Flavonoids have a broad spectrum of established positive effects on human and animal health. They find an application in medicine for disease therapy and chemoprevention, whence the interest in flavonoids increases. In addition, they are used in food and cosmetic industries as pigments and biopreservatives. Plants are an inexhaustible source of flavonoids. The most important step of plant raw material processing is extraction and isolation of target compounds. The quality of an extract and efficiency of a procedure are influenced by several factors: Plant material and pre-extracting sample preparation, type of solvent, extraction technique, physicochemical conditions, etc. The present overview discusses the common problems and key challenges of the extraction procedures and the different mechanisms for selective extraction of flavonoids from different plant sources. In summary, there is no universal extraction method and each optimized procedure is individual for the respective plants. For an extraction technique to be selective, it must combine an optimal solvent or mixture of solvents with an appropriate technique. Last but not least, its optimization is important for a variety of applications. Moreover, when the selected method needs to be standardized, it must achieve acceptable degree of repeatability and reproducibility.
The design and synthesis of biopolymer nano-and micro-formulations are a new trend with growing priority in scientific research and development in the fields of biomedicine, bioorganic/ medicinal chemistry, pharmaceutics, agrochemistry and food industry. This incorporates a vast variety of improved and newly-developed analytical and physico-chemical techniques for green and efficient synthesis. The scope of the present review was to outline the recent advances in the methods for design of novel chitosan micro-and nano-carriers and transporters. Special emphasis is laid on their functionalities and capacity for encapsulation of natural bioactive compounds and controlled in vitro/in vivo release in various biological/physiological media. Expectations for the application of chitosan formulations and chitosan-based hybrid systems are progressively increasing as the knowledge regarding their physical, chemical and biological properties constantly expands. Thus, this review proposes insights on the objective assessment of the capacity, applicability and versatility of newly-designed chitosan-based hybrid systems. A detailed integrative approach, which incorporates the innovative scientific achievements based on complex novel, precise and reliable analytical procedures and methods for qualitative and quantitative morphological, structural, spectral, chemical and biochemical analyses of the bioprecursors and the designed chitosan-carrier micro/nano-hybrid systems, is applied. Sustainable knowledge on the mechanism and methods of natural bioactive substances encapsulation and in vitro/in vivo release is reviewed and discussed.
Astaxanthin and canthaxanthin are naturally occurring antioxidants referred to as xanthophylls. They are used as food additives in fish farms to improve the organoleptic qualities of salmonid products and to prevent reproductive diseases. This study reports the development and single-laboratory validation of a rapid method for quantification of astaxanthin and canthaxanthin in eggs of rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) and brook trout (Salvelinus fontinalis М.). An advantage of the proposed method is the perfect combination of selective extraction of the xanthophylls and analysis of the extract by high-performance liquid chromatography and photodiode array detection. The method validation was carried out in terms of linearity, accuracy, precision, recovery and limits of detection and quantification. The method was applied for simultaneous quantification of the two xanthophylls in eggs of rainbow trout and brook trout after their selective extraction. The results show that astaxanthin accumulations in salmonid fish eggs are larger than those of canthaxanthin. As the levels of these two xanthophylls affect fish fertility, this method can be used to improve the nutritional quality and to minimize the occurrence of the M74 syndrome in fish populations.
Today, good food criteria also include healthy capacity. So, the wine on our table should not only have good organoleptic qualities, but should be characterized by a high healthy potential. For the first time, extensive research was conducted on commercial red wine grape varieties cultivated in different Bulgarian regions in two consecutive years. Antioxidants, including trans-resveratrol, quercetin, and total phenolic content and antioxidant potential in wine grapes and wines were determined by HPLC, UV, and NIR methods. The results obtained showed similar concentration levels compared to the same varieties, produced in other countries. Trans-resveratrol showed the greatest contribution to the radical scavenging capacity. The factor with largest impact on the content of the tested substances was definitely the variety. Among agro-meteorological condition, temperature amplitude, rain fall, and UV irradiation before ripening had strong influences. Maintaining the balance between the level of synthesized and degraded and captured antioxidants during the wine making process was crucial to preserving the antioxidant properties of the final wine product. NIR spectroscopy showed very good accuracy of determination of trans-resveratrol, quercetin, total phenolic content, and the antioxidant activity of tested grape varieties and red wines. It could be a promising technique in the quantification of their antioxidant parameters.
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