Oxidative Stability of a New Peanut Butter Bite Product.

Peanut butter continues to be a mainstay in the American diet, but in its current form, peanut butter lacks the convenience of other foods. A peanut butter bite snack food has been developed that is individually wrapped, high in protein, and made mostly from peanut butter. The target market for the product is the active, health-conscious segment of the population that wants a high-protein peanut butter snack that is easy to pack, carry, and eat. The objective of the current study was to evaluate the shelf life of peanut butter bites under different storage and packaging conditions and specifically to monitor oxidative stability of the samples over time. Peanut butter bite samples were prepared with three different levels of added antioxidant (vitamin E). Products were sealed in two different types of packaging (metallized polyethylene and plastic polyethylene) and were stored at two different temperatures to determine the rate of deterioration of the product under various conditions. Oxidative stability was evaluated using two different analytical methods (peroxide value and TBARS assay) to evaluate primary and secondary oxidation products over a six month time period. All treatments were conducted in triplicate. Results show that higher levels of vitamin E resulted in greater stability. As expected, oxidation proceeded more quickly under higher temperature storage conditions. A shelf stable individually wrapped peanut butter snack product may be appealing to a large audience and could result in an increase in the consumption of peanuts.

Antioxidant Properties of "Natchez" and "Triple Crown" Blackberries Using Korean Traditional Winemaking Techniques.

This research evaluated blackberries grown in Oklahoma and wines produced using a modified traditional Korean technique employing relatively oxygen-permeable earthenware fermentation vessels. The fermentation variables were temperature (21.6°C versus 26.6°C) and yeast inoculation versus wild fermentation. Wild fermented wines had higher total phenolic concentration than yeast fermented wines. Overall, wines had a relatively high concentration of anthocyanin (85-320 mg L-1 malvidin-3-monoglucoside) and antioxidant capacity (9776-37845 µmol Trolox equivalent g-1). "Natchez" berries had a higher anthocyanin concentration than "Triple Crown" berries. Higher fermentation temperature at the start of the winemaking process followed by the use of lower fermentation/storage temperature for aging wine samples maximized phenolic compound extraction/retention. The Korean winemaking technique used in this study produced blackberry wines that were excellent sources of polyphenolic compounds as well as being high in antioxidant capacity as measured by the Oxygen Radical Absorbance Capacity (ORAC) test.

Effect of beta-cyclodextrin in improving the correlation between lycopene concentration and ORAC values.

Lycopene, a lipophilic antioxidant, plays a crucial role in biological systems. It may play an important role in human biological systems by providing protection against cardiovascular disease and some cancers and by boosting the immune system. The oxygen radical absorbance capacity (ORAC) has been validated as an index of antioxidant activity for many hydrophilic antioxidants but not for lycopene. This study validates the ORAC assay for different concentrations of lycopene in the presence of beta-cyclodextrin, a water-solubility enhancer. Lyc-O-Mato 6% extract was used as a source of lycopene for these experiments. Lycopene was extracted according to a standard spectrophotometric assay procedure in the presence of beta-cyclodextrin at concentrations of 0, 0.4, 0.8, and 1.6%, and the antioxidant activity of lycopene was measured with the ORAC assay. Experiments were conducted in quadruplicate and statistical pooled correlations analyzed. Statistical analysis showed a very high correlation (R2 = 0.99) between ORAC and ascorbic acid concentrations, validating this method. Lycopene concentration correlated poorly with ORAC (R2 = 0.33) in the absence of beta-cyclodextrin. Correlations improved with increasing levels of beta-cyclodextrin (R2 = 0.58 and 0.91 for 0.4 and 0.8% beta-cyclodextrin, respectively). A very high beta-cyclodextrin concentration (1.6%) decreased the correlation between ORAC and lycopene concentration. Inclusion of beta-cyclodextrin in the ORAC assay improves correlation between ORAC and lycopene concentration, thus expanding the scope of the ORAC assay to include an additional fat-soluble antioxidant.