, such as linoleic acid (omega-6), alpha-linolenic acid (omega-3), and some vitamins (vitamins E, D, and A). Polyphenols and terpenoids, in particular, present in hemp seeds, provide antimicrobial, antioxidant, and anti-inflammatory properties. This review examines the scientific literature regarding hemp seeds' physicochemical and nutritional characteristics. The focus is on those characteristics that allow for their use in the food industry, aiming to transform ordinary food products into functional foods, offering additional benefits for the body's health. Innovating opportunities to develop healthy, nutritionally superior food products are explored by integrating hemp seeds into food processes, promoting a balanced and sustainable diet.

Beetroot as a novel ingredient for its versatile food applications.

Beta vulgaris, also known as Beetroot, is a member of a family of Chenopodiaceae and is widely used as a natural food colorant. It gets its distinctive color due to nitrogen-containing water-soluble pigments betalains. Beetroot is an exquisite cradle of nutrients, including proteins, sucrose, carbohydrates, vitamins (B complex and vitamin C), minerals, fiber. They also contain an appreciable amount of phenolic compounds and antioxidants such as coumarins, carotenoids, sesquiterpenoids, triterpenes, flavonoids (astragalin, tiliroside, rhamnocitrin, kaempferol, rhamnetin). Recent studies evidenced that beetroot consumption had favorable physiological benefits, leading to improved cardiovascular diseases, hypertension, diabetes, cancer, hepatic steatosis, liver damage, etc. This review gives insights into developing beetroot as a potential and novel ingredient for versatile food applications and the latest research conducted worldwide. The phytochemical diversity of beetroot makes them potential sources of nutraceutical compounds from which functional foods can be obtained. The article aimed to comprehensively collate some of the vital information published on beetroot incurred in the agri-food sector and a comprehensive review detailing the potentiality of tapping bioactive compounds in the entire agriculture-based food sector.

Differential Effects of Oligosaccharides, Antioxidants, Amino Acids and PUFAs on Heat/Hypoxia-Induced Epithelial Injury in a Caco-2/HT-29 Co-Culture Model.

(1) Exposure of intestinal epithelial cells to heat and hypoxia causes a (heat) stress response, resulting in the breakdown of epithelial integrity. There are indications that several categories of nutritional components have beneficial effects on maintaining the intestinal epithelial integrity under stress conditions. This study evaluated the effect of nine nutritional components, including non-digestible oligosaccharides (galacto-oligosaccharides (GOS), fructo-oligosaccharides (FOS), chitosan oligosaccharides (COS)), antioxidants (α-lipoic acid (ALA), resveratrol (RES)), amino acids (l-glutamine (Glu), l-arginine (Arg)) and polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) (docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) and eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA)), on heat/hypoxia-induced epithelial injury. (2) Two human colonic cell lines, Caco-2 and HT-29, were co-cultured and pre-treated with the nutritional components for 48 h. After pre-treatment, the cells were exposed to heat/hypoxia (42 °C, 5% O2) for 2 h. Epithelial integrity was evaluated by measuring trans-epithelial electrical resistance (TEER), paracellular Lucifer Yellow (LY) permeability, and tight junction (TJ) protein expression. Heat stress and oxidative stress levels were evaluated by determining heat-shock protein-70 (HSP-70) expression and the concentration of the lipid peroxidation product malondialdehyde (MDA). (3) GOS, FOS, COS, ALA, RES, Arg, and EPA presented protective effects on epithelial damage in heat/hypoxia-exposed Caco-2/HT-29 cells by preventing the decrease in TEER, the increase in LY permeability, and/or decrease in TJ proteins zonula occludens-1 (ZO-1) and claudin-3 expression. COS, RES, and EPA demonstrated anti-oxidative stress effects by suppressing the heat/hypoxia-induced MDA production, while Arg further elevated the heat/hypoxia-induced increase in HSP-70 expression. (4) This study indicates that various nutritional components have the potential to counteract heat/hypoxia-induced intestinal injury and might be interesting candidates for future in vivo studies and clinical trials in gastrointestinal disorders related to heat stress and hypoxia.

Physiological and transcriptomic analysis reveal the regulatory mechanism underlying grain quality improvement induced by rice ratooning.

BACKGROUND: Ratoon rice cropping has been introduced for increased rice production in southern China and, as a result, has been becoming increasingly popular. However, only a few studies have addressed the regulatory mechanism underlying grain quality improvement induced by rice ratooning. RESULTS: In this study, parameters of rice quality, including head rice yield, chalky grain percentage, grain chalkiness degree, hardness and taste value, were shown to be much improved in the ratooning season rice as compared to its counterparts main and late cropping season rice, indicating that such an improvement was irrespective of seasonal effects. In addition, the nutritional components of grains varied greatly between main-cropping season rice, ratooning season rice and late-cropping season rice and displayed a significant correlation with rice quality. Finally, the regulatory mechanism underlying rice quality improvement revealed that gibberellin-dominated regulation and plant hormone signal transduction jointly contributed to a decrease in formation of chalky grains. CONCLUSION: This work improves our knowledge on rice quality improvement under rice ratooning, particularly on the regulatory mechanism of plant hormones. © 2022 Society of Chemical Industry.

Mixotrophic Cultivation Optimization of Microalga Euglena pisciformis AEW501 for Paramylon Production.

Euglena, a flagellated unicellular protist, has recently received widespread attention for various high-value metabolites, especially paramylon, which was only found in Euglenophyta. The limited species and low biomass of Euglena has impeded paramylon exploitation and utilization. This study established an optimal cultivation method of Euglena pisciformis AEW501 for paramylon production under mixotrophic cultivation. The results showed that the optimum mixotrophic conditions were 20 °C, pH 7.0, and 63 µmol photons m-2∙s-1, and the concentrations of sodium acetate and diammonium hydrogen phosphate were 0.98 g L-1 and 0.79 g L-1, respectively. The maximal biomass and paramylon content were 0.72 g L-1 and 71.39% of dry weight. The algal powder contained more than 16 amino acids, 6 vitamins, and 10 unsaturated fatty acids under the optimal cultivation. E. pisciformis paramylon was pure ß-1,3-glucan-type polysaccharide (the purity was up to 99.13 ± 0.61%) composed of linear glucose chains linked together by ß-1,3-glycosidic bonds. These findings present a valuable basis for the industrial exploitation of paramylon with E. pisciformis AEW501.

Bioconservation of iron and enhancement of antioxidant and antibacterial properties of chicken gizzard protein hydrolysate fermented by Pediococcus acidilactici ATTC 8042.

BACKGROUND: The poultry industry is one of the fastest growing sectors, and it generates considerable quantities of chicken gizzards (CG) every day. However, due to their hard texture and high microbial load, and due to cultural beliefs, they are not preferred by consumers. Chicken gizzards are a substantial source of proteins, iron, and other nutrients, which can be used effectively to produce nutraceuticals, rich in peptides (antioxidants and antibacterial), bio-iron, essential free amino acids, and fatty acids vital for human health. RESULTS: Lactic acid fermentation of CG by Pediococcus acidilactici ATTC 8042 increased the antioxidant activity of 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH), azino-bis (3-ethylbenzothiaziline-6-sulphonic acid) (ABTS), and ferric reducing antioxidant power (FRAP) by up to 26 times compared with unfermented CG (P < 0.05). The amount of hydrolysis and solvents (ethanol and water) used for extracting protein hydrolysates significantly affected the antioxidant properties. Moreover, fermented CG showed a negligible reduction in bio-iron (2-3%) compared with heat-processed CG (85 °C for 15 min), in which bio-iron was reduced by up to 20.3% (P < 0.05). The presence of unsaturated fatty acids such as C20:4 and C22:4 n-6 indicated a low level of lipid oxidation. CONCLUSION: Fermented CG, with its reasonably high antioxidant and antibacterial activity, together with a substantial amount of bio-iron and other nutritional components can serve as a functional food or feed additive to reduce oxidative stress and to treat iron deficiency. © 2020 Society of Chemical Industry.

[Analysis of water-soluble nutrients in Lycium barbarum leaves and differences between different producing areas].

This study is to clarify the composition and content differences of water-soluble nutrients in Lycium barbarum leaves(LBLs) from different areas. The total polysaccharides, free monosaccharides and oligosaccharides, nucleosides and amino acids in 35 batches of LBLs were analyzed with use of spectrophotometry, HPLC-ELSD and UPLC-MS/MS. The results showed that LBLs contained abundant polysaccharides, fructose, glucose, sucrose and maltose, with an average contents of 39.07, 12.69, 8.99, 17.44, 8.32 mg·g~(-1), respectively. Besides, eight nucleosides and twelve amino acids were detected in LBLs, and their average total contents were 54.95, 336.9 µg·g~(-1). Principal component analysis(PCA) and partial least squares discrimination analysis(PLS-DA) of carbohydrate, nucleoside and amino acid showed that the water-soluble nutrients of the samples from Qinghai Province were significantly different from those from other areas mainly in asparagine, proline, glutamine, sucrose, adenine and guanosine. In this study, the compositions and contents of water-soluble nutrients in LBLs were preliminarily clarified, which provided basis for further development and utilization of LBLs resoures.

Myzus persicae (Hemiptera: Aphididae) infestation increases the risk of bacterial contamination and alters nutritional content in storage Chinese cabbage.

BACKGROUND: Aphids are common insect pests that feed on and excrete feces/honeydew on storage vegetables, especially in the temperate region of the northern hemisphere. The honeydew of aphids is an excellent growth medium for microorganisms. To explore the effects of aphid infestation on the risk of microbial contamination and food safety: (i) the bacterial diversity and community in aphid honeydew were investigated; (ii) the nutritional components of the cabbage were analyzed; and (iii) safety was evaluated. RESULTS: The results showed that the dominant bacteria in storage Chinese cabbage under different exposure times belonged to the phylum Proteobacteria, family Enterobacteriaceae. The richness of Enterobacteriaceae increased from 36.35% (1 day) to 39.70% (5 days) and to 50.74% (10 days) as the exposure time increased. Serratia was the genus with the highest abundance (23.38% for 1 day, 30.56% for 5 days and 37.85% for 10 days). The abundance of pathways associated with Staphylococcus aureus infection and Shigellosis increased significantly after prolonged storage. In addition, when the aphid density increased from 0 to 100 per 250 g of Chinese cabbage leaves, the protein content in Chinese cabbage decreased significantly, whereas the reducing sugar content increased significantly. CONCLUSION: These results demonstrate that the honeydew excreted by the green peach aphid Myzus persicae (Sulzer) on storage Chinese cabbage can serve as a medium for some foodborne disease pathogens. The present study may provide both a theoretical and practical basis for vegetable storage to reduce the risk of foodborne pathogen infection and to maintain the balance of nutrients. © 2020 Society of Chemical Industry.

Effects of nutrient and bioactive food components on Alzheimer's disease and epigenetic.

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is the most common form of dementia in the elderly and is a chronic neurodegenerative disease that is becoming widespread. For this reason, in recent years factors affecting the development, progression and cognitive function of the AD have been emphasized. Nutrients and other bioactive nutrients are among the factors that are effective in AD. In particular, vitamins A, C and E, vitamins B1, B6 and B12, folate, magnesium, choline, inositol, anthocyanins, isoflavones etc. nutrients and bioactive nutrients are known to be effective in the development of AD. Nutrients and nutrient components may also have an epigenetic effect on AD. At the same time, nutrients and bioactive food components slow down the progression of the disease. For this reason, the effect of nutrients and food components on AD was examined in this review.

Effect of ultrasonic and ball-milling treatment on cell wall, nutrients, and antioxidant capacity of rose (Rosa rugosa) bee pollen, and identification of bioactive components.

BACKGROUND: Bee pollen has been regarded as a complete nutritional human dietary supplement but its nutrient absorption and biological effects may be restricted by the complex pollen wall. The aim of this study was to explore the effects of ultrasonic and ball-milling treatment on the release of nutritional components and on in vitro and in vivo antioxidant effects of rose (Rosa rugosa) bee pollen. RESULTS: Bee pollen walls were broken to varying degrees, nutrients were released, and in vitro and in vivo antioxidant effects of bee pollen were improved. The scavenging effects of 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) and 2,2'-azinobis(3-ethylbenzothiazolone-6-sulfonic acid) (ABTS) radicals, and oxygen radical absorbance capacity (ORAC) were improved. In aging mice, wall-breaking treatment led to better organ recovery, enhanced superoxide dismutase (SOD) and catalase (CAT) effects, and malondialdehyde (MDA) reduction. Eight compounds of rose bee pollen ethanol extract, including isorhamnetin 3-O-diglucoside and N', N″, N‴-dicaffeoyl p-coumaroyl spermidine were identified by ultra-performance liquid chromatography electrospray ionization quadrupole time of flight mass spectrometry (UPLC-ESI-QTOF-MS/MS) assay. CONCLUSION: This study showed that ultrasonic treatment had greater wall-disruption effects of bee pollen on nutrient release and antioxidant effect promotion. In conclusion, rose bee pollen, with wall-breaking treatments, may have potential value as an ingredient in functional food processing. © 2019 Society of Chemical Industry.

De Novo Assembly and Characterization of the Xenocatantops brachycerus Transcriptome.

Grasshoppers are common pests but also have high nutritional and commercial potential. Xenocatantops brachycerus Willemse (Orthoptera: Acrididae) is an economically important grasshopper species that is reared in China. Using the IlluminaHiSeqTM 4000 platform, three transcriptomes of the adult male, adult female, and nymph of X. brachycerus were sequenced. A total of 133,194,848 clean reads were obtained and de novo assembled into 43,187 unigenes with an average length of 964 bp (N50 of 1799 bp); of these, 24,717 (57.23%) unigenes matched known proteins. Based on these annotations, many putative transcripts related to X. brachycerus growth, development, environmental adaptability, and metabolism of nutritional components and bioactive components were identified. In addition, the expression profiles of all three transcriptome datasets were analyzed, and many differentially expressed genes were detected using RSEM and PossionDis. Unigenes. Unigenes with functions associated with growth and development exhibited higher transcript levels at the nymph stage, and unigenes associated with environmental adaptability showed increased transcription in the adults. These comprehensive X. brachycerus transcriptomic data will provide a useful molecular resource for gene prediction, molecular marker development, and studies on signaling pathways in this species and will serve as a reference for the efficient use of other grasshoppers.

[Effects of nitrogen and sulfur combined application on nutritional components and active components of Isatis indigotica at seedling stage].

Using split plot design, a pot experiment with sand culture was conducted to investigate the effects ofnitrogen and sulfur combined application on nutritional components and active component of Isatis indigotica at seedling stage under different N (5，15，25 mmol·L⁻¹)and S(0.00，1.25，2.50，5.00，7.50 mmol·L⁻¹) levels. The results showed thatthe two elements had obvious effects and the leaf and root dry weights of I. indigotica seedlings increased greatly at N2 level. Under the same nitrogen concentration, the leaf and root dry weights increased firstly and decreased with the rising of sulfur concentrations in which S2 was conducive to the growth and biomass accumulation. Soluble sugar, soluble protein, soluble amino acids contents were the highest in N1, N2 and N3 treatments, respectively. The influence of sulfur concentrations on nutritional components was same as biomass, but the peak of different nutritional components was diversity in different nitrogen levels. The effects on secondary metabolites (total flavones, indigo, indriubin, epigotrin contents) were not obvious significantly, in which these indexes by N1S3，N1S2，N3S0，N3S1were the highest, respectively. In conclusion, the combination of nitrogen and sulfur of N2S2(N 15 mmol·L⁻¹ and S 2.5 mmol·L⁻¹) was beneficial to the growth and secondary metabolites accumulation of I. indigotica. These results could provide a theoretical basis for rational fertilization and cultivation of I. indigotica seedling.

Changes in nutritional and bio-functional compounds and antioxidant capacity during black garlic processing.

This study aimed to explore ideal processing condition for black garlic based on the change of nutritional and active components and antioxidant capacity. Fresh garlic was processed under the condition of constant temperature (65, 75 and 85 °C) and relative humidity (70, 75, 80 and 85%) for 16 days. The sensory scores, contents of nutritional and active components, and antioxidant capacity were monitored. The sensory scores reached the maximum on the 8th day at 85% humidity and 75 °C. The contents of nutritional components were significantly affected by humidity and temperature, and 85% humidity and 75 °C were appropriate. The polyphenol content increased with increase in temperature and decrease in humidity. The reducing sugars and total sugars, total acids and 5-HMF were higher at 75 °C than at 65 and 85 °C. Reducing sugar and protein contents and sensory scores decreased on the 8th day. Maintaining the temperature of 75 °C and relative humidity of 85% for 8 days were ideal for black garlic to retain antioxidant capacity and abundant nutrients.

Managing Cardiovascular Risk in Patients with Autoimmune Diseases: Insights from a Nutritional Perspective.

PURPOSE OF REVIEW: Autoimmune diseases manifest as an immune system response directed against endogenous antigens, exerting a significant influence on a substantial portion of the population. Notably, a leading contributor to morbidity and mortality in this context is cardiovascular disease (CVD). Intriguingly, individuals with autoimmune disorders exhibit a heightened prevalence of CVD compared to the general population. The meticulous management of CV risk factors assumes paramount importance, given the current absence of a standardized solution to this perplexity. This review endeavors to address this challenge from a nutritional perspective. RECENT FINDINGS: Emerging evidence suggests that inflammation, a common thread in autoimmune diseases, also plays a pivotal role in the pathogenesis of CVD. Nutritional interventions aimed at reducing inflammation have shown promise in mitigating cardiovascular risk. The integration of nutritional strategies into the management plans for patients with autoimmune diseases offers a holistic approach to reducing cardiovascular risk. While conventional pharmacological treatments remain foundational, the addition of targeted dietary interventions can provide a complementary pathway to improve cardiovascular outcomes.

Biomarkers of the main nutritional components in purple rice during five successive grain filling stages.

Differences in main nutritional components in relation to biomarkers of metabolites in purple rice grains at different fillings stages have not been determined previously. This study measured the contents of amino acids, several nutritional indicators, and mineral elements in purple rice grains at five stages following the filling stage. The results revealed that the amino acid, ascorbic acid, total sugar, carotenoid, vitamin B9, cyanidin-3-O-glucoside, peonidin 3-glucoside and seven minerals were highest in the final stage of grain filling. Citric acid, L-isoleucine, trigonelline, and L-glutamate are key metabolites in the metabolic pathway and exhibit strong correlations with various nutritional indicators. Hence, this research preliminarily suggested that trigonelline, L-isoleucine, L-glutamate, and citric acid could be potential biomarkers of nutritional components in purple rice grains during various postfilling stages.

Establishing a nutrition calculation model for catering food according to the influencing factors of energy and nutrient content in food processing.

Objective: This study aimed to establish an accurate and efficient scientific calculation model for the nutritional composition of catering food to estimate energy and nutrient content of catering food. Methods: We constructed a scientific raw material classification database based on the Chinese food composition table by calculating the representative values of each food raw material type. Using China's common cooking methods, we cooked 150 dishes including grains, meat, poultry, fish, eggs, and vegetables and established a database showing the raw and cooked ratios of various food materials by calculating the ratio of raw to cooked and the China Total Diet Research database. The effects of various cooking methods on the nutritional composition of catering food were analyzed to determine correction factors for such methods on the nutritional components. Finally, we linked the raw material classification, raw and cooked ratio, and nutritional component correction factor databases to establish a model for calculating the nutritional components of catering food. The model was verified with nine representative Chinese dishes. Results: We have completed the construction of an accurate and efficient scientific calculation model for the nutritional composition of catering food, which improves the accuracy of nutrition composition calculation. Conclusion: The model constructed in this study was scientific, accurate, and efficient, thereby promising in facilitating the accurate calculation and correct labeling of nutritional components in catering food.

Color and Nutritional Analysis of Ten Different Purple Sweet Potato Varieties Cultivated in China via Principal Component Analysis and Cluster Analysis.

Purple sweet potato (PSP) has abundant nutritional compounds, which are valuable constituents of the human diet, but its development and utilization are still in the primary processing phase. This study examined the differences in nutritional characteristics of 10 PSP varieties. A variety of nutritional components were evaluated and comprehensively compared using principal component analysis (PCA) and cluster analysis (CA). The PSP had 60.9-70.1% moisture. The dried PSP had abundant starch (43.9~67.2%) and dietary fiber (9.40~16.5%), moderate levels of protein (3.19~8.75%) and reducing sugar (1.44~4.01%), and low amounts of crude fat (0.51~1.01%). The anthocyanin profile varied significantly between the different varieties. A correlation analysis showed that a higher content of anthocyanins resulted in a darker color. The PCA and CA suggested that varieties XS, ZL, and JS18 are desirable for developing the diabetic patient's diet. JS1 had the highest anthocyanin, protein, and dietary fiber contents and the lowest starch, implying that it could be used as a source of natural colorants or functional foods. Varieties FX, GS, ES13, and EN are suitable for producing various starch-based food products, such as noodles, cookies, and pastries. This study provides a reference for the practical use and rational processing of PSP resources.

Effects of ultra-high pressure, thermal pasteurization, and ultra-high temperature sterilization on color and nutritional components of freshly-squeezed lettuce juice.

The aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of ultra-high pressure (UHP, 600 MPa/2 min), thermal pasteurization (TP, 95 °C/1 min) and ultra-high temperature (UHT, 115 °C/5 s) sterilization on the color, sensory evaluation, microorganisms, physicochemical characteristics and nutritional components of freshly-squeezed lettuce juice (FLJ). Results showed that three sterilization methods demonstrated desirable inactivation effects on total aerobic bacteria, yeast and mold, and there were no significant changes in the main nutritional components, including ash, protein, carbohydrate and total dietary fiber. However, UHT and TP significantly affected the color of FLJ from bright green to light brown and made chlorophyll, ß-carotene and vitamins (VE, VC, VK1, VB6, VB12, and folic acid) contents markedly decreased. By contrast, UHP maintained the original color, fresh-like sensory qualities, vitamins, and carotene of FLJ to the greatest extent. Our results provide a promising application of UHP in the large-scale processing of FLJ.

Effects of Genotype and Growing Year on the Nutritional Composition and Pasting Properties of Glabrous Canary Seed (Phalaris canariensis L.) Groat Flours.

Canary seed flour is a new food ingredient that the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and Health Canada recently granted Generally Regarded as Safe (GRAS) status. Stability in nutritional composition and functional properties is an essential characteristic of food ingredients for consistency in nutritional quality and performance in processing. This work assessed the effect of genotypic and environmental variation on the nutritional (protein, starch, amylose, oil, dietary fiber, minerals and fat-soluble vitamins) and pasting (as measured in viscosity (peak, trough, breakdown, final, and setback), peak time, and pasting temperatures) properties of Canary seed. The samples included four Canary seed varieties grown in randomized complete block design experiments at one location for two growing seasons. In general, the nutritional composition of Canary seed flour was not affected by genotype, growing year, and their interaction except for starch content, which was significantly affected by the growing year (p < 0.0001), and iron content, which was affected by genotypic variation (p < 0.0001). The pasting properties of Canary seed flour were significantly (p < 0.001) affected by both genotypic and growing year variation but not their interaction. Our results suggest that the food industry should measure starch and iron content prior to processing to ensure consistency in nutritional labeling. Also, for those applications where starch pasting properties are essential, the manufacturer should consider measuring the RVA pasting viscosities for every batch of raw material. The results have provided the baseline knowledge of which nutritional or functional properties of Canary seed flour can be improved through breeding and agronomy programs to ensure the reliability of Canary seed as an ingredient.

Variation in Nutritional Components and Antioxidant Capacity of Different Cultivars and Organs of Basella alba.

Basella alba is a frequently consumed leafy vegetable. However, research on its nutritional components is limited. This study aimed to explore the variation in the nutritional components and antioxidant capacity of different cultivars and organs of Basella alba. Here, we primarily chose classical spectrophotometry and high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) to characterize the variation in nutritional components and antioxidant capacity among different organs (inflorescences, green fruits, black fruits, leaves, and stems) of eight typical cultivars of Basella alba. The determination indices (and methods) included the total soluble sugar (anthrone colorimetry), total soluble protein (the Bradford method), total chlorophyll (the ethanol-extracting method), total carotenoids (the ethanol-extracting method), total ascorbic acid (the HPLC method), total proanthocyanidins (the p-dimethylaminocinnamaldehyde method), total flavonoids (AlCl3 colorimetry), total phenolics (the Folin method), and antioxidant capacity (the FRAP and ABTS methods). The results indicated that M5 and M6 exhibited advantages in their nutrient contents and antioxidant capacities. Additionally, the inflorescences demonstrated the highest total ascorbic acid and total phenolic contents, while the green and black fruits exhibited relatively high levels of total proanthocyanidins and antioxidant capacity. In a comparison between the green and black fruits, the green fruits showed higher levels of total chlorophyll (0.77-1.85 mg g-1 DW), total proanthocyanidins (0.62-2.34 mg g-1 DW), total phenolics (15.28-27.35 mg g-1 DW), and ABTS (43.39-59.16%), while the black fruits exhibited higher levels of total soluble protein (65.45-89.48 mg g-1 DW) and total soluble sugar (56.40-207.62 mg g-1 DW) in most cultivars. Chlorophyll, carotenoids, and flavonoids were predominantly found in the leaves of most cultivars, whereas the total soluble sugar contents were highest in the stems of most cultivars. Overall, our findings underscore the significant influence of the cultivars on the nutritional composition of Basella alba. Moreover, we observed notable variations in the nutrient contents among the different organs of the eight cultivars, and proanthocyanidins may contribute significantly to the antioxidant activity of the fruits. On the whole, this study provides a theoretical basis for the genetic breeding of Basella alba and dietary nutrition and serves as a reference for the comprehensive utilization of this vegetable.