## 1 Introduction  
Herbal preparations have a long history in many cultures and are widely used in traditional medicine. Due to the richness of bioactive substances, such products are of interest to science. One of the forms of herbal preparations are tinctures which are extracts prepared by maceration or percolation using only ethanol of a suitable concentration for extraction of the herbal drug [1; 2]. Green nuts are used in folk medicine and pharmacology as well as in the food industry--for the production of jams and lingueurs [3; 4]. Beneficial health effects of unripe _Iuglans regia_ L. nuts were described by many authors [5; 6; 7]. Thanks to this, green nuts have great potential in the production of functional food, especially alcoholic beverages that form an important part of the overall nutrition scheme. Such drinks are traditionally prepared from traditional raw materials such as fruits and vegetables however, the introduction of new, uncommon plant materials such as walnuts at the milk-wax maturity stage is applicable and relevant [4]. Tinctures of unripe walnuts--fruits of _Iuglans regia_ L. have been known and used all over the world. Green nuts and green walnut husks exhibit several biological effects due to their extremely rich phytochemical composition. They are abundant in compounds from the classes of polyphenols, napthtoquinones, steroids, as well as vitamins and minerals [5; 8; 9; 10]. Green nut extracts possess antioxidant, antimicrobial and antiparasitic properties [8, 11]. Antiproliferative activity has also been found against HL-60 leukemia cells [6, 12]. Green nut liqueurs and tinctures are traditional products, popular especially in Italy, Romania and Slovenia [5, 13, 14, 15, 16]. The most famous example of such an alcoholic drink is Nocino, a liqueur made in Italy from green nuts harvested during the time of the least of [PERSON] (24 June). Research has shown that this product is a valuable source of polyphenic compounds with high antioxidant power, and the influence of various production variables on its quality has been also investigated [13, 14]. In Poland, green walnut tinctures are traditionally produced as a remedy against ailments of the digestive system. However, there is no scientific evidence of their therapeutic effect nor healing effects; their use results from the traditions and experiences of ancestors. Various spices known to aid in digestion such as ginger, cloves, cinnamon, and pepper, are usually added to tinctures. In the case of the Nocino liqueur, depending on the recipe, flavor additives such as cloves, cinnamon, coriander, coffee beans, and lemon zest are used [14]. There are also attempts to use innovative additives such as chocolate, fruit, or honey [3]. The addition of spices is intended not only to enhance the flavour aspect but also to introduce additional phytochemical components that affect the biological activity of the final product. For example, cloves are known for their antibacterial and antifungal properties due to the presence of eugenol [17] whereas ginger is rich in bioactive compounds from the phenolics and terpene group which exhibit anti-carcinogenic, anti-diabetic, and anti-tumor activity [18]. _Laurus nobilis_ leaves (bay leaves) contain essential oils, terpen, flavonoids, alkaloids, tocopherols, and have a broad healing effect [19]. On the other hand, juniper fruits are rich in volatile substances, terpene acids, leucanthocyanidin, alkaloids, flavonoids, and tannins which are responsible for its diuretic, anti-arthritis, anti-diabetes, and anti-septic properties as well as are responsible for its positive effect for the treatment of gastrointestinal disorders [20]. The purpose of this study was to observe the effect of the addition of spices (ginger, cloves, bay leaves and juniper fruit) on antioxidant properties and the polyphenol profile of unripe green walnut tinctures prepared according to traditional Polish recipes.