Nutritional Composition, In Vitro Antioxidant Activity and Phenolic Profile of Shortcrust Cookies Supplemented by Edible Flowers

Abstract

In this study, the changes in nutritional composition, phenolic compounds and antioxidant activity in free and bound fractions of shortcrust cookies were investigated. By incorporating ingredients such as kamut, matcha tea, dried mango and jasmine flowers, the contents of crude and neutral-detergent fibre reached up to 2.0 and 5.0%, respectively. Similar increments were observed in phenolic compound contents and 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl scavenging activity values. Concerning cookies supplemented with matcha tea, the total phenolic compound content raised from 1.0 to 4.8 mg gallic acid equivalent/g and the antioxidant activity value increased from 0.5 to 5.7 mg trolox equivalent/g on a dry weight basis. For determining the antioxidant activity values in water-soluble and insoluble phenolic fractions of the cookies, a photochemiluminiscence assay was separately applied, and they were found up to 0.8 mg ascorbic acid equivalent/g and 3.2 mg trolox equivalent/g, respectively. The main phenolic compounds in all supplemented cookies were neochlorogenic, gallic and vanillic acids.

Effect of Enriching Gingerbread Cookies with Elder (Sambucus nigra L.) Products on Their Phenolic Composition, Antioxidant and Anti-Glycation Properties, and Sensory Acceptance

“…Previous research also reported that the DPPH and ABTS of the short crust cookies supplemented with elderflower significantly increased from 0.47 mg TE/g and 1.25 mg TE/g in the control sample to 2.10 mg TE/g and 3.45 mg TE/g in the enriched sample, respectively [ 50 ]. In addition, the DPPH (9.25 μM/g) and ABTS values (9.42 μM/g) of shortbread and wheat flour cookies fortified with elderberries were higher than scavenging activity of control samples (DPPH = 2.60 μM/g and ABTS = 1.11 μM/g) [ 51 , 53 ].…”

“…The addition of elderberry and elderflower extracts to dark chocolate also caused a plant extract type-dependent statistically significant increase in TPC results of fortified chocolate samples (11.7, 12.8, and 17.9 mg GA/g for chocolate without and with elderberry and elderflower extracts, respectively) [ 40 ]. Moreover, the enrichment of short crust cookies with elderflower, and wheat flour cookies with freeze-dried elderberries, increased the TPC from 1.01 mg GA/g and 91.26 mg/100 g in the control samples to 2.22 mg GA/g and 144.69 mg/100 g in the supplemented cookies [ 50 , 51 ]. Przybylski et al [ 22 ] also found a high content of total polyphenols in gingerbread cakes after supplementation with tomato, beetroot, and pumpkin purée (39.02, 33.88, and 29.85 mg GA/100 g, respectively).…”

“…For comparison, higher correlation coefficients (r = 0.9993 and 0.9899) were calculated for relationships between radical scavenging activities determined by the DPPH and ABTS assays and TPC in short crust cookies supplemented with edible flowers [ 50 ]. Moreover, the correlations exhibited that the epicatechin and epigallocatechin contents in these cookies showed strong positive correlations with the DPPH (r = 0.8547 and 0.8762) and ABTS (r = 0.8740 and 0.8903) scavenging activities, even if their amount in the cookies was not very high.…”

“…Free and bound phenolic compounds were extracted using the method by Šťastná et al [ 50 ] with some modifications. The ground gingerbread samples (laboratory mill type A 10; IKA Labortechnik, Staufen, Germany) were weighed (10 ± 0.001 g) into dark flasks, and 40 mL of 80% methanol was added to each flask.…”

Development and Characterization of Functional Cookies Enriched with Chestnut Shells Extract as Source of Bioactive Phenolic Compounds

“…These discrepancies may be explained by the high amounts of alternative flours used when compared to the CS extract. In contrast, slightly higher antioxidant properties were reported for cookies formulated with uncommon cereal flours used as alternatives to wheat flour (including whole spelt, oat flakes, barley flakes, kamut, and red wheat), edible flowers (namely lavender, rose, hop flower, jasmine, and elderflower), and dried fruit flours (including apricot, raspberry, strawberry, cashew, malt extract, ginger, mango, matcha tea, lemon peel, and apple) [28]. The ABTS results ranged between 3.11 and 3.45 mg AAE/g versus 1.25 mg AAE/g for the control cookies (formulated with wheat flour without adding flowers and fruits), while the DPPH results varied from 1.36 to 2.10 mg TE/g versus 0.47 mg TE/g by the control [28].…”