Open AccessEffects of air temperature and blanching pre-treatment on phytochemical content, antioxidant activity and enzyme inhibition activities of Thai basil leaves (Ocimum basilicum var. thyrsiflorum)
Author(s) -
Ngoc Lieu Le,
T.T.H. Le,
Na Ma
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
food research
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.218
H-Index - 7
ISSN - 2550-2166
DOI - 10.26656/fr.2017.5(1).403
Subject(s) - blanching , basilicum , ocimum , dpph , chemistry , food science , antioxidant , phytochemical , starch , amylase , enzyme , horticulture , biochemistry , biology , essential oil
Thai basil leaves (Ocimum basilicum var. thyrsiflorum) have been used in food flavoringand traditional medicine. Hot-air drying is a convenient and low-cost method to preservethem for long-term use but causes the loss of their bioactive compounds during theprocess. In this work, the effect of pre-blanching on preserving these characteristics ofThai basil leaves dried at different air temperatures was studied. The antioxidantcharacteristics were evaluated by the contents of total phenolics, total flavonoids and totalchlorophylls and the scavenging capacity against 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH)radicals. In addition, the inhibitory activities against starch-digesting enzymes wereassessed with α-amylase and amyloglucosidase. At the air temperature of 50oC,antioxidant characteristics of dried leaves with pre-blanching were proven better thanthose without blanching and came close to those of the fresh sample. The dryingtemperature had more evident effects on inhibitory activities against starch-digestingenzymes than blanching. These activities of hot-air dried leaves were comparable to thoseof the fresh one. This study could provide insights into the integration of blanching andhot-air drying to preserve medicinal plants.