Sweet cherry and its by-products as sources of valuable phenolic compounds

Background: Sweet cherry is a stone non climacteric fruit with a characteristic aroma, bright red color, and fullbodied taste. It is produced worldwide, with Turkey, USA, Chile, Uzbekistan, and Iran significantly contributors to the global production In 2020, a total of 2.6 million tons were produced worldwide. Various studies have proven and highlighted the health benefits of sweet cherry, as it is characterized by its strong antioxidant, antimicrobial, anti -diabetic and anti -cancer effects. Scope and approach: The aim of this work is a comparative bibliographic study of the phenolic components' concentration both in the edible part of the sweet cherry and in its other anatomical parts, as well as all the extraction techniques, conventional and green, that have been applied in order to obtain the total phenolic content from the whole fruit, edible part, stems, stones, cherry pulp, and cherry pomace. A centralized study is also carried out regarding the optimization process of each extraction technique and the most important examined parameters, such as the extraction time and temperature, the solvent type, and the solvent/solid ratio. In most studies it is observed that the sweet cherry phenolic extract demonstrates a high concentration both in phenolic acids, mainly hydroxycinnamic acids and in anthocyanins with cyanidin 3-O-rutinoside being dominant, while its by-products are characterized by a higher total phenolic content. Key finding and conclusions: Despite the fact that the uses of sweet cherry crude or encapsulated extracts are limited in the literature, a holistic management of the specific plant tissue and its by-products rich in phenolic compounds is suggested in order to fully utilize and form further functional additives that can be effectively used by the food, cosmetic, and pharmaceutical industries, with the aim of formulating safe and high added value products, with improved physicochemical and organoleptic characteristics.