Optimization of Pan Bread Prepared with Ramie Powder and Preservation of Optimized Pan Bread Treated by Gamma Irradiation during Storage

Inner morphological and chemical differentiation of Boehmeria species

The present study was designed to establish quality control parameters for pharmacognostic evaluation and differentiation of eight locally derived Boehmeria species, B. gracilis, B. nivea, B. pannosa, B. platanifolia, B. quelpaertensis, B. spicata, B. splitgerbera, B. tricuspis, and two varieties named B. japonica var. longispica, B. nivea var. concolor, which have been utilized as the folk medicine, 'Mo-Si-Pool' in Korea. Although the outer morphological study of these species had been reported, there is no pharmacognostical description yet. Therefore, inner morphological evaluation on leaf midrib, petiole and stem of eight Boehmeria species and two varieties was accomplished along with preliminary phytochemical analysis by HPLC-DAD profiling. The microscopic data showed discriminative inner morphological characteristics such as collenchyma cell layer, thickness of cortex and xylem, frequency of druse and hairs, and number of vascular bundles. The HPLC profiles exhibited more than four characteristic peaks. The molecular ions of the four peaks (1-4) were tentatively identified by ESI-MS, and their structures were identified by NMR spectroscopy to be the flavonoids, rutin (1), isoquercetin (2) and kaempferol-3-O-rutinoside (3), and a phenanthroquinolizidine alkaloid, (-)-cryptopleurine (4). While compounds 1 and 2 were detected in all samples, compound 4 was determined only in B. japonica var. longispica, B. pannosa and B. quelpaertensis and B. splitgerbera. These findings provide the initial scientific criteria for proper identification and establishment of standards for use of Boehmeria species in traditional medicine.

Phytochemical profiles and antioxidant activities in six species of ramie leaves

Increased consumption of vegetables or plant food has been associated with decreased risk of developing major chronic diseases, such as cancers, diabetes, cardiovascular diseases, and age-related functional decline. Ramie leaves are rich in phenolics and flavonoids, which have been suggested for human health benefits. Phenolic contents, flavonoid contents, phenolic compounds, and anti-cancer properties in six species of ramie leaves were analyzed by Folin-reagent method, sodium borohydride/chloranil-based assay (SBC), HPLC method and antiproliferation, cytoxicity, respectively. Antioxidant activities were measured through peroxyl radical scavenging capacity (PSC) method, oxygen radical absorbance capacity (ORAC) method, and cellular antioxidant activity (CAA). Research indicated that Boehmeria penduliflora contained the highest total phenolic content (2313.7±27.28 mg GAE/100 g FW), and flavonoid content (1682.4±27.70 mg CAE/100 g FW). Boehmeria tricuspis showed the highest PSC value (9574.8±117.63 µM vit. C equiv./100 g FW), while Boehmeria penduliflora indicated the highest ORAC value (330.44±16.88 µmol Trolox equiv./g FW). The antioxidant activities were correlated with phenolic contents and flavonoid contents. Boehmeria tricuspis had the highest antiproliferative capacity with the lowest EC₅₀ (4.11±0.19 mg/mL). The results for the analyzed ramie for CAA were significantly different from each other (p<0.05), Boehmeria tricuspis had the highest CAA value (133.63±7.10 µmol QE/100 g). Benzoic acid, 4-coumaric acid, caffeic acid, and ferulic acid were the dominant phenolic ingredients in the ramie leaves according to HPLC analysis. Our research is the first report to study the phytochemical profiles and antioxidant activities in different species of ramie leaves for their health benefit.

Effects of the Addition of Ecklonia cava Powder on the Selected Physicochemical and Sensory Quality of White Pan Bread

Physicochemical properties and consumer perception of white pan bread as influenced by the addition of Ecklonia cava powder (ECP) were investigated. Freeze-dried Ecklonia cava were ground, sieved through a laboratory sieve and a fraction with particles less than 250 μm was used. Amount of ECP added (0~3%) to the bread was found to affect the bread quality significantly (P<0.05). pH, bread height, and volume of the control was significantly higher than others (P<0.05) and decreased significantly (P<0.05) with the addition of ECP. Moisture content showed no significant differences (P>0.05). There were distinctive color changes with the addition of the powder: L*- and a*-values decreased but b*-value increased significantly (P<0.05). The hardness of bread was found to increase but both cohesiveness and springiness showed a reverse trend with the addition of the powder. Consumer acceptance test indicated that ECP content 1% on wheat flour could be the recommended supplementation level for the consumers without sacrificing sensory quality.