Physiological activities of natural color powders and their mixtures

Abstract

Seven kinds (acacia, cochineal, catechu, grape peel, persimmon, gallnut and clove) of color powders obtained from natural resources and their mixtures were evaluated for their biological activities, such as antioxidant (ABTS and DPPH radicals scavenging), cholesterol absorption, and COX-2 inhibitory activities. Catechu, gallnut and clove were selected for the further studies due to its the best activities. The cholesterol absorption, COX-2 inhibitory, α-amylase inhibitory and α-glucosidase inhibitory activities were measured using the mixtures of catechu, gallnut and clove. The ABTS radical scavenging activity of the seven types of natural color powders were higher than the DPPH radical scavenging activity. The cholesterol absorption activity was significantly higher in cloves. The COX-2 inhibitory activity was significantly lower in acacia. The α-amylase inhibitory activity was higher in catechu and gallnut, indicating that there were no significant difference between two mixtures. The α-glucosidase inhibitory activity was the highest in catechu, which was higher than that of the catechu-containing mixtures. From all these results, a synergistic effect could be obtained when utilizing a mixture of powders rather than using only individual type. Since the activity of each powder was different, further studies will be required for clarifying the interactions between mixtures.