A Review on Analytical Methods for Honey Classification, Identification and Authentication

Authentication of food products is of great concern in the context of food safety and quality. In recent years, interest in honey authenticity in relation with botanical or geographical origin and adulteration has increased. Honey is a ready-to-eat natural food with high nutritional content and gives many health benefits. Authentication of honey has primary importance for both industries and consumers in combatting common honey frauds in the form of mislabeling of honey origin and adulteration with sugar or syrups. Various analytical methods are used for detecting original honey. With a diverse range of equipment and techniques, the conventional analytical methods are still being used in association with advanced techniques as they are part of preliminary screening, processing and product standards. Most of the analytical methods provide indications of pollen distribution, physicochemical parameters and profile analysis of phenolic, flavonoid, carbohydrate, amino acids, aroma and individual marker components. This review provides an overview and summary of instrumental and analytical methods available for honey authentication from conventional to recent molecular techniques. It is useful as a guide to choosing appropriate method for analysis, classification and authentication of honey

INFLUENCE OF HARVESTING TIME ON CHEMICAL COMPOSITION OF THE ESSENTIAL OIL OF ABIES KOREANA TWIGS

Objective: In the present study, the influence of harvesting time (April, June, August and October 2015) on the essential oil composition of Abies koreana twigs from Korea was investigated.Methods: The essential oil from the twigs of A. koreana was isolated by steam distillation and its chemical composition was determined by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS).Results: The essential oil yield was found to vary from 0.76 to 1.20% depending on the month of harvesting. The GC-MS analysis revealed the identification of 26 different essential oil components from the twigs harvested in the months of April, June, August and October, which were mostly monoterpene hydrocarbons (57.63–72.38%) followed by oxygenated monoterpenes (18.82–25.96%). Harvesting time mainly influenced on the concentration of the major components of the essential oil from the twigs of A. koreana. Limonene (17.38–31.13%), bornyl acetate (13.22–21.17%), camphene (12.56–13.26%), α-pinene (11.05–13.02%), β-pinene (4.55–5.70%), 3-carene (5.21–6.43%) and β-eudesmol (1.49–8.24%) were detected as the major components in the essential oil.Conclusion: The main differences between the essential oil compositions of four different months can be referred to limonene and bornyl acetate. The results showed considerable variations in the composition of essential oil, particularly quantitative variation during different harvesting months

Comparison of acidic and enzymatic pectin extraction from passion fruit peels and its gel properties

The influences of extractor concentration, extraction temperature and time on the yield of pectin and degree of esterification (DE) were investigated by the acidic and enzymatic extraction methods. Citric acid and Celluclast were selected as pectin extractors for environmentally friendly reasons. The peels of yellow passion fruit using the acidic and enzymatic extraction methods gave pectin yield of 7.16 and 7.12%, and DE of 71.02 and 85.45% in the optimized condition of extraction time of 102 min with citric acid concentration of 0.19% (w/w) at 75C and Celluclast concentration of 1.67% (w/w) at 61.11C, respectively. The enzymatic extraction method has greater capability of producing high methoxyl pectin. The morphological features of fruit peel powder and the extracted pectin examined by scanning electron microscopy suggested that the nanostructure of wet passion fruit pectin was dependable on the type of extraction process. The formed pectin gel also has pseudoplastic liquid behavior and its viscosity was greatly affected by sugar. Pectin has been intensively used as natural gelling agent and stabilizer to alter rheological properties in food ingredients by most food processing industries to achieve desired textural quality. Pectin could be recovery from fruit wastes. The conversion of passion fruit peel into pectin offers great scope for utilization. Citric acid and enzymatic extraction methods are effectively used for pectin extraction which may be of interest by pectin industry and consumer with these eco-friendly processing technology with no using harmful chemicals. Furthermore, scientific work of this study such as the optimized condition, morphological features of extracted pectin and pectin gel formation contributes valuable information on pectin, which could be beneficial for pectin industry improving the process quality of pectin as well as process profitability

COMPARISON OF VOLATILE COMPOSITION OF SUPERCRITICAL CARBON DIOXIDE EXTRACT FROM RHIZOMES OF KOREAN MEDICINAL PLANT 'CHUN-KUNG' (CNIDIUM OFFICINALE MAKINO) BY DIRECT-AND SPME-GC/MS

Objective: The main purpose of this study was to evaluate the volatile composition of supercritical fluid extract (SFE) obtained from Cnidium officinale Makino rhizomes. Methods: GC/MS analyses were carried out with the direct- and solid phase microextraction (SPME) of SFE obtained from rhizomes. In addition, GC/MS analysis was performed for the rhizomes of C. officinale using SPME. Results: SPME-GC/MS analysis of the rhizomes revealed the separation of 23 components. Among these, β-phellandrene (20.38%), dictyotene (12.98%), β-pinene (10.59%), β-selinene (9.45%), eugenol (7.71%) and β-farnesene (7.09%) were found to be major components. In the SFE analyzed by direct-GC/MS, linoleic acid (19.26%), 2-methoxy-4-vinylphenol (18.98%), hexadecanoic acid (12.15%), and β-selinene (9.44%) were identified as major components. Whereas, 3,4-dihydrocoumarin (16.94%), shyobunone (14.07%), dictyotene (10.65%), p-cresol (10.17%), zierone (6.36%) and umbellulone (5.71%) were major components in the SFE analyzed by SPME-GC/MS. Conclusion: The present study clearly suggested that the SPME-GC/MS analysis of SFE provided the separation of more number with diverse groups of compounds than the direct-GC/MS

Evaluation of the in vitro and in vivo antioxidant potential of whole plant extracts of Hedyotis puberula (G. Don) R. Br. ex Arn.

The total phenolic content and in vitro and in vivo antioxidant activities of the whole plants of Hedyotis puberula (G. Don) R.Br. ex Arn. were appraised. The methanol extract of the plant contained higher levels of total phenolics, tannins and flavonoids content than other solvent extracts. Extracts were screened for antioxidant and free radical scavenging activities using various in vitro model systems. The methanol extract manifested strongest antioxidant and free radical scavenging activity. The treatment of paracetamol intoxicated wistar rats with methanol extract at the dose of 400 mg/kg, b.wt. attenuated the elevated enzyme level such as glutathione, glutathione S-transferase, glutathione peroxidase, superoxide dismutase and catalase to normal level and significantly reduced the levels of lipid peroxidation. These results showed that the methanol extract of H. puberula has significant antioxidant activity both under in vitro and in vivo conditions.Colegio de Farmacéuticos de la Provincia de Buenos Aire

In vitro antioxidant potential of different solvent extracts of Naregamia alata

Total phenolics, tannins, flavonoids and the antioxidative properties of the traditionally used medicinal plant Naregamia alata Wight. & Arn. were assessed. The hot water extract contained higher levels of total phenolics, tannins and flavonoids. The extracts were subjected to assess their potential antioxidant activities using various in vitro systems such as DPPH•, ABTS•+, FRAP, β-carotene linoleic acid bleaching system, phosphomolybdenum reduction and Fe2+ chelation. It is concluded that N. alata may serve as a potential source of natural antioxidants capable of offering protection against free-radical mediated damages.Colegio de Farmacéuticos de la Provincia de Buenos Aire

Antioxidant, inhibition of α-glucosidase and suppression of nitric oxide production in LPS-induced murine macrophages by different fractions of Actinidia arguta stem

AbstractIn traditional systems of medicine, fruits, leaves, and stems of Actinidia arguta (Sieb. et Zucc.) Planch. ex Miq. have been used to treat various inflammatory diseases. The present study determined the proximate composition, antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and hypoglycemic potential of A. arguta stem. Phenolic composition of hot water extract and its sub-fractions was determined by Folin–Ciocalteu’s reagent method. In vitro antioxidant activities of the samples were evaluated using 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) and 2,2′-azino-bis(3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonic acid) diammonium salt (ABTS) radical scavenging assays. Anti-inflammatory activity of different fractions was investigated through the inhibition of nitric oxide (NO) production in lipopolysaccharide (1μg/ml) stimulated RAW 264.7 cells. In addition, inhibition of α-glucosidase activity of hot water extract was determined using p-nitrophenyl-α-d-glucopyranoside (pNPG) as a substrate. Ethyl acetate (557.23mgGAE/g) fraction contains higher level of total phenolic content. The antioxidant activity evaluated by DPPH radical scavenging assay showed a strong activity for ethyl acetate (IC50 of 14.28μg/ml) and n-butanol fractions (IC50 of 48.27μg/ml). Further, ethyl acetate fraction effectively inhibited NO production in RAW 264.7 cells induced by lipopolysaccharide (LPS) than other fractions (nitrite level to 32.14μM at 200μg/ml). In addition, hot water extract of A. arguta stem exhibited appreciable inhibitory activity against α-glucosidase enzyme with IC50 of 1.71mg/ml. The obtained results have important consequence of using A. arguta stem toward the development of effective anti-inflammatory drugs

Effect of blender and blending time on color and aroma characteristics of juice and its freeze-dried powder of Pandanus amaryllifolius Roxb. leaves (pandan)

The color and aroma properties of Pandanus amaryllifolius Roxb. leaves (pandan) were studied by mechanical extraction using normal and turbo blade blenders under different blending times (60–180 s). The extracted juice was freeze-dried into powders and its aroma components were measured in a solid-phase microextraction using gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (SPME-GC/MS) analysis. The turbo blade blender provided maximum color pigment of greenness and yellowness at blending time of 90 s as compared to the normal blender that required 180 s. In GC-MS analysis, the major component, 2-acetyl-1-pyrroline, was found to be one time higher in the freeze-dried pandan juice samples obtained from turbo blade blender than normal blender. Other components including the cis-3-hexanal, 2-methylene-4-pentenenitrile and 1,2,4-trimethylbenzene were also detected in the samples. In conclusion, the turbo blade blender is more effective than normal laboratory blender in terms of color extraction, particle size reduction and the aroma retention

Neuroprotective and Cognitive Enhancement Potentials of Baicalin: A Review

Neurodegenerative diseases are a heterogeneous group of disorders that are characterized by the gradual loss of neurons. The development of effective neuroprotective agents to prevent and control neurodegenerative diseases is specifically important. Recently, there has been an increasing interest in selecting flavonoid compounds as potential neuroprotective agents, owing to their high effectiveness with low side effects. Baicalin is one of the important flavonoid compounds, which is mainly isolated from the root of Scutellaria baicalensis Georgi (an important Chinese medicinal herb). In recent years, a number of studies have shown that baicalin has a potent neuroprotective effect in various in vitro and in vivo models of neuronal injury. In particular, baicalin effectively prevents neurodegenerative diseases through various pharmacological mechanisms, including antioxidative stress, anti-excitotoxicity, anti-apoptotic, anti-inflammatory, stimulating neurogenesis, promoting the expression of neuronal protective factors, etc. This review mainly focuses on the neuroprotective and cognitive enhancement effects of baicalin. The aim of the present review is to compile all information in relation to the neuroprotective and cognitive enhancement effects of baicalin and its molecular mechanisms of action in various in vitro and in vivo experimental models