An-Najah Staff

Rhus coriaria L. (Sumac), belonging to the Anacardiaceae family, is an important and most used species of the genus Rhus in the Mediterranean region since antiquity. Sumac has long been used as a flavoring spice, drink, appetizer, and as acidulant in food recipes; in addition to its use in traditional medicine. The role of plant in leather and textile industry is also significant. R. coriaria is very rich in phenolics mainly, tannins and flavonoids, in addition to its abundance in organic acids. The leaves and fruits of R. coriaria are recognized to have defensive and beneficial effects on a wide set of diseases including, but not limited to, diabetes mellitus, cancer, stroke, oral-diseases, inflammation, diarrhea, and dysentery. On the other hand, Sumac extracts were found to possess a potential antiviral, antimicrobial, antifungal, antioxidant and hypolipidemic activities. This review updates the current phytochemical, biological and therapeutic knowledge so far exist on R. coriaria. It also aims at highlighting the importance of Sumac extracts as a promising and potential source of functional ingredients and nutriceuticals with desirable bioactivities, prompting the further use of Sumac in food preservation, pharmacology and functional food industries.

Rhus coriaria L. (sumac) is an important crop widely used in the Mediterranean basin as a food spice, and also in folk medicine, due to its health-promoting properties. Phytochemicals present in plant foods are in part responsible for these consequent health benefits. Nevertheless, detailed information on these bioactive compounds is still scarce. Therefore, the present work was aimed at investigating the phytochemical components of sumac fruit epicarp using HPLC–DAD–ESI-MS/MS in two different ionisation modes. The proposed method provided tentative identification of 211 phenolic and other phyto-constituents, most of which have not been described so far in R. coriaria fruits. More than 180 phytochemicals (tannins, (iso)flavonoids, terpenoids, etc.) are reported herein in sumac fruits for the first time. The obtained results highlight the importance of R. coriaria as a promising source of functional ingredients, and boost its potential use in the food and nutraceutical industries.