Open AccessImproving the Concentrations of the Active Components in the Herbal Tea Ingredient, Uraria crinita: The Effect of Post-harvest Oven-drying Processing
Author(s) -
Jung Chao,
Yuntao Dai,
Hao-Yuan Cheng,
Wing Lam,
YungChi Cheng,
Ke Li,
Wen-Huang Peng,
Li-Heng Pao,
Μing-Tsuen Hsieh,
Xuemei Qin,
Meng-Shiou Lee
Publication year - 2017
Publication title -
scientific reports
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.24
H-Index - 213
ISSN - 2045-2322
DOI - 10.1038/srep38763
Subject(s) - ingredient , active ingredient , traditional medicine , food science , pulp and paper industry , computer science , chemistry , medicine , engineering , pharmacology
Uraria crinita is widely used as a popular folk drink; however, little is known about how the post-harvest operations affect the chemical composition and bioactivity of UC. We assessed three drying methods (Oven-drying, Air-drying, Sun-drying), as well as the Oven-drying temperature using metabolomics approaches and bioactivity assays. The samples processed at 40 degree show a greater effect on the levels of estrogen receptor-alpha activity and nuclear factor erythroid 2–related factor 2 activity, anti-oxidative activity, and cyclooxygenase-2 inhibition compared with the other samples. A multivariate analysis showed a clear separation between the 40 degree Oven-dried samples and the other samples, which is consistent with the results of bioactivity assay. These results are ascribed to at least two-fold increase in the concentrations of flavonoids, spatholosineside A and triterpenoids in the oven-dried samples compared with the other groups. The proposed Oven-drying method at 40 degree results in an improved quality of UC.