Nutrients, Antioxidant Capacity and Safety of Hot Water Extract from Sugar Maple (Acer saccharum M.) and Red Maple (Acer rubrum L.) Bark

Abstract

Sugar maple (Acer saccharum M.) and red maple (Acer rubrum L.) barks were treated with hot water to extract nutrients in order to explore, for the first time, its potential as safe dietary antioxidants. The organic and inorganic nutrients of these extracts, as well as their safety on human PLB-985 cells differentiated into neutrophils-like cells, were determined. Proximate analysis showed that both bark extracts were low in moisture and fat. Sugar maple bark extract (SM-BX) showed crude protein and ash content higher than those found in red maple bark extract (RM-BX). In addition, SM-BX had total sugars higher than those evaluated in RM-BX, while complex sugars (oligo- and/or poly-saccharides) were similarly abundant in both bark extracts. Furthermore, SM-BX demonstrated a wide array of vital minerals (K, Ca, Mg, P, Na, Fe and Cu) in quantity larger than that evaluated in RM-BX, whereas RM-BX have Zn and Mn levels higher than those found in SM-BX. Phytochemical analyses showed that RM-BX exhibited total phenolic and flavonoid contents higher than those measured in SM-BX. Consequently, RM-BX presented an antioxidant activity higher than that of SM-BX: 2.85-fold ABTS radical cation scavenging capacity and 1.9-fold oxygen radical absorbance capacity. Finally, RM-BX and SM-BX were greatly safe since, at concentration up to 100 μg/ml, they did not modify the viability of neutrophils as determined by flow-cytometry assay using Annexin V-FITC/Propidum Iodide as markers. In conclusion, our in vitro studies indicate that both red and sugar maple bark extracts have a real potential as food additives.

Impact of drying processes on properties of polyphenol‐enriched maple sugar powders

“…Similarly, glucose content in syrup significantly increased with the addition of SBX as well as RBX. It can be due to the presence of sugars in SBX (sucrose, 10.94 ± 0.11; glucose, 5.28 ± 0.04; and fructose, 5.56 ± 0.03 g/100 g dry extract) and in RBX (sucrose, 5.58 ± 0.08; glucose, 3.51 ± 0.06; and fructose, 4.50 ± 0.92 g/100 g dry extract) (Bhatta et al, ). However, no significant change ( p > .05) in fructose content was noticed for all syrup samples.…”

“…Among VDD powder, the particle size of VDD:MSP + SBX was smaller (58 ± 23.3 μm) than VDD:MSP + RBX (94 ± 60.4 μm) and VDD:MSP (83.1 ± 66.7 μm). Besides sucrose, SBX was reported to be rich in complex sugars (oligo/poly‐saccharides) (Bhatta et al, ). The presence of sucrose may have assisted sucrose crystallization (as discussed in Section 3.2.3), but further growth of crystals may have been disturbed by the presence of complex sugars in SBX.…”

“…Samples were air-dried and ground to 250-500 μm particle size as previously mentioned (Geoffroy, Fortin, & Stevanovic, 2017). Hot water extraction of maple barks was done following the method previously used (Bhatta et al, 2018). The concentration of extractives in the filtrate was calculated by oven-dry method at 105 ± 2 C and expressed as mg extractives/ml filtrate.…”

“…Gallotannins are generally recognized as safe by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) at the concentration ranging from 10 to 400 ppm as food ingredients (Maqsood, Benjakul, & Balange, ). Beside polyphenols, the crude maple bark extracts were reported to present a wide array of organic and inorganic nutrients beneficial to human health (Bhatta, Ratti, Poubelle, & Stevanovic, ). Therefore, maple bark extracts have been determined as promising therapeutic and potent antioxidant activities (Bhatta et al, ; González‐Sarrías, Li, & Seeram, ; Royer, Diouf, & Stevanovic, ).…”

“…Beside polyphenols, the crude maple bark extracts were reported to present a wide array of organic and inorganic nutrients beneficial to human health (Bhatta, Ratti, Poubelle, & Stevanovic, 2018). Therefore, maple bark extracts have been determined as promising therapeutic and potent antioxidant activities (Bhatta et al, 2018;Royer, Diouf, & Stevanovic, 2011).…”