Effect of thermal treatment and storage on bioactive compounds, organic acids and antioxidant activity of baobab fruit (Adansonia digitata) pulp from Malawi

Bioactive compounds of baobab (Adansonia digitata) pulp from Malawi were investigated. The effect of thermal treatment and storage on selected quality attributes of the juice was also evaluated. Organic compounds were analysed by HPLC; total phenol content (TPC) and total antioxidant activity (FRAP, ABTS and DPPH) were measured by spectrophotometry. Malawi baobab pulp contains high levels of procyanidin B2 (533 ± 22.6 mg/100 g FW), vitamin C (AA + DHA) (466 ± 2.5 mg/100 g FW), gallic acid (68.5 ± 12.4 mg/100 g FW) and (−)-epicatechin (43.0 ± 3.0 mg/100 g FW) and showed a maximum TPC of 1.89 × 103 ± 1.61 mg GAE/100 g FW. The maximum antioxidant activity was 2.81 × 103 ± 92.8 mg TEAC/100 g FW for FRAP, 1.52 × 103 ± 17.1 mg TEAC/100 g FW for ABTS and 50.9 ± 0.43% DPPH for DPPH. Thermal pasteurisation (72 °C, 15 s) retained vitamin C which further showed extended half-life under refrigeration temperature (6 °C). Procyanidin B2, (−)-epicatechin, TPC and antioxidant activity fluctuated during storage. Antioxidant activity was significantly correlated (p ≤ 0.05) with bioactive compounds and TPC

High catechin concentrations detected in Withania somnifera (ashwagandha) by high performance liquid chromatography analysis

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p><it>Withania somnifera </it>is an important medicinal plant traditionally used in the treatment of many diseases. The present study was carried out to characterize the phenolic acids, flavonoids and 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl radical (DPPH) scavenging activities in methanolic extracts of <it>W. somnifera </it>fruits, roots and leaves (WSFEt, WSREt and WSLEt).</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>WSFEt, WSREt and WSLEt was prepared by using 80% aqueous methanol and total polyphenols, flavonoids as well as DPPH radical scavenging activities were determined by spectrophotometric methods and phenolic acid profiles were determined by HPLC methods.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>High concentrations of both phenolics and flavonoids were detected in all parts of the plant with the former ranging between 17.80 ± 5.80 and 32.58 ± 3.16 mg/g (dry weight) and the latter ranging between 15.49 ± 1.02 and 31.58 ± 5.07 mg/g. All of the three different plant parts showed strong DPPH radical scavenging activities (59.16 ± 1.20 to 91.84 ± 0.38%). Eight polyphenols (gallic, syringic, benzoic, p-coumaric and vanillic acids as well as catechin, kaempferol and naringenin) have been identified by HPLC in parts of the plant as well. Among all the polyphenols, catechin was detected in the highest concentration (13.01 ± 8.93 to 30.61 ± 11.41 mg/g).</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>The results indicating that <it>W. somnifera </it>is a plant with strong therapeutic properties thus further supporting its traditional claims. All major parts of <it>W. somnifera </it>such as the roots, fruits and leaves provide potential benefits for human health because of its high content of polyphenols and antioxidant activities with the leaves containing the highest amounts of polyphenols specially catechin with strong antioxidant properties.</p

Correlation between the phenolic content and DPPH radical scavenging activity of selected Croatian wines

The Folin-Ciocalteu (FC) test and cyclic voltammetry (CV) at a glassy carbon electrode were used to quantify phenolic antioxidants in a set of 17 Croatian wines and express them in gallic acid (GAE) and catechin equivalents (CE). The total phenolic index (TPI) values for red wines expressed in GAE ranged from 18.851 to 26.905 mM, while TPI for white wines ranged from 1.722 to 2.869 mM. The levels of phenolics derived from CV measurements were markedly lower than those of TPI, since these values include only those phenolic compounds that get oxidised up to 500 mV and contain ortho -diphenol and triphenol groups.The free radical scavenging ability of the same set of wines was evaluated according to the Brand-Williams assay and expressed in equivalents of catechin, gallic acid, vitamin C and Trolox. Ivan Dolac barrique 2002 exhibited the highest antioxidant activity. The DPPH radical scavenging ability of the wines was also evaluated and correlated to the TPI values. Better correlation was observed between the TPI and the antioxidant activity for red wines (r2 =0.826) as opposed to white wines (r2 =0.686). The highest correlation (r2 =0.970) was found between the TPI and the antioxidant activity measured when the whole set of samples was considered

The parentage of Pošip bijeli, a major white wine cultivar of Croatia

Fourteen Croatian grape cultivars (Vitis vinifera L.) were analyzed at 25 polymorphic microsatellite loci and the alleles were analyzed for possible parent-progeny relationships. Alleles at 24 out of the 25 loci are consistent with Pošip bijeli (hermaphrodite) being the progeny of two other varieties, Zlatarica blatska bijeli and Bratkovina bijeli. A further search in a microsatellite database of over 300 cultivars revealed no other possible parents for Pošip. Likelihood analysis with observed allele frequencies indicated that the probability of the observed Pošip alleles is more than 1015 times higher for the presumptive parents than two random varieties and at least 300 times more likely than close relatives of the presumptive parents. The likelihoods were 1013 and at least 200, respectively, when the 95 % upper confidence limits of the allele frequencies were used in the analysis. Pošip and its presumptive parents have all been grown on the Dalmatian island of Korcula for many years, suggesting that this island is its origin. A comparison of representative groups of Croatian, Italian and Greek cultivars indicated that 11 out of the 13 Pošip alleles are more frequent in the Croatian gene pool than in the other two. Pošip and the two presumptive parental cultivars were characterized with 58 ampelographic and ampelometric descriptors. Pošip shares 50 out of the 58 characteristics with one or both of the parents and combines several desirable characteristics from both parents. Pošip has become increasingly popular in Dalmatian viticulture and has replaced some other white wine cultivars.

Accurate mass–time tag library for LC/MS-based metabolite profiling of medicinal plants

We report the development and testing of an accurate mass–time tag library for plant natural product profiling. [Display omitted] ► The development of an accurate mass–time tag approach for the identification of plant natural products is reported. ► LC/MS and MS/MS data sets were integrated into online spectral search tools and repositories. ► The utility was demonstrated by the detection of active principles in 27 medicinal plant species. We report the development and testing of an accurate mass–time (AMT) tag approach for the LC/MS-based identification of plant natural products (PNPs) in complex extracts. An AMT tag library was developed for approximately 500 PNPs with diverse chemical structures, detected in electrospray and atmospheric pressure chemical ionization modes (both positive and negative polarities). In addition, to enable peak annotations with high confidence, MS/MS spectra were acquired with three different fragmentation energies. The LC/MS and MS/MS data sets were integrated into online spectral search tools and repositories (Spektraris and MassBank), thus allowing users to interrogate their own data sets for the potential presence of PNPs. The utility of the AMT tag library approach is demonstrated by the detection and annotation of active principles in 27 different medicinal plant species with diverse chemical constituents

Biosurfactants in cosmetic formulations: trends and challenges

Cosmetic products play an essential role in everyones life. People everyday use a large variety of cosmetic products such as soap, shampoo, toothpaste, deodorant, skin care, perfume, make-up, among others. The cosmetic industry encompasses several environmental, social and economic impacts that are being addressed through the search for more efficient manufacturing techniques, the reduction of waste and emissions and the promotion of personal hygiene, contributing to an improvement of public health and at the same time providing employment opportunities. The current trend among consumers is the pursuit for natural ingredients in cosmetic products, as many of these products exhibit equal, better or additional benefits in comparison with the chemical-based products. In this sense, biosurfactants are natural compounds with great potential in the formulation of cosmetic products given by their biodegradability and impact in health. Indeed, many of these biosurfactants could exhibit a prebiotic character. This review covers the current state-of-the-art of biosurfactant research for cosmetic purposes and further discusses the future challenges for cosmetic applications.This study was supported by the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT) under the scope of the strategic funding of UID/BIO/04469/2013 unit, COMPETE 2020 (POCI-01–0145-FEDER-006684) and the project RECI/BBB-EBI/0179/2012 (FCOMP-01-0124-FEDER-027462), as well as X. Vecino post-doctoral grant (SFRH/BPD/101476/2014). Also, the authors acknowledge the financial support from Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness (FEDER funds under the project CTM2015-68904).info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio