Effects of Maturity and Thermal Treatment on Phenolic Profiles and In Vitro Health-Related Properties of Sacha Inchi Leaves

Abstract

Sacha inchi (Plukenetia volubilis L.) has been adopted as a novel economic crop with well-studied nutritional and bioactive benefits for human health. Sacha inchi seeds and oil have high commercial value but scant research has focused on its leaves. This study investigated and compared phenolic compositions, antioxidant potentials and in vitro health-related properties of both young and mature sacha inchi leaves after freeze-drying and oven-drying processes. Results showed that p-coumaric acid, 4-hydroxybenzoic acid, ferulic acid and gallic acid were predominantly detected in both young and mature leaves that also exhibited similar total phenolic contents (TPCs), while higher TPCs were detected in freeze-dried than in oven-dried leaves. Mature leaves exhibited higher antioxidant potential than young leaves after freeze-drying, while the opposite results were observed for oven-drying. Overall in vitro health-related activities were higher in mature leaves compared to young leaves regardless of the drying process. Knowledge gained from this study can be used to encourage prospective utilization of sacha inchi leaves as a source of health-promoting compounds. This, in turn, will increase the commercial value of the leaves and provide a wider market variety of sacha inchi products.

The Effects of Different Roasting Methods on the Phenolic Contents, Antioxidant Potential, and In Vitro Inhibitory Activities of Sacha Inchi Seeds

“…However, a different trend between TPCs and lipase inhibitory activities was observed in this study, suggesting that apart from the detected phenolics, lipase inhibitors in the samples might include other phenolics (not included in our standards) and non-phenolic substances that were formerly identified as strong anti-lipase agents [35]. The inhibition of enzymes by phytochemicals depends greatly on the chemical compositions of the plant origin, as well as the structural characteristics of inhibitor candidates responsible for the relevant inhibitory effects [25,31]. Metal ions and macromolecules (e.g., polysaccharides and proteins) in crude plant extracts often interact with enzyme inhibitors, leading to the modification of their inhibition efficacies.…”

“…Among the tested enzyme inhibitory assays, inhibitions of α-amylase, lipase, AChE, and BChE by particular extracted samples were detected at an extract concentration of 0.4 mg/mL. The enzyme inhibitory activities of plant-based foods were attributed to their phenolics, because several phenolic compounds in plants play important roles as enzyme inhibitors [25]. Phenolics including p-coumaric acid, ferulic acid and quercetin detected in our raw sacha inchi seeds could act as αamylase inhibitors with IC 50 values of >30, 9.5 and 2.5 mM [30], respectively.…”

“…Thermal processes can alter the natural antioxidant potential of plant foods, and therefore the influence of such processes should be taken into account for accurate evaluation of the beneficial effects of food products [25]. Phenolic compounds are well-recognized as major antioxidants in plants.…”

Influencia de la edad en el contenido de fenoles y ligninas en Gmelina arborea (Lamiaceae)

“…Otro aspecto que pudo influir en los contenidos de fenoles y ligninas es el proceso de secado, particularmente las muestras de los tejidos in vitro. El estrés ocasionado por el daño mecánico y la desecación generan alteraciones bioquímicas en las células y tejidos previo al secado, la cual es una fase sensible porque, en dependencia del proceso, varía la concentración de los contenidos fenólicos de las muestras (Kittibunchakul et al, 2022).…”

Drying kinetics and mathematical modelling of dried macaroni supplemented with Gac aril

“…Besides that, although hot air is the traditional drying method in drying food, it can however damage product quality, controlling moisture and changing bioactive compounds/nutrients in products is a matter of concern. According to several research, drying techniques have an impact on the physicochemical properties, bioactive components, and antioxidant capacity of foods (Kittibunchakul et al, 2022;Kumar et al, 2022;Mohammadi et al, 2020). However, it has limited documents to present the drying techniques affect the bioactive substances in macaroni that are thought to have the purported health benefits.…”