Chemical and Antioxidant Charaterization of Native Corn Germplasm from Two Regions of Costa Rica: A Conservation Approach

Abstract

The cultivation of native corn has decreased in favor of the cultivation of improved commercial corn varieties. This study seeks to evaluate the antioxidant and antibacterial potential of 36 samples of native corn germplasm from the Brunca (BR) and Chorotega (CR) regions of Costa Rica. The main parameters of comparison were the composition of antioxidant compounds, antiradical activity, and microbicidal effect. The total amount of polyphenols in the germplasm (120 mg GAE/100 g d.w.) was not related to the regions from which the samples were obtained. The overall average for antioxidant capacity was 21.20 μmol TE/g d.w. Accessions from the CR region had higher antioxidant capacity. Anthocyanin content was higher in purple accessions and undetectable in white germplasm. Antioxidant capacity was statistically related to polyphenols content (r=0.714, p<0.01). The most promising corn accessions in terms of nutraceutical value came from the CR region.

Phytonutraceutical evaluation of five varieties of tomato (Solanum lycopersicum) during ripening and processing

“…At least four replicates were prepared. Finally, total phenolic content was analyzed using Folin-Ciocalteu's colorimetric method, as described in our previous report (Syedd-León, Orozco, Álvarez, Carvajal, & Rodríguez, 2020).…”

“…Then, the solution was filtered, concentrated in a rotary evaporator, and freeze-dried. Finally, the relative percent of inhibition was determined following the Kirby-Bauer's test, as previously described (Syedd-León et al, 2020).…”

“…Tomatoes are especially rich in carotenoids (mainly lycopene), vitamin C, and polyphenolic compounds (Farooq et al, 2020). These compounds have been linked to healing or preventive performance against diseases such as chronic cardiovascular, neurodegenerative, inflammatory, atherosclerotic pathologies and some types of cancer (Tamasi et al, 2019).…”

Colored Corn: An Up-Date on Metabolites Extraction, Health Implication, and Potential Use

“…However, these data were in accordance with previously reported results indicating a similar range of anthocyanin from another source not active on H. pylori amount, but active on its virulence factors [ 94 , 95 ]. No relationship between total polyphenol content and antibacterial activity against Staphylococcus aureus , Bacillus subtilis , Escherichia coli , and Pseudomonas aeruginosa was registered for different germplasms of corn (white, yellow, and purple) from two different Costa Rica regions, even if a purple variety had high activity against B. subtilis , indicating that other secondary metabolites can highly contribute to the biocidal action [ 96 ].…”

Analyzing the phenolic enriched fractions from Nixtamalization wastewater (Nejayote) fractionated in a three-step membrane process

“…Other investigations have focused on utilizing Nejayote as culture media (for Aspergillus awamori , Paenibacillus amylolyticus , Pseudomonas putida and Acinetobacter ), animal feed (for broilers) ( Velasco-Martinez et al, 1997 ) or in bakery products ( Díaz-Montes et al, 2016 ), considering that Nejayote has a high carbohydrate content (between 37.8 and 55.7%, dry base), crude fiber (between 22.8 and 25.5%, dry base), protein (between 4.9 and 7.4%, dry base), crude fat (between 0.4 and 1.5%, dry basis) and ash (between 12.7 and 33.6%, dry basis) ( Velasco-Martinez et al, 1997 ). Additionally, Nejayote has also been appreciated as a source to obtain specific phenolic compounds (e.g., ferulic and p- coumaric acids) ( Gutiérrez-Uribe et al, 2010 ; Niño-Medina et al, 2009 ); which depend on the type of corn they come from, for example, pigmented corn is composed of large amounts of anthocyanins ( Bello-Pérez et al, 2016 ), carotenoids ( Bacchetti et al, 2013 ), and phenols ( Hernández-Martínez et al, 2016 ), while phenolic acids predominate in white corn ( Syedd-León et al, 2020 ).…”