Polyphenols, phenolic acids, fibres and antioxidant capacity were determined in water, acetone and methanol extracts of buckwheat, rice, soybean, quinoa and 3 amaranth cultivars. Their antioxidant activities were comparatively assessed by total radical-trapping antioxidative potential (TRAP), ferric ion-reducing antioxidant power (FRAP), cupric-reducing antioxidant capacity (CUPRAC) and nitric oxide (NO • ) assays, which comprised of contributions from polyphenols and phenolic acids (especially from the most abundant ferulic acid). The correlation coefficients between polyphenols and antioxidant activities of cereal and pseudocereal methanol extracts with FRAP, NO • , CUPRAC and TRAP were 0.99, 0.97, 0.96 and 0.77, respectively. The weakest correlation was with dietary fibres, an average one exhibited with tannins and marked correlation was shown with the phenolics. All the applied methods have shown that pseudocereals have higher antioxidant activity than some cereals (rice and buckwheat) and can be successfully replaced by cereals in case of allergy.

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The best health and nutrition results can be achieved not only from the consumption of fruits and vegetables with high antioxidant capacities, but also from medicinal plants and herbs. Therefore, in the present investigation, the bioactive compounds (polyphenols and flavonoids) and the radical scavenging capacities of Prolipid, a mixture of herbs, were studied. Water extracts showed relatively high capacity of about 61.5% inhibition with the beta-carotene linoleic acid assay. In order to support the data obtained with beta-carotene-linoleic acid assay, three different antioxidant assays were used: ferric-reducing/antioxidant power, trolox equivalent antioxidant capacity, and 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl radical with prolonged time of their reactions. It was found that the amounts of polyphenols in water and methanol extracts were 22.849+/-2.267 and 3.241+/-0.325 mg gallic acid equivalent/g dry weight, and the antioxidant capacities in same extracts as determined by the 2,2'-azinobis (3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonic acid) test after 120 min were 275.81+/-27.58 and 62.25+/-6.11 micromole Trolox equivalents (microMTE) g dry weight, respectively. The correlation coefficients between polyphenols and antioxidant capacities of Prolipid with 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl radical and beta-carotene linoleic acid assay were about 0.97 and 0.98. In conclusion, the bioactivity of Prolipid was high and the total polyphenols were the main contributors to the overall antioxidant capacity. The results of our investigation in vitro are comparable with other medicinal plants and fruits widely used in the treatment of humans without known side effects. Prolipid, a mixture of herbs, can therefore be used as a supplement for nutritional and healthy purposes.

Due to their nutraceutical properties, the fruits of the species Vaccinium meridionale, which inhabit the Andean region, are of scientific interest. Microwave-assisted extraction has been applied to different vegetal matrices for to extract efficiently polyphenolic compounds. In this work we study in microwave assisted extraction processes, the effect on the extraction of total polyphenols in dried fruits of Vaccinium meridionale, using response surface methodology. The main objective of this research was to analyze the relationships between power, temperature, solid-liquid ratio, time and ethanol concentration in aqueous media on the effectiveness of total polyphenols recovery in dry fruits of Vaccinium meridionale. A central composite design face-centered with three levels for each variable was used: P = 300 -900 W; T = 70 -110 °C; L:S rat. = 30:1 -70:1 w/w; t = 5 -15 min; [EtOH] = 0 -80%. In this sense, the effect of the input variables on the recovery of total polyphenols, the optimization process for maximum extraction, and the comparison to other solid-liquid extractions in terms of quantity of total polyphenols, are reported. It was found that the significant variables in the extraction process were ethanol concentration, temperature and time; the best yields were obtained in the range [EtOH] = 44 -49%, T = 110 °C, and t = 10 -15 min. In terms of quantity, time and consumption of energy, microwave-assisted extraction technique is more efficient than other solid-liquid extraction processes for the extraction of total polyphenols.Index terms: Folin-Ciocalteu method; response surface methodology (RSM); nutraceutical properties. RESUMODevido a suas propriedades nutracêuticas em termos do conteúdo de polifenóis totais, os frutos da espécie andina Vaccinium meridionale tem associado um grande interesse cientifico. A extração assistida por microondas tem sido utilizada em diferentes matrizes vegetais para a remoção de forma eficiente de compostos polifenólicos que apresentam uma atividade biológica. Neste artigo são apresentados os principais resultados experimentais obtidos em diferentes processos de extração assistida por microondas, com respeito à quantia de polifenóis totais removidos em frutos secos de Vaccinium meridionale por meio da metodologia da superfície de resposta. O principal objetivo desta pesquisa foi analisar as relações entre as variáveis independentes da potência, a temperatura, a relação sólido-líquido, tempo e concentração de etanol com respeito à quantidade polifenóis totais extraídos de frutos secos de Vaccinium meridionale. Foi utilizado um desenho composto centrado nas caras com três diferentes níveis para cada variável: P = 300 -900 W; T = 70 -110 °C; L:S rat. = 30:1 -70:1 w/w; t = 5 -15 min; [EtOH] = 0 -80%. Foi utilizado o método de Folin-Ciocalteu para a quantificação de polifenóis totais com ácido gálico como molécula de referência. Neste sentido, foi reportado neste trabalho o efeito dos fatores de entrada com respeito a quantidade de polifenóis totais removidos, o process...