Published in Scientific Bulletin. Series F. Biotechnologies, Vol. XIX
Written by Cornelia NICHITA, Georgeta NEAGU, Ana CUCU, Catălin CEAUŞ
A systematic scientific research for useful bioactivities from medicinal plants is now considered to be a rational approach in nutraceutical, drug research and food. A sustainable development of extractive biotechnological processes from herbal species can be achieved by classical method and also by supercritical fluid extraction(SFE). This paper is presenting the obtaining of some selective extracts from Rosmarinus officinalis L. species, with dual function of ingredients and antioxidants for food products. The fresh and dried leaves of Rosmarinus officinalis are frequently used as a food preservative and in traditional Mediterranean cuisine as a flavoring agent. Classical Soxhlet method and supercritical fluid extraction (SFE) method with CO2 and ethanol cosolvent were applied for obtaining the Rosemary officinalis L. extracts. The herbal extracts have been investigated by UV-Vis spectroscopy for quantitative determination of the total polyphenols and flavonoids content, polyphenolcarboxylic acids and rosmarinic acid, according to Romanian and European Pharmacopoeia. In addition to this, four SFE extracts and four Soxhlet extracts were screened for their radical-scavenging capacities and antioxidant activities by various in vitro, non cellular assays, respectively chemiluminescence method in an luminol hydrogen peroxide system, and DPPH (2,2-diphenyl-1- picrylhydrazyl) radical-scavenging. The results revealed excellent correlation between the antioxidant capacity and the amount of active constituents of extracts (rosmarinic acid, total polyphenols and flavonoids content, polyphenolcarboxylic acids).
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Antioxidant activity
