Vaccinium meridionale Swartz extracts and their addition in beef burgers as antioxidant ingredient.

BACKGROUND: Vaccinium meridionale Swartz (mortiño) constitutes a source of bioactive phytochemicals, but reports related to its efficient and green production are scarce. In this study, pressurized liquid extraction (PLE) and ultrasound-assisted extraction of mortiño were compared. Total phenolic content (TPC) and antioxidant capacity (ABTS•+ ) were determined. Beef burgers with 20 g kg-1 of mortiño (MM) or its PLE extract (ME) were manufactured. Lipid oxidation (TBARS) and instrumental color changes were measured after refrigerated storage. RESULTS: High TPC (up to 72 g gallic acid equivalent kg-1 extract) was determined in mortiño extracts, which was positively correlated with antioxidant activity. TBARS values of beef burgers containing either MM or ME did not change after refrigerated storage, whereas lipid oxidation of control burgers increased significantly. The color of burgers with added MM or ME was different (lower b* and a* values) from that of control burgers. However, the evolution of color after storage was similar between control and ME samples. CONCLUSION: Mortiño extracts with high TPC can be obtained by PLE. Both mortiño and its PLE extract are able to control lipid oxidation of beef burgers, but the extract is preferred from the color quality point of view. © 2017 Society of Chemical Industry.

Biological Activities of Asteraceae (Achillea millefolium and Calendula officinalis) and Lamiaceae (Melissa officinalis and Origanum majorana) Plant Extracts.

Asteraceae (Achillea millefolium and Calendula officinalis) and Lamiaceae (Melissa officinalis and Origanum majorana) extracts were obtained by applying two sequential extraction processes: supercritical fluid extraction with carbon dioxide, followed by ultrasonic assisted extraction using green solvents (ethanol and ethanol:water 50:50). The extracts were analyzed in terms of the total content of phenolic compounds and the content of flavonoids; the volatile oil composition of supercritical extracts was analyzed by gas chromatography and the antioxidant capacity and cell toxicity was determined. Lamiaceae plant extracts presented higher content of phenolics (and flavonoids) than Asteraceae extracts. Regardless of the species studied, the supercritical extracts presented the lowest antioxidant activity and the ethanol:water extracts offered the largest, following the order Origanum majorana > Melissa officinalis ≈ Achillea millefolium > Calendula officinalis. However, concerning the effect on cell toxicity, Asteraceae (especially Achillea millefolium) supercritical extracts were significantly more efficient despite being the less active as an antioxidant agent. These results indicate that the effect on cell viability is not related to the antioxidant activity of the extracts.

Effect of Refractance Window™ and oven drying on physicochemical and sensory properties of peach (Prunus persica L.) surplus.

Currently, approximately 34% of fruit is lost and wasted in emerging economies due to inefficient post-harvest processes, technological shortcomings, lesser valorization of surpluses, and byproducts. Peach (Prunus persica L.) is a fruit with a good yearly growth rate but higher postharvest losses in Colombia. One way to take advantage of this type of product is through the application of drying processes that increase its shelf life and its inclusion in the food chain. Refractance Window Drying (RWD) is a fourth generation drying technique implemented by the food industry in the last few decades and has been applied to several dehydrated food products. This study compared the effects of different drying methods on the physical and sensory properties of peaches surplus. Treatments consisted of (i) peaches were sliced (1, 2, and 3 mm thickness) and dried using RWD at 86°C, (ii) peach pulp mixed with maltodextrin (MD) (0.12-0.33 kg of MD/kg of sample) and RWD (RWD-MD), and (iii) conventional oven drying (OD) at 60°C (3 mm thick) dried for 24 h. The study found that the drying method significantly (p < 0.05) affected the texture, color, and general taste of peaches. The results showed that processing treatments combined with different drying conditions affected the physical properties of the peach. RWD in slices reduced water content to 0.05 kg H2O/kg in 40 min, showing fewer effects on color attributes. A surface response analysis on RWD showed good correlations for water activity (R2 = 0.8652-0.9894) and moisture content (R2 = 0.7048-0.9826). A higher diffusion coefficient (1.63 × 10-6 m2 s-1) was observed for RWD in slices with 3 × 10-3 m of thickness; however, for RWD-MD, differences in diffusion coefficients were present for the lowest MD addition (0.12 kg/kg), vitamin C was not detected on the dried slices, and higher concentration of ß-carotene (175.88 µg/100 g) was found on the thinner slices. Principal component analysis showed that RWD in the slices was the most suitable drying process, followed by OD. Sensory analysis showed good acceptability for RWD slices after 30 days of storage.

Vaccinium meridionale Swartz Supercritical CO2 Extraction: Effect of Process Conditions and Scaling Up.

Vaccinium meridionale Swartz (Mortiño or Colombian blueberry) is one of the Vaccinium species abundantly found across the Colombian mountains, which are characterized by high contents of polyphenolic compounds (anthocyanins and flavonoids). The supercritical fluid extraction (SFE) of Vaccinium species has mainly focused on the study of V. myrtillus L. (blueberry). In this work, the SFE of Mortiño fruit from Colombia was studied in a small-scale extraction cell (273 cm³) and different extraction pressures (20 and 30 MPa) and temperatures (313 and 343 K) were investigated. Then, process scaling-up to a larger extraction cell (1350 cm³) was analyzed using well-known semi-empirical engineering approaches. The Broken and Intact Cell (BIC) model was adjusted to represent the kinetic behavior of the low-scale extraction and to simulate the large-scale conditions. Extraction yields obtained were in the range 0.1%-3.2%. Most of the Mortiño solutes are readily accessible and, thus, 92% of the extractable material was recovered in around 30 min. The constant CO2 residence time criterion produced excellent results regarding the small-scale kinetic curve according to the BIC model, and this conclusion was experimentally validated in large-scale kinetic experiments.