Radical Scavenging Activity of Instant Grits with Addition of Chamomile Flowers Determined by TLC–DPPH• Test and by Spectrophotometric Method

The effect of Vaccinium bracteatum Thunb. leaves addition on antioxidant capacity, physicochemical properties, and in vitro digestibility of rice extrudates

Vaccinium bracteatum Thunb.leaves (VBTL) are a traditional Chinese herbal medicine with potential natural pigments and antioxidants. Its application information on extrusion is limited. In this study, to increase the usage of foods containing VBTL, rice-based extrudates with VBTL were investigated. The extrusion was performed at a wide temperature range (60-140°C) and with different VBTL supplementations (3%-10%). The extrudates with 10% VBTL showed a significant decrease in total phenolic content (TPC), total flavonoid content (TFC), and antioxidant activity upon extrusion. TPC and TFC increased with the rise of barrel temperature. The VBTL color was stable during the wide-temperature extrusion process. The bioactivities of the extrudates were positively correlated with the VBTLsupplement (R = 0.943-0.989). In addition, different addition levels of VBTL significantly changed the water absorption index (WAI), water solubility index (WSI), pasting properties, and in vitro starch digestibility of the extrudates. Moreover, extrudates with 3% VBTL showed the highest WAI and peak viscosity but the lowest in vitro starch digestibility. These results may suggest that rice extrudates with a low supplement of VBTL have an acceptable color and may be used as functional additives for high antioxidant and low glycemic response diets. PRACTICAL APPLICATION: The results showed that the Vaccinium bracteatum Thunb. leaves (VBTL) color and antioxidation were stable during the wide-temperature extrusion process. Extrusion processing can be used to enlarge the usage of VBTL and simplify its traditional processing method. Applying VBTL to the process of extrusion appears to be a suitable method of producing value-added and low glycemic response extrudates.

The influence of Cistus incanus L. leaves on wheat pasta quality

Modern nutritional trends and looking for functional food and dedicated products for various consumers are a source of inspiration for scientists to develop new pro-health supplemented foods with high quality. Therefore, the present study aimed to determine the selected properties of common wheat pasta fortified with dried Cistus incanus in amount from 1 to 5% as a replacement of wheat flour. Pasta was made with a spaghetti shape and dried. Supplemented pasta was tested for total phenolics content, the total activity against DPPH, the ability to neutralize free radicals to ABTS and the antioxidant capacity reduction power, using various extraction procedures. Selected physicochemical properties of pasta were evaluated: cooking time, cooking weight, cooking loss, hardness and color profile of dry and cooked pasta in CIE-Lab scale, as well as the sensory properties of supplemented products. The addition of C. incanus to fortify wheat pasta increased total phenolics content and antioxidant activity with some significant differences according to the extraction procedure used. Methanolic extraction was more efficient than buffer extraction. Increased addition of dry Cistus herb caused higher cooking weight, cooking loss and increased hardness of cooked pasta. Studies have shown that C. incanus addition had a slight effect on color change with the largest decrease in brightness, especially for cooked products. Finally, it was found that advisable application of C. incanus addition to achieve nutritionally improved composition of pasta should not exceed 3% due to the proper sensory characteristics.

Application of Moldavian dragonhead (Dracocephalum moldavica L.) leaves addition as a functional component of nutritionally valuable corn snacks

Application of Moldavian dragonhead (Dracocephalum moldavica L.) leaves in extruded snacks was evaluated. Directly expanded corn snacks (crisps) were supplemented with 5-20% of dragonhead leaves. The supplemented snacks were characterized to have improved nutritional value and were a good source of dietary fibre. The presence of phenolic compounds, especially rosmarinic acid, showed a high antioxidant potential and a radical scavenging activity of tested snacks, especially if a high content of additive was used. The increasing amount of additive also had an impact on the physical properties of extrudates lowering the expansion ratio, water absorption and solubility, yet increasing bulk density, cutting force and the breaking index of the enriched snacks. The highest viscosity was observed at 5 and 10% addition level. The increasing amount of dragonhead leaves lowered the brightness of snacks and increased the greenness tint significantly. A sensory evaluation showed good acceptability of snacks enriched with up to 15% of dragonhead dried leaves. Dried leaves of the Moldavian dragonhead seem to be a prospective functional additive for extruded crisps with a high nutritional value, especially because of dietary fibre and rosmarinic acid content, a strong antioxidant potential and acceptable sensory properties.

Active polyphenolic compounds, nutrient contents and antioxidant capacity of extruded fish feed containing purple coneflower (Echinacea purpurea (L.) Moench.)

The growth of fish is directly dependent on feed composition and quality. Medicinal plants can be added to fish feed as adjuvant therapy for the prevention of fish diseases. The purple coneflower (Echinacea purpurea (L.) Moench.) has been reported to have multiple biological effects, including immunomodulatory and antioxidant activity. The most active compounds of E. purpurea are polyphenols - caffeic acid derivatives: caftaric acid, chlorogenic acid, cynarin, echinacoside and cichoric acid.

Due to a relatively limited number of studies on the use of the purple coneflower as a nutritional supplement for fish feeding, extruded fish feed with addition of Echinacea roots was produced. In the feed total phenolic content, selected polyphenol contents, the energetic value, nutrient contents and antioxidant capacity were examined.

The results indicate that fish feed with addition of the Echinacea has a great potential to be a good source of natural radical scavengers, for example polyphenols, and nutritive ingredients. Antioxidant properties of feed were well correlated with the coneflower content. The study findings confirmed that high-temperature extrusion-cooking process does not deactivate phenolic antioxidant compounds, which are present both in the Echinacea roots and in the final product. Fish feed with addition of E. purpurea can be used as a nutritional supplement in the prevention of fish diseases caused by oxidative stress.