Metabolite profiling and in vitro biological activities of two commercial bitter melon (Momordica charantia Linn.) cultivars.

The current study was designed to characterize the metabolite profile and bioactivity of two commercial bitter melon (Momordica charantia Linn.) genotypes. UPLC-high resolution mass spectrometry (HRMS) was used to identify 15 phenolic and 46 triterpenoids in various bitter melon extracts. Total phenolic levels were the highest (57.28 ±â€¯1.02) in methanolic extract of the inner tissue of Indian Green cultivar, which also correlated to the highest DPPH radical scavenging activity (30.48 ±â€¯2.49 ascorbic acid equivalents (mg of AAE)/g of FD). In addition, highest levels of total saponins were observed in chloroform extract of the Chinese bitter melon pericarp (75.73 mg ±â€¯4.67 diosgenin equivalents (DE)/g of FD). Differential inhibition of α-amylase and α-glucosidase activity was observed in response to polarity of extract, cultivar and tissue type. These results suggest that consumption of whole bitter melon may have potential health benefits to manage diabetes.

Storage Stability of Dietary Nitrate and Phenolic Compounds in Beetroot (Beta vulgaris) and Arugula (Eruca sativa) Juices.

Nitrate and polyphenols from the diet may enhance the production and bioavailability of nitric oxide, a radical signaling molecule critical for cardiovascular health. Understanding the stability of these bioactives in beetroot and arugula juices is important for their functions. In this study, the stability of nitrate and phenolics in beetroot and arugula juices was measured for 32 days at different temperatures (25, 4, -20, and -80 °C). The levels of nitrate were measured by reversed-phase HPLC and initial levels were found to be 4965.34 ± 72.69 µg/mL for beetroot and 6310.20 ± 24.79 µg/mL for arugula. Interestingly, nitrate degradation started within 24 hr at 25 °C and after 4 days at 4 °C. At -20 °C and -80 °C, nitrate levels remained stable for one month. Total phenolics and free radical scavenging activity varied significantly during storage conditions. Beetroot juice at 25 °C, significant decrease in total phenolics and antioxidant activity was observed, whereas at 4, -20 and -80 °C, the levels remained relatively stable. By contrast, arugula juice at 25 and 4 °C, an increase in total phenolics and antioxidant activity were observed after one month. Furthermore, UPLC-HR-QTOF-MS analysis demonstrated that flavonoid glucosides were converted to their aglycones and lower phenolics, resulting in higher total phenolics and antioxidant activity during storage. In conclusion, beetroot and arugula juices required frozen conditions for long-term storage to prevent degradation of nitrate and to maintain their nutritional value. PRACTICAL APPLICATION: Beetroot and arugula juices have health-beneficial compounds such as nitrate and phenolics. Understanding the proper storage conditions can allow consumers to make informed choices that can help fresh juices to maintain their health promoting properties.

Optimized method for the quantification of pyruvic acid in onions by microplate reader and confirmation by high resolution mass spectra.

The present study describes the rapid microplate method to determine pyruvic acid content in different varieties of onions. Onion juice was treated with 2,4-dinitrophenylhydrazine to obtain hydrazone, which was further treated with potassium hydroxide to get stable colored complex. The stability of potassium complex was enhanced up to two hours and the structures of hydrazones were confirmed by LC-MS for the first time. The developed method was optimized by testing different bases, acids with varying concentrations of dinitrophenyl hydrazine to get stable color and results were comparable to developed method. Repeatability and precision showed <9% relative standard deviation. Moreover, sweet onion juice was stored for four weeks at different temperatures for the stability; the pyruvate remained stable at all temperatures except at 25°C. Thus, the developed method has good potential to determine of pungency in large number of onions in a short time using minimal amount of reagents.

Polymethoxyflavones Isolated from the Peel of Miaray Mandarin (Citrus miaray) Have Biofilm Inhibitory Activity in Vibrio harveyi.

Citrus fruits are a good source of bioactive compounds with numerous beneficial biological activities. In the present study, fruits of the unexplored Miaray mandarin were used for the isolation of 10 bioactive compounds. Dried peels were sequentially extracted with hexane and chloroform in a Soxhlet-type apparatus for 8 h. The extracts were concentrated under vacuum and separated by flash chromatography to obtain nine polymethoxyflavones and a limonoid. The purity of each compound was analyzed by high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC), and the compounds were identified by spectral analysis using MALDI-TOF-MS and NMR. The isolated compounds were identified as 5-hydroxy-3,7,3',4'-tetramethoxyflavone, 5,6,7,8,4'-pentamethoxyflavone (tangeretin), 3,5,6,7,8,3',4'-heptamethoxyflavone, 5,6,7,8,3',4'-hexamethoxyflavone (nobiletin), 3,5,7,8,3',4'-hexamethoxyflavone, 3,5,7,3',4'-pentamethoxyflavone (pentamethylquercetin), 5,7,4'-trimethoxyflavone, 5,7,8,4'-tetramethoxyflavone, 5,7,8,3',4'-pentamethoxyflavone, and limonin. These compounds were further tested for their ability to inhibit cell-cell signaling and biofilm formation in Vibrio harveyi. Among the evaluated polymethoxyflavones, 3,5,6,7,8,3',4'-heptamethoxyflavone and 3,5,7,8,3',4'-hexamethoxyflavone inhibited autoinducer-mediated cell-cell signaling and biofilm formation. These results suggest that Miaray mandarin fruits are a good source of polymethoxyflavones. This is the first report on the isolation of bioactive compounds from Miaray mandarin and evaluation of their biofilm inhibitory activity as well as isolation of pentamethylquercetin from the Citrus genus.

Low temperature conditioning reduces chilling injury while maintaining quality and certain bioactive compounds of 'Star Ruby' grapefruit.

In the current study, influence of storage temperature (11 and 2°C) and low temperature conditioning (7 days at 16°C before cold storage at 2°C) on the bioactive compounds in 'Star Ruby' grapefruit (Citrus paradisi Macf.) were examined. Fruits stored at 11°C showed no CI; while fruits stored at 2°C showed highest CI. Conditioning treatment (CD) reduced the incidence of CI. Carotenoids and flavonoids were significantly higher after 16 weeks in fruits stored at 11°C. Low temperature storage (2°C and CD) helped to retain ascorbic acid for a longer period (12 weeks). Higher furocoumarins and taste scores along with less decay development were observed in CD fruits. Conditioning treatment can be utilized to reduce CI and to maintain taste and certain bioactive compounds of grapefruits during prolonged storage at low temperature. However, for a short storage period, 11°C temperature is more effective.

Citrus limonoids and curcumin additively inhibit human colon cancer cells.

In the current study, we examined the ability of limonoids, including limonin, limonin glucoside (LG) and curcumin, to inhibit proliferation of human colon cancer (SW480) cells. Additionally, we studied the effect of combining these two classes of natural compounds on inhibition of proliferation and the possible mode of cytotoxicity. The SW480 cells were treated with compounds individually and in combination to understand the effect on cell death, DNA fragmentation, caspase-3 activity and the expression of Bax, Bcl-2 and caspase-3 proteins. Results of cell proliferation assays suggest that combinations of limonoids with curcumin at three different ratios (1 : 3, 1 : 1 and 3 : 1) to a final concentration of 50 ppm demonstrated up to 96% inhibition of cell proliferation. The MTT assay results were also confirmed by counting viable cells. Further, incubation of cells with combinations of limonoids and curcumin resulted in elevation of total cellular caspase-3 activity by 3.5-4.0 fold along with a 2- to 4-fold increase in the Bax/Bcl-2 ratio. The expression of pro-caspase-3 and its cleaved products in cells treated with curcumin (individually or combination) indicates higher potency of the combination to induce apoptosis. For the first time, this study provides compelling evidence of the pharmacodynamic additive effect of limonoids and curcumin in inhibiting human colon cancer cells. The above results were also confirmed by fluorescence microscopy of SW480 cells treated with limonoids, curcumin and combination, after tagging with fluorescent probes. These results suggest that consumption of curcumin and limonoids together may offer greater protection against colon cancer.

Degreening and postharvest storage influences 'Star Ruby' grapefruit (Citrus paradisi Macf.) bioactive compounds.

Ethylene is commercially used for artificial degreening of early season grapefruits. The present study investigated the effect of degreening and storage period on Star Ruby grapefruit (Citrus paradisi Macf.) bioactive compounds. Freshly harvested grapefruits were degreened in commercial packing shed for 60h using 2ppm of ethylene at a constant temperature of 20°C. Both degreened and non-degreened (control) fruits were stored at 10°C for 21days and later transferred to 20°C for a period of 14days to simulate shipment and retail store market conditions. Bioactive compounds including carotenoids, limonoids, flavonoids and furocoumarins were analyzed using high performance liquid chromatography. Nomilin was significantly higher (P<0.05) in degreened fruits at 35days after storage. In contrast, flavonoids such as narirutin, naringin and poncirin were significantly (P<0.05) lower in degreened fruits at 35days after storage. Degreening treatment reduced the levels of deacetyl nomilinic acid glucoside and bergamottin after 35days of storage; however, it had no significant effect on total soluble solids, decay, fruit softening, taste, odour, ascorbic acid, ß-carotene, lycopene, limonin, neohesperidin, didymin, 6,7-dihydroxybergamottin, 5-geranyloxy-7-methoxycoumarin and radical scavenging activity. Therefore, degreening could be utilized to enhance the grapefruit aesthetic quality, with minimal effect on nutritional quality.

Influence of extraction solvents on antioxidant activity and the content of bioactive compounds in non-pungent peppers.

Bioactive compounds in foods have been shown to maintain human health. However, the relative amounts of bioactive compounds and the variation in the amounts are still poorly understood. In this study, the efficacy of different extraction solvents (hexane, ethyl acetate, acetone, methanol, and a methanol:water mixture), as well as the levels of certain bioactive compounds in non-pungent pepper cultivars (TMH, TMJ, PA137, and B58) were investigated using high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). Antioxidant activities were determined using 2,2,-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH), reducing power, and deoxyribose degradation. Hexane extracts had the highest level of carotenoids (47.2-628.8 µg/g), and methanol extracts contained maximum flavonoids (24.9-152.2 µg/g) in four different cultivars. Higher DPPH scavenging activity was found in the hexane extracts from TMH, TMJ, PA137, and B58 (IC50 value: 0.67, 0.74, 0.55, and 0.48 µg/ml, respectively), whereas the reducing power was high in ethyl acetate and acetone extracts. Inhibition of deoxyribose degradation was highest in methanolic extracts from TMH, TMJ, PA137, and B58 (51.2, 49.5, 52.6, and 47.4 %, respectively). These data demonstrate that solvent chemical properties such as polarity can differentially impact the efficiency with which different bioactive compounds are recovered from foods, and this could lead to differences in estimated biological activity such as antioxidant capacity.

Variation of antioxidant activity and the levels of bioactive compounds in lipophilic and hydrophilic extracts from hot pepper (Capsicum spp.) cultivars.

Peppers (Capsicum spp.) are a rich source of diverse bioactive compounds with potential health-promoting properties. This study investigated the extraction efficiency of five solvents on antioxidant activities from cayenne (CA408 and Mesilla), jalapeño (Ixtapa) and serrano (Tuxtlas) pepper cultivars. Freeze-dried peppers were extracted using a Soxhlet extractor with five solvents: hexane, ethyl acetate, acetone, methanol, and methanol:water (80:20). The levels of specific bioactive compounds (phenolics, capsaicinoids, carotenoids and flavonoids) were determined by HPLC and antioxidant activities were assayed by three methods. For all pepper cultivars tested, hexane extracts had the highest levels of capsaicinoids and carotenoids, but methanol extracts had the maximum levels of flavonoids. Hexane extracts showed higher 2,2-diphenyl-1-pricrylhydrozyl (DPPH) radical-scavenging activity and higher reducing power, and acetone extracts (from Mesilla pepper) had a high reducing power. All pepper extracts, except hexane, were effective in preventing deoxyribose degradation, and the inhibition was increased by high concentrations of extracts. The results of the present study indicated that, among the different measures of antioxidant activity, DPPH radical-scavenging activity was strongly correlated with total bioactive compounds (capsaicinoids, carotenoids, flavonoids and total phenolics) in pepper cultivars.

Chemistry, biogenesis, and biological activities of Cinnamomum zeylanicum.

The genus Cinnamomum comprises of several hundreds of species, which are distributed in Asia and Australia. Cinnamomum zeylanicum, the source of cinnamon bark and leaf oils, is an indigenous tree of Sri Lanka, although most oil now comes from cultivated areas. C. zeylanicum is an important spice and aromatic crop having wide applications in flavoring, perfumery, beverages, and medicines. Volatile oils from different parts of cinnamon such as leaves, bark, fruits, root bark, flowers, and buds have been isolated by hydro distillation/steam distillation and supercritical fluid extraction. The chemical compositions of the volatile oils have been identified by GC and GC-MS. More than 80 compounds were identified from different parts of cinnamon. The leaf oil has a major component called eugenol. Cinnamaldehyde and camphor have been reported to be the major components of volatile oils from stem bark and root bark, respectively. Trans-cinnamyl acetate was found to be the major compound in fruits, flowers, and fruit stalks. These volatile oils were found to exhibit antioxidant, antimicrobial, and antidiabetic activities. C. zeylanicum bark and fruits were found to contain proanthocyandins with doubly linked bis-flavan-3-ol units in the molecule. The present review provides a coherent presentation of scattered literature on the chemistry, biogenesis, and biological activities of cinnamon.

Citrus limonin and its glucoside inhibit colon adenocarcinoma cell proliferation through apoptosis.

The current study was an attempt to elucidate the mechanism of human colon cancer cell proliferation inhibition by limonin and limonin glucoside (LG) isolated from seeds of Citrus reticulata. The structures of purified compounds were confirmed by NMR and quantified using HPLC. These compounds of more than 95% purity were subjected to proliferation inhibition assay using human colon adenocarcinoma (SW480) cells. The IC50 value of 54.74 and 37.39 µM was observed for limonin and LG, respectively at 72 h. Following confirmation of proliferation inhibition, pattern of DNA fragmentation and activation of caspase-3 of the cells treated with limonoids suggest involvement of apoptosis. Furthermore, reduction in the transcription ratio of bcl2/bax and induction of cytochrome c release from mitochondria to cytosol with treatment of limonoids confirm the activation of intrinsic apoptosis pathway. The activity of Bax and Bcl2 was confirmed through analysis of mitochondrial membrane potential and intracellular calcium in the cells treated with limonin and LG; the net content of caspase-8 was not affected by limonoids. Results of the current study provide compelling evidence on the induction of mitochondria mediated intrinsic apoptosis by both limonin and LG in cultured SW480 cells for the first time.

Berberine induces apoptosis in breast cancer cells (MCF-7) through mitochondrial-dependent pathway.

Bioactive compounds found in many plant species have been used in Chinese, Unani, and Indian ayurvedic medicine. Accumulative evidences in both in vitro and in vivo studies using berberine demonstrated anti-cancer and anti-inflammatory properties in different cancer cells. In the present study, a putative compound from commercial sample was purified by chromatographic techniques. The structure of the pure compound was confirmed by spectroscopic studies. The purified berberine was tested against breast cancer (MCF-7) and normal human breast epithelial (MCF-12F) cells for 24, 48 and 72 h at various concentrations. Using MTT assay, berberine exhibited a significant cytotoxic effect on the MCF-7 cells (P<0.01) without affecting the breast normal epithelial cell growth at 25 microM concentration. Based on these results, MCF-7 cells were treated with 25 microM berberine for 48 and 72 h for further studies to illustrate induction of apoptosis through cell cycle distribution and DNA fragmentation with agarose gel electrophoresis. Western blotting with treated cells revealed that berberine induces apoptosis in MCF-7 cells through a mitochondria-dependent pathway by increasing levels of cytoplasmic cytochrome c, caspase-9 activity and cleavage of PARP while decreasing levels of Bcl-2. Furthermore, immunoblotting results demonstrated that p53 and p27 were up-regulated suggesting that barberine seems to play a pro-apoptotic role in cancer cells. In conclusion, berberine inhibits the proliferation of MCF-7 breast cancer cells through a mitochondria and caspase dependent apoptotic pathway. It is possible that berberine may serve as a potential naturally occurring compound for breast cancer therapy.

Grapefruit bioactive limonoids modulate E. coli O157:H7 TTSS and biofilm.

Limonoids are important constituents of the grapefruit and other citrus fruits. Research on health benefits suggests that citrus limonoids may act as anti-cancer, cholesterol lowering, anti-HIV and anti-feedant compounds. However, antimicrobial activities of citrus limonoids are not reported. In the present investigation, limonoids were purified from grapefruit seed and evaluated for their potential to antagonize cell-to-cell communication, biofilm formation and expression of Enterohemorrhagic Escherichia coli (EHEC) type three secretion system (TTSS). The results of the present study suggest that, certain limonoids are inhibitory to the cell-to-cell communication, biofilm formation and EHEC TTSS. Specifically, obacunone demonstrated strong inhibition of EHEC biofilm formation and TTSS. Furthermore, obacunone and other limonoids seem to inhibit the biofilm formation and TTSS in quorum sensing dependent fashion. The results indicate that certain grapefruit limonoids may possibly help in antagonizing the EHEC infection process, and may serve as lead compound in development of new antipathogenic molecules.

Bioactive compounds from sour orange inhibit colon cancer cell proliferation and induce cell cycle arrest.

Epidemiological studies suggest that dietary limonoids and phytosterols offer protection from certain types of cancers. Potential cancer preventive constituents of sour orange (Citrus aurantium L.) were isolated and identified from ethyl acetate extract. The structures of the compounds were identified by one-dimensional (1H or 13C) and two-dimensional (1H-H and 1H-13C) nuclear magnetic resonance experiments as limonexic acid and beta-sitosterol glucoside (SG). The identified compounds were tested for the potential inhibition of human colon cancer cell (HT-29) proliferation, apoptosis, and also noncancerous cells (COS-1). Cell proliferation, arrest of the cell cycle, and induction of apoptosis were assessed by MTT assay, flow cytometry, and nuclear staining methods, respectively. The MTT assay indicated that both compounds exhibited significant inhibition at various concentrations. These compounds did not show any toxic effects on noncancerous cells. These compounds caused 4-5-fold increases in the counts of G2/M stage cells at 50 microM, indicating a potential role in cell cycle arrest. These findings support the hypothesis that limonoids and phytosterols are effective apoptosis-promoting agents and incorporation of enriched fractions of these compounds in the diet may serve to prevent colon cancer. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report of the isolation, identification, and cell proliferation assay for limonexic acid and SG from sour orange.

Bioactive compounds from Mexican lime ( Citrus aurantifolia ) juice induce apoptosis in human pancreatic cells.

Lime (Citrus aurantifolia Swingle) is one of the major citrus fruits and widely consumed, but there is limited evidence about its health-promoting properties. Hence, an investigation was conducted to understand the chemopreventive effects of lime juice on pancreatic cancer cells and the possible mechanism for induction of apoptosis using Panc-28 cells. Freeze-dried lime juice was extracted with different solvents, such as chloroform, acetone, MeOH, and MeOH/water (8:2). The chloroform extract showed the highest (85.4 and 90%) radical-scavenging activity by 1,1-diphenyl-2-picryl hydrazyl (DPPH) and 2,2'-azino-bis(3-ethylbenzthiazoline-6-sulfonic acid) (ABTS) methods at 624 microg/mL, whereas the MeOH/water extract showed the lowest (<20%) activity. The active components were identified by high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) using a C-18 column as rutin, neohesperidin, hesperidin, and hesperitin. Furthermore, the limonoids identified are limonexic acid, isolimonexic acid, and limonin. All of the extracts of lime juice inhibited Panc-28 cancer cell growth. The MeOH extract exhibited the maximum activity, with an IC50 value of 81.20 microg/mL after 72 h. The inhibition of Panc-28 cells was in the range of 73-89%, at 100 microg/mL at 96 h. The involvement of apoptosis in induction of cytotoxicity was confirmed by expression of Bax, Bcl-2, casapase-3, and p53. The results of the present study clearly indicate that antioxidant activity is proportionate to the content of flavonoids and proliferation inhibition ability is proportionate to the content of both flavonoids and limonoids.

Novel triterpenoid from Citrus aurantium L. possesses chemopreventive properties against human colon cancer cells.

Potential cancer preventive constituents of sour orange (Citrus aurantium L.) were isolated and identified from EtOAc extract of sour orange. Crude EtOAc extract was purified using silica gel column chromatography to isolate two putative bioactive compounds. The purity of the isolated compounds was analyzed by TLC and HPLC. The structures of the two compounds were identified by one-dimensional ((1)H, (13)C) and two-dimensional ((1)H-H and (1)H-(13)C) NMR experiments as isolimonic acid and a novel compound named as ichanexic acid. Stereochemical assignment of the protons for both the compounds was made using one-dimensional nuclear Overhauser enhancement (nOe) experiments. The identified compounds were tested for the inhibition of human colon cancer cells (HT-29) proliferation, apoptosis, and on non-cancerous (COS-1 fibroblast) cells. Cell proliferation, arrest of cell growth, and induction of apoptosis were determined by MTT assay, flow cytometry, and nuclear staining methods, respectively. The MTT assay indicated that both the compounds exhibited differential inhibition at various concentrations. Significant arrest of cell growth by isolimonoic acid was noticed within 24h of treatment on the HT-29 colon cancer cells at a concentration as low as 5.0microM (P=0.005) and by ichanexic acid at 10.0microM (P=0.011). None of the compounds exerted any apparent cytostatic effects on the non-cancerous COS-1 fibroblast cells. Both the compounds exerted nearly 4- to 5-fold increase in the counts of G2/M stage cells at 5microM indicating a potential role in the cell cycle arrest as well as possible lead structures for the development of cancer chemopreventive and therapeutic agents. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report on isolation, identification of isolimonic acid in its native form, and compound 2 was found to a novel and identified as ichanexic acid.

Antiaflatoxigenic and antioxidant activities of Garcinia extracts.

The effect of hexane and chloroform extracts from the fruit rinds of Garcinia cowa and Garcinia pedunculata on the growth and aflatoxin production in Aspergillus flavus was studied using peanut powder as a model food system. The growth of A. flavus was completely inhibited by the hexane and chloroform extracts from G. cowa and chloroform extract from G. pedunculata at 3000 ppm concentration, which was considered as the minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC). The MIC for the hexane extract of G. pedunculata was at 4000 ppm. Both the extracts from G. cowa inhibited aflatoxin B1 production upto 100% at a lower concentration of 2000 ppm. It was observed that, at lower concentration of the extracts from G. cowa and G. pedunculata, the degree of inhibition of aflatoxin production was much higher than the inhibition of fungal growth. The hexane and chloroform extracts from G. cowa and G. pedunculata were also studied for their antioxidant capacity by the formation of phosphomolybdenum complex at 100 ppm concentration and reducing power by potassium ferricyanide reduction method at various concentrations. Hexane and chloroform extracts from G. cowa showed higher antioxidant capacity than G. pedunculata extracts. Similarly, both the extracts from G. cowa showed higher reducing power than the extracts from G. pedunculata. The antiaflatoxigenic activities of the extracts from G. cowa and G. pedunculata may be due to their effective antioxidative properties, which could suppress the biosynthesis of aflatoxin.

Antibacterial activity of Aristolochia bracteata root extracts.

Aristolochia bracteata (Aristolochiaceae) is used in traditional medicines as a gastric stimulant and in the treatment of cancer, lung inflammation, and dysentery and snake bites. The present investigation was undertaken to evaluate the antibacterial activity of Aristolochia bracteata root extracts. Roots of A. bracteata were powdered and successively extracted with ethyl acetate, acetone, methanol, and water for 8 hours each using a Soxhlet extractor. Antibacterial activity of dried extracts was evaluated by the pour-plate method against a few Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria. All the crude extracts showed a broad spectrum of antibacterial activity. The ethyl acetate extract was found to be the most effective. This study shows the potential for replacement of synthetic preservatives by the use of natural extracts.

Studies on the antioxidant activity of pomegranate (Punica granatum) peel and seed extracts using in vitro models.

Antioxidant-rich fractions were extracted from pomegranate (Punica granatum) peels and seeds using ethyl acetate, methanol, and water. The extracts were screened for their potential as antioxidants using various in vitro models, such as beta-carotene-linoleate and 1,1-diphenyl-2-picryl hydrazyl (DPPH) model systems. The methanol extract of peels showed 83 and 81% antioxidant activity at 50 ppm using the beta-carotene-linoleate and DPPH model systems, respectively. Similarly, the methanol extract of seeds showed 22.6 and 23.2% antioxidant activity at 100 ppm using the beta-carotene-linoleate and DPPH model systems, respectively. As the methanol extract of pomegranate peel showed the highest antioxidant activity among all of the extracts, it was selected for testing of its effect on lipid peroxidation, hydroxyl radical scavenging activity, and human low-density lipoprotein (LDL) oxidation. The methanol extract showed 56, 58, and 93.7% inhibition using the thiobarbituric acid method, hydroxyl radical scavenging activity, and LDL oxidation, respectively, at 100 ppm. This is the first report on the antioxidant properties of the extracts from pomegranate peel and seeds. Owing to this property, the studies can be further extended to exploit them for their possible application for the preservation of food products as well as their use as health supplements and neutraceuticals.

Chemical composition of turmeric oil--a byproduct from turmeric oleoresin industry and its inhibitory activity against different fungi.

Curcumin, the yellow coloring pigment of turmeric is produced industrially from turmeric oleoresin. The mother liquor after isolation of curcumin from oleoresin known as curcumin removed turmeric oleoresin (CRTO) was extracted three times with n-hexane at room temperature for 30 min to obtain turmeric oil. The turmeric oil was subjected to fractional distillation under vacuum to get two fractions. These fractions were tested for antifugal activity against Aspergillus flavus, A. parasiticus, Fusarium moniliforme and Penicillium digitatum by spore germination method. Fraction II was found to be more active. The chemical constituents of turmeric oil, fraction I and fraction II were determined by GC and identified by GC-MS. Aromatic turmerone, turmerone and curlone were major compounds present in fraction II along with other oxygenated compounds.