## 3 Results and Discussion
### Phytochemical Composition  
Phytochemicals are secondary metabolites produced by plants. These bioactive non-nutritive compounds may provide desirable health benefits to contrast the development of chronic diseases. \begin{table}
\begin{tabular}{c c c c c c c} \hline  & **Citric Acid** & **Malic Acid** & **Oxalic Acid** & **Quinic Acid** & **Succin Acid** & **Tartaric Acid** \\ \hline
**Mean value** & 370.15 & 382.43 & 60.69 & 468.83 & 490.58 & 117.77 \\
**SD** & 14.28 & 15.65 & 6.34 & 39.76 & 18.20 & 22.48 \\ \hline \end{tabular}  
* The results are reported as mg/100 g FW (FW = fresh weight). Mean value and standard deviation are given for each sample (\(n=3\)).  
\end{table} 
Table 2: Organic acids composition of autumn olive berries. Indeed, the regular consumption of phytochemicals (antioxidant compounds) help to prevent or slow oxidative stress caused by free radicals [37]. There is currently little available research on the phytochemical composition of _E. umbellata_ species. Several factors are relevant in determining the composition of bioactive compounds, such as genetic and environmental factors. Among the environmental ones, soil composition, agronomic management, and weather are the most influential variables. Nevertheless, the composition can change due to oxidative reactions during processing and storage [38]. In addition, the analytical method is discriminatory. The phytochemical fingerprint of autumn olive berries was carried out via HPLC-DAD and results on bioactive compounds are summarized in Table 3. The total bioactive compound content (TBCC), expressed as the sum of the most important biologically active molecules detected in the extracts and reported as mg/100 g of fresh weight, showed a mean value of 413.64 \(\pm\) 39.96 mg/100 g FW, considerably lower than commercial berries such as goji [39], but close to the value of cornelian cherry [33]. The analysis revealed the presence of 23 compounds, grouped in three different classes to evaluate each class contribution. Polyphenols, with a percentage of 65.56%, were the largest class, followed by monoterenes (27.40%) and vitamin C (7.04%). Polyphenols are compounds derived from secondary plant metabolism, present at high levels in several edible species. They perform many essential roles in plant physiology and as health-promoting compounds. Their healthy properties in humans were first linked to their antioxidant activity. In the last few years, recent findings have challenged this view, through the investigation of more complex actions [40]. As discussed above, very little is known about the polyphenolic composition of autumn olive berries. Among polyphenols, anthocyanins represent the most important compounds (71.9%), followed by tannins (10.9%), cinnamic acids (6.9%), flavonols (6.3%), benzoic acids (2.1%), \begin{table}
\begin{tabular}{c c c c} \hline \hline
**Bioactive Class** & **Compound** &
\begin{tabular}{c} **Mean** \\ **Value** \\ \end{tabular} & **SD** \\ \hline \multirow{4}{*}{Monoterpenes} & limonene & 34.34 & 1.91 \\  & phellandrene & 8.33 & 0.07 \\  & sabinene & 26.16 & 0.03 \\  & \(\gamma\)-terpinene & 28.90 & 1.40 \\  & terpinolene & 15.59 & 0.03 \\ \hline \multirow{2}{*}{Vitamin C} & ascorbic acid & 5.66 & 0.70 \\  & dehydroascorbic acid & 23.46 & 2.75 \\ \hline \multirow{4}{*}{Cinnamic acids} & caffe acid & 0.78 & 0.02 \\  & chlorogenic acid & 10.93 & 0.13 \\  & coumaric acid & 5.82 & 0.02 \\  & ferulic acid & 1.32 & 0.19 \\  & hyperoside & 7.20 & 0.49 \\  & isquercitrin & 0.10 & 0.03 \\  & quercetin & 8.95 & 0.72 \\  & quercetin & 0.15 & 0.09 \\  & rutin & 0.76 & 0.08 \\  & ellagic acid & 5.50 & 1.17 \\ Benzoic acids & gallic acid & 0.16 & 0.12 \\  & catechin & 1.62 & 1.35 \\  & epicatechin & 3.38 & 0.99 \\  & castalagin & 5.00 & 1.07 \\  & vescalagin & 24.54 & 3.34 \\  & Anthocyanins & 194.99 & 0.817 \\ \hline \hline \end{tabular} The results are reported as mg/100 g FW (FW = fresh weight). Mean value and standard deviation are given for each sample (\(n=3\)).  
\end{table}