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Exploring Cynara cardunculus L. by-products potential: Antioxidant and antimicrobial properties
Publication . Barbosa, Cássia H.; Duarte, Maria Paula; Andrade, Mariana A.; Mateus, Ana Rita; Vilarinho, Fernanda; Fernando, Ana Luisa; Silva, Ana Sanches
Cynara cardunculus L. (cardoon), a perennial crop indigenous to the Mediterranean region, has gained recognition for its remarkable resilience to diverse weather conditions and its multifaceted applications across various industries, which includes the use of the flower as a vegetable rennet to produce some cheeses, as a source of biomass for energy, or its seed oil for human consumption, biodiesel, and animal feed. In some applications (e.g. biomass or seed production), when crop is harvested at the end of the growth cycle, the leaves remain as the main by-products, along with the flowers. In the context of a circular economy, the aim of this work was to undergone studies to determinate their biological properties (antioxidant and antimicrobial). Methanolic and ethanolic extracts of C. cardunculus L. (globe artichoke var. scolymus (L.) Fiori) and cultivated cardoon (var. altilis DC.)) leaves and flowers were characterised in terms of their polyphenol profile (total phenolic content (TPC), total flavonoid compounds (TFC), and ultra-high performance liquid chromatography coupled with time-of-flight mass spectrometry (UHPLC-ToF-MS)), antioxidant capacity (free radical DPPH inhibition system, β-carotene bleaching assay), and antimicrobial capacity (minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC), minimum bactericidal concentration (MBC), antifungal). In addition, the cultivated cardoon leaves extracts were assessed before and after they were dried in an oven with forced air circulation to evaluate if this treatment affected their bioactive profile. Chlorogenic acid, apigenin, and luteolin were the most quantified of a total of sixteen compounds identified by UHPLC-ToF-MS. Cultivated cardoon dry leaf extract presented the best antioxidant capacity for both methanolic (EC50 = 0.8 mg/mL, antioxidant activity coefficient (AAC) = 279.67) and ethanolic (EC50 =2.1 mg/mL, AAC = 448.06) extracts, compared to the cardoon flower extracts and the globe artichoke leaf ex tracts. Dried cultivated cardoon leaf extracts presented higher antioxidant capacity than fresh cultivated cardoon leaf extracts, but a greater number of polyphenolic compounds were identified in fresh cultivated cardoon leaf extract. The Gram-positive bacteria were more sensitive to the activity of both ethanolic and methanolic extracts than the Gram-negative and cultivated cardoon dry leaf ethanolic extract presented lower MIC and MBC values (125–2000 µg/mL) for most of the tested microorganisms, thus showing higher antimicrobial activity. As for the cultivated cardoon leaf extracts, the dried leaf extracts exhibited better antimicrobial activity, with lower MIC values, than the fresh leaf extracts. The extracts only demonstrated a slight inhibition against the fungi Aspergillus fumigatus. In conclusion, studies performed indicate that dried leaves maintain their biological activities compared to fresh leaves, and that flowers present significant biological activity which suggests the great.
Pla Films Loaded with Green Tea and Rosemary Polyphenolic Extracts as an Active Packaging for Almond and Beef
Publication . Andrade, Mariana; Barbosa, Cássia; Cerqueira, Miguel; Azevedo, Ana Gabriela; Barros, Carolina; Machado, Ana Vera; Coelho, Anabela; Furtado, Rosália; Belo Correia, Cristina; Saraiva, Margarida; Vilarinho, Fernanda; Sanches Silva, Ana; Ramos, Fernando
Abstract: The antioxidant capacity and the phenolic compounds of extracts from Green Tea and Rosemary was determined. RE presented a higher antioxidant capacity and higher content of TPC and flavonoids than GTE. While the main phenolic compounds identified in RE were carnosic acid, carnosol and rosmarinic acid, in GTE were catechin, epigallocatechin gallate, epicatechin, rutin and gallic acid. Active PLA films were prepared by the incorporation of GTE and RE at different percentages, followed by the evaluation of their properties. Afterwards, almonds and beef were selected as model foodstuff and packaged with active PLA films.PLA with 4 % of GTE presented a higher WVP and opacity, while PLA with 4% (w/w) of RE presented the highest O2 permeability. PLA with 2 and 4 % (w/w) of GTE presented the highest DPPH inhibition percentage and the highest total content in phenolic compounds and flavonoids at the end of 10 days (at 40 °C), in contact with a fatty food simulant. Regarding the almond packaged with the active films, PLA films with 2 and 4 % of RE were the most effective in the reduction of oxidation, allowing to obtain the lowest malonaldehyde (MDA) content and the lowest peroxides, at the end of 60 days of storage at room temperature. In addition, PLA with GTE and RE inhibited the formation of MDA content in beef stored for 11 days at 4 °C. This study shows that these PLA active packages can contribute for delaying lipid oxidation in foodstuffs with high fat content.
LDPE and PLA Active Food Packaging Incorporated with Lemon by-Products Extract: Preparation, Characterization and Effectiveness to Delay Lipid Oxidation in Almonds and Beef Meat
Publication . Andrade, M.A.; Barbosa, C.H.; Mariño-Cortegoso, S.; Barbosa-Pereira, L.; Sendón, R.; Buonocore, G.G.; Stanzione, M.; Coelho, A.; Correia, C.B.; Saraiva, M.; Quirós, A.R.; Vilarinho, F.; Khwaldia, K.; Silva, A.S.; Ramos, F.
Low-density polyethylene-based packaging with 4% lemon extract (LDPE/4LE) and two polylactic-based (PLA) packaging materials with 4% and 6% lemon extract (PLA/PEG/4LE and PLA/6LE) were produced. O2 and water permeability tests were performed, the total and individual phenolic compounds content were measured, and the films’ antioxidant activities were determined. The films’ ability to delay lipid oxidation was tested in two model foods: almonds, packaged with LDPE/4LE, PLA/4LE and PLA/6LE for a maximum period of 60 days at 40 °C (accelerated assay); and beef meat, packaged with the PLA/6LE for a maximum period of 11 days at 4 °C. The LE improved the WVP in all of the active films by 33%, 20% and 60% for the LDPE/4LE, PLA/4LE and PLA/6LE films, respectively. At the end of 10 days, the migration of phenolic compounds through the PLA films was measured to be 142.27 and 114.9 μg/dm2 for the PLA/4LE and PLA/6LE films, respectively, and was significantly higher than phenolic compounds migration measured for the LDPE/4LE (15.97 μg/dm2). Naringenin, apigenin, ferulic acid, eriocitrin, hesperidin and 4-hydroxybenzoic acid were the main identified compounds in the PLA, but only 4-hydroxybenzoic acid, naringenin and p-coumaric acid were identified in the LDPE films. Regarding the films’ ability to delay lipid oxidation, LDPE/4LE presented the best results, showing a capacity to delay lipid oxidation in almonds for 30 days. When applied to raw beef meat, the PLA/6LE packaging was able to significantly inhibit lipid oxidation for 6 days, and successfully inhibited total microorganisms’ growth until the 8th day of storage.
Packaging of Fresh Poultry Meat with Innovative and Sustainable ZnO/Pectin Bionanocomposite Films—A Contribution to the Bio and Circular Economy
Publication . Przybyszewska, A.; Barbosa, C.H.; Pires, F.; Pires, J.R.A.; Rodrigues, C.; Galus, S.; Souza, V.G.L.; Alves, M M.; Santos, C.F.; Coelhoso, I.; Fernando, A.L.
The development of innovative/sustainable materials capable of enlarging the shelf-life of food products has lately been a focus of research, aiming to reduce food waste. Due to their good antimicrobial properties, zinc oxide nanoparticles (ZnO NPs) can add activity to food packaging, improving its performance. Furthermore, these nanoparticles are considered GRAS by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), which represents an advantage in their application. Through an innovative and sustainable approach using tomato and passionfruit extracts, ZnO NPs were produced and incorporated into pectin films. The resulting bionanocomposites were tested for their activity via in situ studies, using fresh poultry meat as a food matrix. Overall, the bionanocomposites presented good antimicrobial activity, with the intrinsic antimicrobial properties of pectin having shown to be enhanced by the incorporated ZnO NPs. When used as primary packaging for the meat, the deterioration rate of the poultry meat, measured through microbiological growth and total volatile basic nitrogen content, was reduced. However, the nanoparticles contributed to the increment of discoloration and meat oxidation processes. Nonetheless, it can be concluded that fresh poultry meat protected with the bionanocomposites presented an extension of its shelf-life time, and it was confirmed that this eco-friendly packaging has potential to be employed by the food industry.
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Funding agency
Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia
Funding programme
OE
Funding Award Number
2021.08154.BD