Effects of Ultrasound-Assisted Extraction and Solvent on the Phenolic Profile, Bacterial Growth, and Anti-Inflammatory/Antioxidant Activities of Mediterranean Olive and Fig Leaves Extracts.

Mediterranean plants, such as fig and olive leaves, are well-known to exert beneficial effects in humans because of the presence of a wide range of bioactive compounds. However, scarce information regarding the impact of extraction methods, such as ultrasound and types of solvents, on their profile of antioxidant and anti-inflammatory compounds is provided. In addition, no information is available on the effects of extraction methods and solvents on the inhibition of pathogenic bacteria or promoting probiotic growth. In this scenario, this study was aimed to study the effects of ultrasound-assisted extraction (UAE) and solvent on the phenolic profile (Triple TOF-LC-MS/MS), antioxidant and anti-inflammatory compounds of olive and fig leaves. Results showed that UAE extracted more carotenoids compared to conventional extraction, while the conventional extraction impacted on higher flavonoids (olive leaves) and total phenolics (fig leaves). The antioxidant capacity of aqueous extract of fig leaves was three times higher than the extract obtained with ethanol for conventional extraction and four times higher for UAE. In general terms, hydroethanolic extracts presented the highest bacterial growth inhibition, and showed the highest anti-inflammatory activity. In conclusion, these side streams can be used as sources of bioactive compounds for further development of high-added-value products.

Effects of pulses and microalgal proteins on quality traits of beef patties.

Physicochemical parameters (pH, colour and texture), proximate composition (moisture, protein, lipid and ash content), amino acid content, and taste profile of beef patties elaborated with soy (control), pulses (pea, lentil and bean) and microalgal (Chlorella and Spirulina) proteins were assessed. The pH, colour, ash content, total, essential and non-essential amino acids and amino acid content were significantly different among the beef patties studied. In this regard, beef patties prepared with pea protein presented the highest values for pH; whereas beef patties manufactured with pea also showed the highest values for lightness and patties elaborated with bean the highest values for redness. Similar textural parameters were observed among the six batches of beef patties manufactured. Regarding ash content, a significant higher content was observed in the beef patties prepared with soy compared to the other ones. On the other hand, the beef patties elaborated with bean and seaweeds showed the highest values for the total amino acids content. The inclusion of bean and seaweed proteins increased the concentrations of all amino acids in beef patties, being glutamic acids, lysine and aspartic acid the predominant amino acids. Regarding the taste analysis, a similar profile was found among the six batches of beef patties studied. Considering all studied parameters, beef patties elaborated with bean protein could be used as an alternative protein source respect to soy protein because of it showed a similar nutritional content and taste profile and higher amino acid content.

Impact of ultrasound-assisted extraction and solvent composition on bioactive compounds and in vitro biological activities of thyme and rosemary.

Mediterranean herbs, specially thyme and rosemary, are important ingredients in food preparation and more recently have been studied as natural sources of bioactive compounds. This study aimed to study the effect of matrix (thyme vs. rosemary), and extraction protocol (conventional extraction vs. ultrasound assisted extraction) solvent composition (water vs. 50:50 ethanol:water solution) on the extraction of high value compounds (phenolic compounds, flavonoids and carotenoids) and also explore the antioxidant, antimicrobial (Listeria innocua, Staphylococcus aureus, and Salmonella enterica), probiotic (Lactobacillus casei and Bifidobacterium lactis), and anti-inflammatory activities. The phenolic, flavonoid and carotenoid content of extracts was greatly influenced by extraction conditions wherein the ultrasound pre-treatment improved the extraction of carotenoids but induced the opposite effect for polyphenols and flavonoids in both herbs. Only the aqueous extract of thyme obtained from ultrasound pre-treatment was the only extract that inhibited the growth of potentially pathogenic bacteria, stimulated the probiotic bacteria and achieved high anti-inflammatory and antioxidant activity. Moreover, this extract also was rich on phenolic compounds (such as p-coumaric acid 4-O-glucoside, kaempferol 3-O-rutinoside, feruloyl glucose, and 4-vinylguaiacol) and carotenoids. Therefore, ultrasound extraction of bioactive compounds with water as solvent could be explored in food and pharmaceutical applications.