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Evaluation of the potential of medicinal plant extracts for the development of new bakery products

Publication . Barral Martínez, Marta; Cassani, Lucia; Carpena Rodríguez, María; Garcia-Oliveira, Paula; Silva, Aurora; Barroso, Fátima; Finimundy, Tiane C.; Simal-Gandara, Jesus; Prieto Lage, Miguel A.; Barros, Lillian

Medicinal plants have been traditionally used throughout time as therapeutic treatments. These plants possess different compounds with antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and antimicrobial properties of industrial interest. In particular, the plants Achillea millefolium L., Arnica montana L., Calendula of icinalis L., Chamaemelum nobile L. All. and Taraxacum of icinale F.H. Wigg. belonging to the Asteraceae family, have shown relevant applications including food preparation, dyes, cosmetics, and traditional remedies, although their consumption is currently decreasing [1]. However, the extracts of this type of plants are mostly applied by the food industry as preservatives, due to their antioxidant and antimicrobial properties that prevent food spoilage and microbial growth, preserving the organoleptic characteristics of various products, such as meat, dairy products, or bakery products [2]. The aim of this study was to develop new ingredients derived from these plants, which may be of interest to the food industry, more specifically in bakery. For this, a study of their main bioactivities of interest such as antioxidant and antimicrobial capacity was carried out. The results obtained for antioxidant activity, through the thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS) assay, indicated that the extracts of A. millefolium showed exceptional activity, with an EC50 value of 0.013 mg/mL whereas the extracts of A. montana, C. nobile and C. of icinalis showed similar EC50 values (0.2, 0.2 and 0.25 mg/mL, respectively). On the other hand, A. montana extract showed the highest antibacterial and antifungal effects, with minimum bactericidal and fungicidal concentrations ranging from 0.25-0.5 mg/mL and 0.5-1 mg/mL, respectively. Overall, this study provides scientific evidence for the evaluation of the potential of medicinal plant extracts for the development of new bakery products.

2022Conference object

Open access

Pigment composition of nine brown algae from the iberian northwestern coastline: influence of the extraction solvente

Publication . García-Pérez, Pascual; Lourenço-Lopes, Catarina; Silva, Aurora; González Pereira, Antía; Fraga-Corral, Maria; Zhao, Chao; Xiao, Jianbo; Simal-Gandara, Jesus; Prieto Lage, Miguel A.

Brown algae are ubiquitously distributed in the NW coastline of the Iberian Peninsula, where they stand as an underexploited resource. In this study, five solvents were applied to the extraction of pigments from nine brown algae, followed by their determination and quantification by HPLC-DAD. A total of 13 compounds were detected: Six were identified as chlorophylls, six were classified as xanthophylls, and one compound was reported as a carotene. Fucoxanthin was reported in all extracts, which is the most prominent pigment of these algae. Among them, L. saccharina and U. pinnatifida present the highest concentration of fucoxanthin (4.5–4.7 mg g-1 dry weight). Ethanol and acetone were revealed as the most efficient solvents for the extraction of pigments, showing a maximal value of 11.9 mg of total pigments per gram of dry alga obtained from the ethanolic extracts of H. elongata, followed by the acetonic extracts of L. ochroleuca. Indeed, ethanol was also revealed as the most efficient solvent according to its high extraction yield along all species evaluated. Our results supply insights into the pigment composition of brown algae, opening new perspectives on their commercial exploitation by food, pharmaceutical, and cosmeceutical industries.

2022Journal article

Open access