Research Status and Development Prospects of Sea buckthorn (Hippophae rhamnoides L.) Resources in China

Round 1

Reviewer 1 Report

I have found this paper has the significance of information the authors have provided in Sea buckthorn research and development. However there are few spelling mistakes i.e the authors have put small (s) for Sea buckthorn in the text which needs to be corrected.

If some references of 2021/2002 are added in the paper, the review will be in better shape.

In my opinion the paper needs correction gramatical and spelling mistakes.

The English language seems to be appropriate for publication. However the spelling mistakes should be corrected.

Author Response

I have found this paper has the significance of information the authors have provided in Sea buckthorn research and development. However there are few spelling mistakes i.e the authors have put small (s) for Sea buckthorn in the text which needs to be corrected.

R: Thanks for the comments. The “Sea buckthorn” has all been capitalized. We have also checked thoroughly for the spellings and made the corrections.

If some references of 2021/2022 are added in the paper, the review will be in better shape.

R: We included more recent researches and updated the literatures. The updated references have been highlighted in the manuscript.

In my opinion the paper needs correction gramatical and spelling mistakes. The English language seems to be appropriate for publication. However the spelling mistakes should be corrected.

R: As mentioned above, the manuscript was checked thoroughly for the grammar and spelling by using the language editing service. We believe it has been greatly improved.

Author Response File: Author Response.pdf

Reviewer 2 Report

This review is well written, but the Toxicity and safety of Buckthorn must be noticed, especially in your noticed application in functional food.

Comments for author File: Comments.pdf

Author Response

This review is well written, but the Toxicity and safety of Buckthorn must be noticed, especially in your noticed application in functional food.

R: We appreciate your comment and the suggestion. Sea buckthorn serves as an excellent source of functional and therapeutic foods. An analysis of published studies on sea buckthorn toxicity and safety reveals that the majority of the reported research results are either beneficial or show no significant adverse effects. No study has deemed its consumption harmful to humans. However, it is noteworthy that safety assessments are in their initial stages, and further experimentation is required to validate their safety. Certain part has been incorporated in the revised manuscript. (P12L512)

Author Response File: Author Response.pdf

Reviewer 3 Report

Dear Authors,

You did a great job with this review manuscript which is related to the sea buckthorn. In this manuscript were covered different aspects related to the production, processing and beneficial health of sea buckthorn. There is a few suggestions which will improve this manuscript.

On the page 4 is not same spacing between lines as on page before.

Highlight in manuscript about agro-technical approaches which are applied during the growing of sea buckthorn.

Which kind of fertilizers are used for the growing of this plant? Are there any pests from which is important to protect this plant?

In the line 417 highlight more about resveratrol beneficial health effect on the human organism, and that different technological approach in the processing of plant material can influence on the content of this phenolic compounds in the final product. Kindly consider to cite Food and Feed Research, 46 (2), 189-198, 2019.

In the subsection 4.1.3. in the line 493 did you mean that processing of sea buckthorn on high temperatures decrease content of vitamin C? On which processing you meant? Highlight it in manuscript.

In the subsection 4.2.3. highlight that after application of fermentation in the processing of fruit the content of biologically active compounds especially polyphenols is significant. Kindly consider to cite Fermentation 9(7), (2023), 695.

There is mistake in the line 608. The Olympic games were organized in Seoul in 1988. ☺

Wish you all the best in future work,

Author Response

You did a great job with this review manuscript which is related to the sea buckthorn. In this manuscript were covered different aspects related to the production, processing and beneficial health of sea buckthorn. There is a few suggestions which will improve this manuscript.

On the page 4 is not same spacing between lines as on page before.

R: We apologize for the improper format. It has been adjusted accordingly.

Which kind of fertilizers are used for the growing of this plant?

R: It is reported that bioapatite and biolan can increase the stem diameters of Sea buckthorn, which has been added into the manuscript.(P4L186)

Are there any pests from which is important to protect this plant?

R: There are some pests that are closely related to the Sea buckthorn. e.g. The larvae of Helcocerus hippophaecolus primarily infest the nitrogen-fixing roots of sea buckthorn plants, aiding in the absorption of water and nutrients from the soil through symbiotic relationships with mycorrhizal fungi and rhizobacteria. The sea buckthorn fruit fly causes severe damage to sea buckthorn berries, while Brassinosteroid (BR)enhances sea buckthorn resistance to Rhagoletis batava obseuriosa Kol. (RBO). We have added these into the text.(P5L243)

In the line 417 highlight more about resveratrol beneficial health effect on the human organism, and that different technological approach in the processing of plant material can influence on the content of this phenolic compounds in the final product. Kindly consider to cite Food and Feed Research, 46 (2), 189-198, 2019.

R: Resveratrol is a phenolic phytoalexin exhibiting antifungal properties within the realm of plant secondary metabolites. Research has indicated its beneficial impact on human health, in conjunction with other categorized compounds. More about this has been added into subsection 4.1.1. (P8L329)We do appreciate the detail literature you provided.

In the subsection 4.1.3. in the line 493 did you mean that processing of sea buckthorn on high temperatures decrease content of vitamin C? On which processing you meant? Highlight it in manuscript.

R: We apologize for the confusion. Yes, although sea buckthorn products boast a high vitamin C content, enabling the retention of significant levels even after subsequent processing, certain studies indicated that subjecting sea buckthorn to high-temperature processing may result in a reduction of vitamin C content. This refers to the use of a spray drying process that will affect the content of vitamin C.

As per your suggestion, we have made certain modifications to the manuscript and included relevant references.(P10L415)

In the subsection 4.2.3. highlight that after application of fermentation in the processing of fruit the content of biologically active compounds especially polyphenols is significant. Kindly consider to cite Fermentation 9(7), (2023), 695.

R: Thanks for the suggestion and the reference. More description and the citation have been added in subsection 4.2.3.(P12L552)

There is mistake in the line 608. The Olympic games were organized in Seoul in 1988.

R: It has been corrected.

Author Response File: Author Response.pdf

Reviewer 4 Report

Dear authors,

this is an interesting topic for the research community. On the other side, the review paper creation is challenging due to the growth of publications related to Sea Buckthorn.

The main remarks and suggestions are:

The title should contain word/s related to China because you dominantly reported data related to China. The other option is to change the main text.

Review articles should include more tables, rather than a lot of text. It is easier to follow the manuscript. It is necessary to rearrange the manuscript.

Sea Buckthorn has become a very attractive topic for research, only in the Scopus base there are 118 papers about it published in 2023, including excellent review papers whose topics overlap with the topic of your paper. In your manuscript, most of the references are older than 10 years.

You have to update references and statements in the review paper following the latest knowledge.

Author Response

this is an interesting topic for the research community. On the other side, the review paper creation is challenging due to the growth of publications related to Sea Buckthorn. The main remarks and suggestions are:

The title should contain word/s related to China because you dominantly reported data related to China. The other option is to change the main text.

R: Thanks for your suggestions. We have changed the title to "Research Status and Development Prospects of Sea Buckthorn Resources in China."

Review articles should include more tables, rather than a lot of text. It is easier to follow the manuscript. It is necessary to rearrange the manuscript.

R: We added more tables and reorganized the content. （Comparison of Different Propagation Methods in Sea Buckthorn.）3.2.1(P5L239)

Point 3: Sea Buckthorn has become a very attractive topic for research, only in the Scopus base there are 118 papers about it published in 2023, including excellent review papers whose topics overlap with the topic of your paper. In your manuscript, most of the references are older than 10 years. You have to update references and statements in the review paper following the latest knowledge.

R: We have made maximum efforts to improve the manuscript and have updated the references with more recent ones, including the research on the metabolism regulation, cultivation, food processing et al. The updated literature has been highlighted in the manuscript.

Author Response File: Author Response.pdf

Round 2

Reviewer 3 Report

Dear Authors, 

Thank you very much for revised version of manuscript and detailed answer on questions, it is fine for me. 

Wish you all the best in future work, 

Reviewer 4 Report

The manuscript is significantly improved and acceptable for publication in its present form.