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Recently, the natural spices and herbs such as rosemary, oregano, and caraway have been used for the processing of meat products. This study investigates the antioxidant activity of 13 spices commonly used in meat processing plants. The hot water extracts were then used for evaluation of total phenolic content, total flavonoids content and antioxidant activities. Our results show that the hot water extract of oregano gave the highest extraction yield (41.33%) whereas mace (7.64%) gave the lowest. The DPPH radical scavenging ability of the spice extracts can be ranked against ascorbic acid in the order ascorbic acid > clove > thyme > rosemary > savory > oregano. The values for superoxide anion radical scavenging activities were in the order of marjoram > rosemary > oregano > cumin > savory > basil > thyme > fennel > coriander > ascorbic acid. When compared to ascorbic acid (48.72%), the hydroxyl radical scavenging activities of turmeric and mace were found to be higher (p < 0.001). Clove had the highest total phenolic content (108.28 μg catechin equivalent (CE)/g). The total flavonoid content of the spices varied from 324.08 μg quercetin equivalent (QE)/g for thyme to 3.38 μg QE/g for coriander. Our results indicate that hot water extract of several spices had a high antioxidant activity which is partly due to the phenolic and flavonoid compounds. This provides basic data, having implications for further development of processed food products.

This study examined the anti-obesity effect and mechanism of action of blueberry peel extracts (BPE) in 3T3-L1 cells and high-fat diet (HFD)-induced obese rats. The levels of lipid accumulation were measured, along with the changes in the expression of genes and proteins associated with adipocyte differentiation in 3T3-L1 cells. Evidenced by Oil-red O staining and triglyceride assay, BPE dose-dependently inhibited lipid accumulation at concentrations of 0, 50, and 200 µg/ml. BPE decreased the expression of the key adipocyte differentiation regulator C/EBPβ, as well as the C/EBPα and PPARγ genes, during the differentiation of preadipocytes into adipocytes. Moreover, BPE down-regulated adipocyte-specific genes such as aP2 and FAS compared with control adipocytes. The specific mechanism mediating the effects of BP revealed that insulin-stimulated phosphorylation of Akt was strongly decreased, and its downstream substrate, phospho-GSK3β, was downregulated by BPE treatment in 3T3-L1 cells. Together, these data indicated that BP exerted anti-adipogenic activity by inhibiting the expression of PPARγ and C/EBPβ and the Akt signaling pathway in 3T3-L1 adipocytes. Next, we investigated whether BP extracts attenuated HFD-induced obesity in rats. Oral administration of BPE reduced HFD-induced body weight gain significantly without affecting food intake. The epididymal or perirenal adipose tissue weights were lower in rats on an HFD plus BPE compared with the tissue weights of HFD-induced obese rats. Total cholesterol and triglyceride levels in the rats fed BPE were modestly reduced, and the HDL-cholesterol level was significantly increased in HFD plus BP-fed rats compared with those of HFD-fed rats. Taken together, these results demonstrated an inhibitory effect of BP on adipogenesis through the down-regulation of C/EBPβ, C/EBPα, and PPARγ and the reduction of the phospho-Akt adipogenic factor in 3T3-L1 cells. Moreover, BPE reduced body weight gain and inhibited fat accumulation in an HFD-induced animal model of obesity.

One-day-old Cherry valley meat-strain ducks were used to investigate the effect of supplemental dried oregano powder (DOP) in feed on the productivity, antioxidant enzyme activity, and breast meat quality. One hundred sixty five ducks were assigned to 5 dietary treatments for 42 days. The dietary treatment groups were control group (CON; no antibiotic, no DOP), antibiotic group (ANT; CON+0.1% Patrol), 0.1% DOP (CON+0.1% DOP), 0.5% DOP (CON+0.5% DOP), and 1.0% DOP (CON+1.0% DOP). Upon feeding, 1,1-diphenyl-2-picryl-hydrazyl (DPPH) radical scavenging activity of oregano extracts was higher than that of tocopherol, although it was less than that of ascorbic acid. As a result of in vivo study, DOP in the diet showed no effects on final body weight, feed intake, or feed conversion ratio. However, dietary 0.5% and 1% DOP supplementation caused a significant increase in the serum enzyme activity of superoxide dismutase (SOD) compared with CON and ANT, while glutathione peroxidase (GPx) in tissue was increased as compared to ANT (p<0.05). Cooking loss from ducks fed with DOP decreased compared with the control ducks. Thiobarbituric acid reactive substance (TBARS) values of duck breast meat at 5 d post slaughter was found to be significantly reduced in ducks whose diets were supplemented with 0.5% and 1% DOP (p<0.05). These results suggest that diets containing 0.5% and 1% DOP may beneficially affect antioxidant enzyme activity of GPx and SOD, improve meat cooking loss, and reduce TBARS values in breast meat at 5 d of storage in ducks.

Low fat pork sausages were formulated with tomato powder at 0% (C), 0.8% (T1), 1.2% (T2) and 1.5% (T3) levels in basic formula. With the increase in tomato powder concentration the lightness of the sausage decreased but the redness and yellowness increased significantly (p< 0.05). The pH values of T2 and T3 were significantly (p< 0.05) lower than the others, whereas, water holding capacity of T2 and T3 was significantly (p<0.05) higher. Thiobarbituric acid reactive substances, cohesiveness and springiness values of treated groups were significantly (p< 0.05) lower than those of control samples, however, hardness values of sausages with tomato powder were significantly (p<0.05) higher. The scores of overall acceptability in tested groups were significantly (p<0.05) higher than those of control samples after 30 days of storage. The low fat pork sausage with tomato powder up to 1.5% was found to be well acceptable up to 30 days at refrigerated storage. This new product will have special value due to the functional additive lycopene in tomato powder.

This study was to evaluate the phenolic content and composition of Carthamus tinctorius L. seed extract (CSE) and to further assess its antioxidant and anti-adipogenic activities using various radical scavenging systems and 3T3-L1 cells. Our results show that the total phenolic and flavonoid contents of CSE were 126.0 ± 2.4 mg GAE/g and 62.2 ± 1.9 mg QE/g, respectively. The major phenolic compounds in CSE was (−)-epigallocatechin (109.62 mg/g), with a 4-hydroxy benzhydrazide derivative and gallocatechin present at 18.28 mg/g and 17.02 mg/g, respectively. CSE exhibited remarkable radical scavenging activities, FRAP (ferric reducing antioxidant power) and reducing power in a dose-dependent manner. Moreover, the oxygen radical absorbance capacity (ORAC) value of CSE (0.1 mg/mL) was 62.9 ± 4.7 μM TE (trolox equivalent)/g. During adipogenesis, CSE significantly inhibited fat accumulation in 3T3-L1 cells compared with control cells. Overall, these results indicate that CSE might be a valuable source of bioactive compounds that impart functional food and natural antioxidant properties.

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Abstract:The aim of this study was to investigate the total phenolic content, total flavonoid contents, antioxidant activity and antimicrobial activity of ethanolic extract from stems (S) and leaves (L) of Impatiens balsamina L. (Balsaminaceae), which were harvested in Korea on March 10, 2011 (S1 and L1), May 14, 2011 (S2 and L2), and July 5, 2011 (S3 and L3), respectively. Our results revealed that the total phenolic (79.55-103.94 mg CE/g extract) and flavonoid (57.43-104.28 mg QE/g extract) contents of leaf extract were higher (p < 0.01) than those of stem extract. Leaf extracts (L1, L2, and L3) exhibited stronger (p < 0.01) free radical scavenging activity (66.06, 63.71, and 72.19%, respectively) than that of the positive control. In terms of antimicrobial activity, leaf extracts showed higher inhibitory effects against microorganisms than those of stem extracts (S1, S2, and S3). OPEN ACCESSMolecules 2013, 18 6357 Among the leaf extracts at different harvest times, L3 showed the greatest antimicrobial activity against both Gram negative and Gram positive strains. From these results, the leaf extract from I. balsamina L. might be a valuable bioactive resource, and would seem to be applicable as a natural antioxidant in food preservation.