Cold Plasma-Induced Effects on Bioactive Constituents and Antioxidant Potential of Lotus Petal Powder.

Cold plasma (CP) has been acknowledged as a potential tool in enhancing the availability of bioactive compounds and antioxidant (AO) potential of plant products. Lotus is an ethno pharmacologically important herb with commercial applications in the food, beverage, and cosmetic industry. The bioactive constituents of the lotus flower are responsible for its medicinal and AO properties. This scrutiny identifies the influence of CP treatment on the bioactive compounds and AO potential of lotus petal powder (LPP). The petals were dried using a microwave drier, milled, and were treated in a low-pressure plasma system at 2.5 kV for 5 min. Physicochemical properties like color, total phenolics, flavonoids, and AO activity of the plasma-treated LPP were investigated and microstructure was evaluated with a scanning electron microscope. A notable increase in the flavonoid content was observed from 35.87 to 89.87 mg quercetin equivalent (QE)/100 g in the treated petal powder, while the phenolics content showed only a slight increment. The AO capacity also increased from 42.92 to 76.63 mg ascorbic acid equivalent (AAE)/100 g. The bioactive compounds were analyzed using gas chromatography–mass spectrometry/mass spectrometry (GC–MS/MS) and found that plasma treatment increased the relative percentage of phytosterols, amyrin, and nuciferine. This increment in the level of phytochemicals can be attributed to the leaching out of components from the stressed surface of LPP, relieving the potential of CP processing on improving the nutritional and health benefits. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]