Bioactive Properties of Kakadu Plum-Blended Products

Abstract

Kakadu plum (Terminalia ferdinandiana), endemic to Australia, is growing in popularity due to its high levels of vitamin C and strong antioxidant properties. In this study, Kakadu plum fruit powder was used as a functional food ingredient with other plant materials to develop value-added products to enhance their nutritional and commercial value. The present study determined the bioactive properties of nine products, including three Kakadu plum fruit powder samples produced from different processing batches and five Kakadu plum-blended products. Vitamin C, the total phenolic content, and the ellagic acid content were determined. Bioactive properties such as antioxidant, antidiabetic, and antimicrobial assays were also performed. Cytotoxicity was tested to obtain more specific product information regarding food safety. Kakadu plum-blended products showed lower cytotoxicity and lower bioactive properties (antioxidant and antibacterial activities) in comparison to Kakadu plum powder. However, overall, most of the bioactive properties were shown to be higher in the blends when compared with the commercial blueberry powder as a benchmark antioxidant product. Therefore, there is great potential for Kakadu plum to contribute to the growing functional food and ingredient markets.

Australian Native Lemongrass (Cymbopogon ambiguus A. Camus): An Underestimated Herbal Plant

“…Short fragments and finely grounded samples were further extracted using different solvents and used in the current study. The water and 80% aqueous acidified methanol extracts required for the determination of total phenolic content were prepared by following the methods previously described with some modifications [32,33]. The total phenolic content (TPC) was determined using a Folin-Ciocalteu assay following the method reported previously [34] using a micro-plate absorbance reader, Varioskan LUX (Thermo Fisher Scientific, Singapore), monitored at 700 nm.…”