Search

Spent Coffee Ground (SCG) is the main coffee industry by-product, rich in dietary fibers and polyphenols. The extractable material of SCG was fractionated, and the phenolic compounds were identified and quantified. Chlorogenic and neochlorogenic acids were identified as the main phenolic components, and the Total Phenolic Content (TPC) of SCG was determined to be 2.16% (dry SCG basis). Furthermore, SCG was characterized in terms of Total Dietary Fiber content, which amounted to 66%. The SCG was valorized for the development of a bakery product (cookie) enhanced with fiber and bioactive polyphenols. Cookies were produced with the addition of 4% and 7% dry and defatted SCG (baked cookie basis). The produced cookie prototypes presented TPC and dietary fiber dependent on the addition level of SCG. TPC values were determined at 588 and 1017 ppm, while dietary fiber values were at 2.7 and 4.6%, respectively. The shelf life of the cookies was monitored over 143 days at three different temperatures (25 °C, 35 °C, and 45 °C) in terms of texture (hardness), color, Peroxide Value (PV), and TPC. It was observed that the PV value significantly increased in samples with incorporated SCG, stored at 45 °C, while in those stored at 25 °C and 35 °C, PV remained at low levels. The TPC of the SCG-enriched samples remained practically constant during the shelf life analysis, while color and hardness increased (mathematically modeled). SCG-added cookies were characterized by increased darkness, increased hardness, and a mild (desirable) coffee flavor. The overall sensory impression scores for 0%, 4%, and 7% SCG-added cookies were 7.5, 8.0, and 8.2, respectively. Based on sensory evaluation test results, the shelf lives of 0%, 4%, and 7% SCG at 25 °C were 359, 435, and 471 days, respectively. Overall, SCG is a potentially valuable ingredient that can be used to develop innovative food (baked) products with enhanced nutritional value and increased shelf life. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Lemon balm (Melissa officinalis) is an aromatic and medicinal plant, rich in bioactive ingredients and with superior antioxidant activity. The essential oil of this plant is an expensive product, so the use of the by-products of the essential oil industry is particularly useful. The aim of this research was to process Melissa officinalis distillation by-products to develop a series of polyphenol-rich formulations. In the present research, lemon balm was distilled in a laboratory-scale distiller, and the recovered by-product was used for further successive extractions with acetone and water, using a fixed-bed semi-batch extractor. Acetone extract exhibited relatively poor results as far as yield, phenolic composition and antiradical activity are concerned. However, the aqueous extract presented high yield in both total phenolic content (i.e., 111 mg gallic acid equivalents (GAE)/g, on a dry herb basis (dw)), and anti-radical capacity (205 mg trolox equivalents (TE)/g dw). On a dried extract basis, the results were also impressive, with total phenols reaching 322 mg GAE/g dry extract and antiradical capacity at 593 mg TE/g dry extract. The phenolic components of the extract were identified and quantified by HPLC-DAD. Rosmarinic acid was the major component and amounted to 73.5 mg/g dry extract, while the total identified compounds were quantified at 165.9 mg/g dry extract. Finally, formulations with two different wall materials (gum arabic–maltodextrin and maltodextrin) and two different drying methods (spray-drying and freeze-drying) were applied and evaluated to assess their performance, yield, efficiency and shelf-life of total phenolic content and rosmarinic acid concentration. From the present investigation, it is concluded that after one year of storage, rosmarinic acid does not decrease significantly, while total phenolic content shows a similar decrease for all powders. According to the yield and efficiency of microencapsulation, maltodextrin alone was chosen as the wall material and freeze-drying as the preferred drying method. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Different extraction processes of dittany (Origanum dictamnus) for the recovery of extracts enriched with bioactive components were examined in this work. More specifically, hydrodistillation, extraction with a liquid organic solvent, supercritical CO2 extraction, as well as a combination of supercritical and liquid extraction were applied in order to recover improved extracts with respect to their antioxidant activity. The latter was determined by using a free radical method (DPPHtioxidant activities of the extracts obtained were compared with those of carvacrol, a main component of dittany, and BHT, a common synthetic antioxidant. It is shown that the combination of the conventional liquid extraction with supercritical extraction could be a promising alternative process for the recovery of extracts enriched with bioactive compounds. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

The increased global market trend for food packaging is imposing new improved methods for the extension of shelf-life and quality of food products. Active packaging, which is based on the incorporation of additives into packaging materials, is becoming significant for this purpose. In this work, nanostructured low-density polyethylene (LDPE) was combined with chitosan (CS) to aim for a food packaging development with an increased oxygen permeability barrier and higher antimicrobial activity. Furthermore, essential oil extracts as rosemary (RO) and Melissa (MO) were added to this packaging matrix in order to improve its antioxidant properties and vanish food odor problems. The novel nanostructured active packaging film was tested using laboratory instrumental methods, such as thermogravimetry (TG), Fourier-transform infrared (FTIR) spectrometry, the X-ray diffraction (XRD) method, a dilatometer for tensile properties (DMA), and an oxygen permeation analyzer (OPA). Moreover, laboratorian tests according to ASTM standards were carried out for the estimation of water sorption, water vapor permeability, overall migration, and, finally, the antioxidant properties of such films. The experimental results have indicated that the final material exhibits advanced properties. More specifically, chitosan addition was observed to lead to an enhanced oxygen and water-vapor permeability barrier while the extracted essential oil addition led to enhanced tensile strength and antioxidant properties. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]