Current Issue : April - June Volume : 2020 Issue Number : 2 Articles : 5 Articles
Triterpenic acids (TTAs), known for their promising biological properties, can be found in\ndifferent biomass sources and related by-products, such as Eucalyptus globulus bark, and have been\nextracted using organic volatile solvents such as dichloromethane. Recently, deep eutectic solvents\n(DES) have been identified as promising alternatives for the extraction of value-added compounds\nfrom biomass. In the present work, several hydrophobic DES were tested for the extraction of TTAs\nfrom E. globulus bark. Initial solubility studies revealed that DES based on menthol and thymol as the\nmost promising solvents for these compounds given the highest solubilities obtained for ursolic acid\n(UA) at temperatures ranging from room temperature up to 90 DegreeC. Accordingly, an eutectic mixture\nof menthol:thymol (1:2) was confirmed as the best candidate for the TTAs extraction from E. globulus\nouter bark, leading to extraction yields (weight of TTA per weight of biomass) at room temperature of\n1.8 wt% for ursolic acid, 0.84 wt% for oleanolic acid and 0.30 wt% for betulinic acid. These values are\nsignificantly higher than those obtained with conventional organic solvents under similar conditions.\nThe results obtained using these DES are promising for the recovery of TTAs for nutraceutical and\npharmacological applications, while reinforcing the potential of DES as promising solvents to be\napplied in biorefinery processes....
The consumption of plums in a fresh form is seasonal, therefore the transformation of plum\njuice extracts into powdered form is a good alternative for its longer availability throughout the\nyear. The drying process can moderate the physical and chemical properties of the plum extracts,\nthus, this study examined the changes in biological activity, i.e., antibacterial, antioxidant, and\nanti-inflammatory properties moderated by freeze, vacuum, and spray drying. It was suggested\nthat the drying processes and the applied parameters might moderate the content of polyphenolic\ncompounds in the powders, which influence the different levels of growth inhibition against the\nfoodborne pathogens (17% to 58% of inhibition), demonstrating a strain-dependent effect. These\npowders could also induce cellular protection against oxidative stress by preventing intracellular\nreactive oxygen species (ROS) accumulation (23% to 37% of reduction), but the level of antioxidant\ncapacity may be determined by the conditions applied during the drying process. Moreover, plum\nextract powders exhibited a greater anti-inflammatory capacity (24% to 39% of inhibition), which\nwould be influenced both, by the type of treatment used and by the temperature used in each\ntreatment. The results demonstrate that the selection of the drying method can be an effective tool for\nmodulating the composition, physical, and bioactive properties of plum extracts powders....
Bamboo is a well-known medicinal plant in Southeast Asia that recently has attracted\nattention for its high polyphenol content and its medical and nutraceutical applications. In this work,\npolyphenols have been recovered for the first time by microwave-assisted extraction (MAE) from an\nunusual Italian cultivar of Phyllostachys pubescens bamboo shoots. The effects of three independent\nvariables, such as extraction time, temperature, and solid/liquid ratio, on polyphenol recovery\nyield were investigated and successfully optimized through the response surface methodology.\nWe demonstrated that MAE is an excellent polyphenols extraction technique from bamboo shoots\nbecause the total phenolic content obtained under microwave irradiation optimal conditions (4 min at\n105 DegreeC with 6.25 mg/mL ratio) was about eight-fold higher than that obtained with the conventional\nextraction method. Furthermore, higher total flavonoid content was also obtained under MAE.\nConsistent with these results, MAE enhanced the extract antioxidant properties with significant\nimproved DPPH, ABTS, and FRAP scavenging ability. Therefore, this innovative extraction process\nenhances the recovery of biologically active compounds from Phyllostachys pubescens bamboo shoots\nwith a dramatic reduction of time and energy consumption, which paves the way for its industrial\napplication in functional food production....
Bitter orange, Citrus aurantium L. var. amara (CAVA), is an important crop and its flowers\nand fruits are widely used in China as a food spice, as well as in traditional Chinese medicine, due to\nits health-promoting properties. The secondary metabolites that are present in plant-derived foods or\nmedicines are, in part, responsible for the health benefits and desirable flavor profiles. Nevertheless,\ndetailed information about the bioactive ingredients inCAVAis scarce. Therefore, this study was aimed\nat exploring the phytochemicals of CAVA by high performance liquid chromatography/quadrupole\ntime-of-flight mass spectrometry (HPLC-Q-TOF-MS). Here, a systematic screening method combined\nwith HPLC-Q-TOF-MS was presented. This technique was used to systematically screen metabolites,\nprimarily from the complex matrix of CAVA, and to identify these compounds by their exact masses,\ncharacteristic fragment ions, and fragmentation behaviors. A total of 295 metabolites were screened\nby the screening method and 89 phytochemicals were identified in the flowers, fruits, roots, leaves,\nand branches of CAVA. For the first time, 69 phytochemicals (flavonoids, alkaloids, terpenoids, etc.)\nwere reported from CAVA. The results highlight the importance of CAVA as a source of secondary\nmetabolites in the food, medicine, and nutraceutical industries....
Polyphenol-rich foods could have a pivotal function in the prevention of oxidative\nstress-based pathologies and antibacterial action. The purpose of this study was to investigate\nthe in vitro antimicrobial activity, as well as the in vitro and In Vivo antioxidant capacities of wild\nPrunus spinosa L. fruit (PSF) from the southeast regions of Italy. The total phenolic content (TPC)\nwas quantified, and the single polyphenols were analyzed by HPLC-DAD, showing high rutin and\n4-hydroxybenzoic acid levels, followed by gallic and trans-sinapic acids. PSF extract demonstrated\nantimicrobial activity against some potentially pathogenic Gram-negative and Gram-positive bacteria.\nBesides, we investigated the cellular antioxidant activity (CAA) and the hemolysis inhibition of\nPSF extract on human erythrocytes, evidencing both a good antioxidant power and a marked\nhemolysis inhibition. Furthermore, an In Vivo experiment with oxidative stress-induced rats treated\nwith a high-fat diet (HFD) and a low dose of streptozotocin (STZ) demonstrated that PSF has a\ndose-dependent antioxidant capacity both in liver and in brain. In conclusion, the wild Italian Prunus\nspinosa L. fruit could be considered a potentially useful material for both nutraceutical and food\nindustries because of its antioxidant and antimicrobial effects....
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