Inhibition of Browning in Apples Using Betacyclodextrin-Assisted Extracts of Green Rooibos (Aspalathus linearis).

Green rooibos' bioactive compounds contribute greatly towards its antioxidant activity. The anti-browning activity of aqueous (GRE) and beta-cyclodextrin (ß-GRE)-assisted extracts of green rooibos was investigated in canned apples. Freeze-dried extracts (GRE and ß-GRE) obtained at 40 °C for 60 min were added in canned apples at 0.25 and 0.5% prior to heat processing and stored at 23 and 37 °C for 24 weeks. Lightness (L*), colour difference (DE*), furfural and hydroxymethyl furfural (HMF) were determined to establish the effect of extracts against non-enzymatic browning (NEB) development. The L* value decreased, whereas DE*, HMF and furfural increased with increased storage time and temperature. A higher inhibition was observed for samples stored at 23 °C, and storage at 37 °C reduced (p < 0.05) the inhibitory capacity of extracts. Greater inhibition against NEB development was reported for ß-GRE 0.25 and 0.5 via the L* value (40.93-46.67%), ß-GRE 0.25 for DE* (46.67%) and ß-GRE 0.25 and 0.5 for HMF (59.55-67.33%). No differences (p > 0.05) were observed in furfural inhibition between all extracts, although inhibition was reported at 62.69-72.29%. Browning inhibition correlated with the reaction rate constant (k0) and activation energy (Ea), exhibiting a correlation coefficient of 0.925, 0.964, 0.932 and 0.754 for L*, DE*, HMF and furfural, respectively.

Optimising the Polyphenolic Content and Antioxidant Activity of Green Rooibos (Aspalathus linearis) Using Beta-Cyclodextrin Assisted Extraction.

Antioxidant activity associated with green rooibos infusions is attributed to the activity of polyphenols, particularly aspalathin and nothofagin. This study aimed to optimise ß-cyclodextrin (ß-CD)-assisted extraction of crude green rooibos (CGRE) via total polyphenolic content (TPC) and antioxidant activity assays. Response surface methodology (RSM) permitted optimisation of ß-CD concentration (0−15 mM), temperature (40−90 °C) and time (15−60 min). Optimal extraction conditions were: 15 mM ß-CD: 40 °C: 60 min with a desirability of 0.985 yielding TPC of 398.25 mg GAE·g−1, metal chelation (MTC) of 93%, 2,2'-azino-bis(3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonic acid) (ABTS) radical scavenging of 1689.7 µmol TE·g−1, ferric reducing antioxidant power (FRAP) of 2097.53 µmol AAE·g−1 and oxygen radical absorbance capacity (ORAC) of 11,162.82 TE·g−1. Aspalathin, hyperoside and orientin were the major flavonoids, with quercetin, luteolin and chrysoeriol detected in trace quantities. Differences (p < 0.05) between aqueous and ß-CD assisted CGRE was only observed for aspalathin reporting the highest content of 172.25 mg·g−1 of dry matter for extracts produced at optimal extraction conditions. Positive, strong correlations between TPC and antioxidant assays were observed and exhibited regression coefficient (R2) between 0.929−0.978 at p < 0.001. These results demonstrated the capacity of ß-CD in increasing polyphenol content of green rooibos.

Heated plant extracts as natural inhibitors of enzymatic browning: A case of the Maillard reaction.

Enzymatic browning is the second largest cause of quality loss in fruits, vegetables, and seafood. Methods to prevent browning are the subject of great research interest in the field of Food Science and Technology. Numerous strategies for inhibiting enzymatic browning have been proposed in literature. Recent research is focused on finding alternative anti-browning agents to synthetics such as sulfites. Amongst natural antioxidants, Maillard reaction products (MRPs) have proven to be effective. Although reviews have been published on the antioxidant and anti-browning activity of MRPs, none of these focused solely on enzymatic browning inhibition mechanism of MRPs generated via heated plant extracts. Therefore, this review explores the common factors associated with the Maillard reaction (temperature, time, and concentration) and enzymatic browning inhibition (enzyme, substrate and reaction time) in order to confirm the activity and presence of MRPs in heated plant extracts. PRACTICAL APPLICATIONS: Chemical food additives applied in prevention of enzymatic browning are subjected to scrutiny. Therefore, alternative natural compounds are sought after. Plant extracts have been applied, however, they tend to impart their characteristic natural flavor into the product. Heating of these plant extracts have been proven to reduce the "planty, herby" flavors, whilst producing Maillard reaction. Maillard reaction products are known to exhibit anti-browning activity, and they are a cheap alternative to these chemical inhibitors. Therefore, these can be applied as potential anti-browning agents in food products.

Antioxidant and anti-glycation potential of green pepper (Piper nigrum): Optimization of ß-cyclodextrin-based extraction by response surface methodology.

Green pepper (Piper nigrum) presents high levels of functional compounds, with antioxidant and anti-glycation properties. Thus, the optimization of the ß-cyclodextrin-based extraction of functional compounds from green pepper through Response Surface Methodology was performed. The optimum extraction conditions were assessed by optimizing total polyphenolic content (TPC) and antioxidant activity (DPPH• and FRAP methods). 15 mM for ß-CD solution, 5 min of ultrasonication and 41 °C were the optimum extraction conditions, with the TPC of 24.9 mg GAE/mL and the anti-radical activities were 3.1 mg GAE/mL (DPPH• assay) and 0.45 mg GAE/mL (FRAP method). This natural extract obtained through eco-friendly techniques proved to be effective to reduce the formation of hydroxymethylfurfural, a glycation marker, at 70 and 80 °C. GPE presented higher TPC than black and white pepper. The relationship between the antioxidant and anti-glycation properties was confirmed and green pepper and can be proposed as a natural potential anti-glycation agent.

Antioxidant activity of Maillard reaction products (MRPs) in a lipid-rich model system.

Ribose-lysine (RL), ribose-glycine (RG), fructose-lysine (FL) and fructose-glycine (FG) Maillard models (whole mixture (WM) pH 4 and 9) were heated at 60, 80, 121°C for 30, 60, 120min, and dialysed into low (LMW) and high molecular weight (HMW) fractions. Reducing power (RP), DPPH and peroxyl radical scavenging (PRS) evaluated indirect antioxidant activity (AA). Direct AA in a water-in-oil emulsion was evaluated through peroxide value (PV), p-anisidine, TBARs inhibition and oxidative stability (OS). PRS and RP increased significantly with temperature and time from FLWM>HMW. With DPPH, only MRPs at 121°C exhibited higher AA than BHA. MRPs exhibited low PV, p-anisidine and inhibited the formation of TBARs. BHA showed the highest OS, with p-anisidine, PV and inhibition of TBARS similar to that of MRPs.

Antioxidant activity of Maillard reaction products (MRPs) derived from fructose-lysine and ribose-lysine model systems.

Maillard reaction products (MRPs) were prepared from aqueous ribose-lysine (RL) and fructose-lysine (FL) model systems at pH 9, heated at 60, 80 and 120 °C for 15, 60 and 120 min. Browning intensity (BI) and pH reduction were monitored throughout the reaction. 1,1-Diphenyl-2-picryl-hydrazyl (DPPH-RS), peroxyl (PRS), and hydroxyl radical scavenging (HRS) and reducing power (RP) measured their antioxidant activity. The pH of FL and RL system decreased (p<0.05) as reaction temperatures and times increased. This reduction coincided with the increase (p<0.05) in BI for all MRPs. With the exception of HRS activity, the antioxidant activity of FL increased (p<0.05) with increased reaction temperature, while that of RL systems decreased (p<0.05). Concerning sugar reactivity, RL systems exhibited higher (p<0.05) reduction in pH, BI, DPPH-RS, PRS and RP than FL model systems, with no considerable differences (p>0.05) in HRS activity.