Selected plant extracts including cinnamon, clove, ginger, green tea and thyme were investigated for their antioxidant activity by using both -carotene-linoleate bleaching agar well diffusion and -carotene-linoleate bleaching broth assays, and for radical scavenging activity against free radicals using a 2,2-diphenyl-1picrylhydrazyl assay. Undiluted plant extracts (except ginger oil) showed a yellow zone of -carotene ranging from 15.3 to 38.2mm in diameter. At a concentration of 50LmL -1 , thyme yielded the highest antioxidant activity (260%), followed by ginger (254%), cinnamon (108%), clove (106%) and green tea (101%), respectively. Conversely, at a plant extract concentration of 0.39mL mL -1 solution in ethanol, green tea yielded the highest radical scavenging activity (94.3%), followed by clove (93.4%), cinnamon (91.1%), thyme (30.4%) and ginger (8.29%), respectively. The minimum oxidative bleaching inhibitory concentrations (MOBICs) of these plant extracts were determined using a b-carotene-linoleate bleaching broth dilution assay ranging from 0.195 to 50mLmL -1 . The MOBICs of plant extracts in a range of 0.195-1.56mLmL -1 could reveal an ability to inhibit the oxidation of b-carotene-linoleate broth. Cellulose-based film containing cinnamon, clove or green tea showed positive activity against b-carotene-linoleate oxidation and 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl radicals. Protective effects of plant extracts incorporated in cellulose-based pouches in stabilizing soybean oil were tested by measuring their peroxide values and free fatty acid contents during accelerated storage. Green tea-incorporated cellulose-based pouches exhibited stronger antioxidant properties in soybean oil than do butylated hydroxyanisole-incorporated cellulose-based pouches. This study showed the potential use of plant extracts as antioxidants for food packaging application.Free radical scavenging activity using DPPH scavenging method. Cellulose-based films containing cinnamon oil, clove oil or green tea extract also showed positive radical scavenging activity against DPPH radicals (Table 3). Their relative activity was cloveÀ>cinnamonÀ>green teaÀcellulosebased film. It is interesting to note that all plant extract cellulose-based films were more effective against DPPH radicals in comparison with the b-carotene-linoleate bleaching assay.
132P. PHOOPURITHAM ET AL.