{
  "abstract": "Acorns, the fruits of Quercus spp., represent an underutilized source of bioactive phenolic compounds. In this study, phenolic-rich fractions isolated from Quercus rubra and Quercus robur acorns were evaluated to characterize their bioactive phenolic profiles, antioxidant properties, and inhibitory activity against multiple enzyme targets, and to determine how simulated gastric digestion affects these biological activities. UHPLC-DAD-ESI-HRMS/MS analysis revealed that the two Quercus fractions differed markedly in their individual phenolic profiles, especially in ellagitannin composition. Despite compositional changes, both native and gastric-digested fractions retained considerable antioxidant and multi-target enzyme-inhibitory activity. The Q. rubra fraction, rich in oenothein B and rugosin E isomers, showed stronger acetylcholinesterase (AChE) inhibition (IC₅₀: 0.25 mg mL⁻¹), whereas the Q. robur fraction, characterized by castalagin/vescalagin-type compounds and tellimagrandin II isomers, was more active against tyrosinase (TYR), α-amylase (AMY), α-glucosidase (GLU) (IC₅₀: 0.080, 0.22, and 1.8, mg mL⁻¹, respectively). Notably, simulated gastric digestion preserved or even enhanced the inhibitory activity of the Q. rubra fraction against pancreatic lipase (PNLIP), AMY, as well as α-GLU. Molecular docking analysis showed that the predominant ellagitannins identified in both oak fractions exhibited strong predicted affinities toward the multiple enzyme targets. Tellimagrandin II showed particularly high affinity for AChE and TYR (-10.6 and -8.6 kcal mol⁻¹, respectively). Oenothein B showing the highest affinity for GLU (-11.3 kcal mol⁻¹) and vescavaloninic acid for AMY (-10.2 kcal mol⁻¹). Castalagin showed the strongest predicted interaction with PNLIP (-9.3 kcal mol⁻¹). Interestingly, low-molecular-weight phenolics whose levels increased after gastric digestion, particularly ellagic acid, also exhibited strong predicted affinities for AChE (-10.0 kcal mol⁻¹) and PNLIP (-9.2 kcal mol⁻¹). These results suggest that Q. rubra and Q. robur acorns may represent valuable sources of bioactive compounds with antioxidant and enzyme-modulating potential, particularly toward enzymes associated with neurodegenerative processes, melanogenesis, carbohydrate digestion, and lipid metabolism.",
  "abstract_shown": true,
  "affiliations": [
    "Institute of Food Technology and Analysis, Faculty of Biotechnology and Food Sciences, Lodz University of Technology 2/22 Stefanowskiego Street 90-537 Lodz Poland joanna.oracz@p.lodz.pl.",
    "Department of Food Analysis and Nutrition, Faculty of Food and Biochemical Technology, University of Chemistry and Technology Technická 5 166 28 Prague Czech Republic Aristeidis.Tsagkaris@vscht.cz.",
    "Institute of Molecular and Industrial Biotechnology, Faculty of Biotechnology and Food Sciences, Lodz University of Technology Lodz 90-537 Poland."
  ],
  "article_type": "research article",
  "arxiv": null,
  "author_total": 7,
  "authors": [
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Aleksandra Popowska",
      "orcid": "0009-0008-4179-6590"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        1
      ],
      "name": "Barbora Strasserova",
      "orcid": "0009-0003-9821-0144"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        2
      ],
      "name": "Marcin Szustak",
      "orcid": "0000-0003-2063-5241"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Gabriela Kowalska",
      "orcid": "0000-0002-5476-7034"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Kamila Kulbat-Warycha",
      "orcid": "0000-0002-6094-9942"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        1
      ],
      "name": "Aristeidis S Tsagkaris",
      "orcid": "0000-0003-4450-2611"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Joanna Oracz",
      "orcid": "0000-0003-2469-3369"
    }
  ],
  "bibtex": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/4cdjxdzravc55.bib",
  "cited_by": 0,
  "doi": "10.1039/d6ra08016b",
  "fulltext_url": "https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13725865/?tool=EBI",
  "id": "4cdjxdzravc55",
  "issns": [
    "2046-2069"
  ],
  "landing_url": "https://europepmc.org/article/PMC/PMC13725865",
  "language": "eng",
  "licence": "CC-BY",
  "licence_label": "CC BY",
  "licence_source": "article",
  "licence_url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/",
  "metadata_licence": null,
  "native_subjects": [
    [
      "heading",
      "Chemistry"
    ],
    [
      "openalex",
      "2704|Phytochemicals and Antioxidant Activities"
    ]
  ],
  "openalex": "W7225076276",
  "pdf_url": "https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13725865/pdf/?tool=EBI",
  "pmcid": "PMC13725865",
  "pmid": "42973990",
  "published": "2026-11-02",
  "publisher": "Royal Society of Chemistry",
  "ris": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/4cdjxdzravc55.ris",
  "sources": [
    {
      "first_seen": "2026-11-03T15:20:50Z",
      "native_id": "PMC:PMC13725865",
      "source": "europepmc",
      "url": "https://europepmc.org/article/PMC/PMC13725865"
    },
    {
      "first_seen": "2026-11-04T15:20:47Z",
      "native_id": "MED:42973990",
      "source": "europepmc",
      "url": "https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42973990"
    },
    {
      "first_seen": "2026-11-05T12:22:19Z",
      "native_id": "PMC13725865",
      "source": "pmc",
      "url": "https://doi.org/10.1039/d6ra08016b"
    }
  ],
  "subjects": [
    {
      "field": "chemistry",
      "origin": "heading:Chemistry",
      "subfield": "general"
    }
  ],
  "title": "Gastric digestion-induced transformation of acorn phenolics from Quercus rubra and Quercus robur: antioxidant activity, multi-target enzyme inhibition, and molecular docking insights",
  "title_text": "Gastric digestion-induced transformation of acorn phenolics from Quercus rubra and Quercus robur: antioxidant activity, multi-target enzyme inhibition, and molecular docking insights",
  "type": "peer-reviewed",
  "updated_at": "2026-11-05T12:22:19Z",
  "url": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/4cdjxdzravc55",
  "venue": "RSC advances",
  "versions": []
}