Abstract

Natural, plant-derived antioxidants can be used to prolong the shelf life of food or cosmetics, or as health-promoting additives. Although their extraction from plants has been extensively studied, purification and formulation processes need further research to allow their exploitation. In the present work, rosemary extracts were obtained by successive extractions with acetone and water or single extraction by either an acetone:water or ethanol:water mixture. The extracts were analyzed by HPLC-DAD, and rosmarinic acid, carnosic acid, carnosol, and several flavonoids were identified and quantified. The extracts obtained by water or aqueous mixtures of organic solvents were encapsulated in maltodextrin combined with gum arabic with a high encapsulation yield (90–100%) and efficiency (97%) for rosmarinic acid and flavonoids. The acetone extract, rich in carnosic acid, was transformed to oil solution and either encapsulated or formulated in emulsion. The shelf life of encapsulated products was tested over a period of six months, and the results showed high retention of rosmarinic acid (88%) and lower of flavonoids (54–80%). Carnosic acid presented lower retention either encapsulated in solid powder (65–70% after one month at ambient temperature) or in emulsion (48% after 20 days of storage at 15 °C), while it was partially transformed to carnosol.

Highlights

  • Natural phenolic antioxidants extracted from various plant sources are constantly gaining growing interest of researchers and food or cosmetic companies [1,2,3,4]

  • Extraction Yield and Phenolic Compounds Content in the Extracts Obtained by Different

  • The use of ethanol:water 60:40 in ultrasoundassisted extraction (UAE) resulted in partial oxidation of carnosic acid to carnosol and decrease of the overall phenolic diterpenes yield

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Summary

Introduction

Natural phenolic antioxidants extracted from various plant sources are constantly gaining growing interest of researchers and food or cosmetic companies [1,2,3,4]. Rosemary is one of the few plants (including common Salvia species) that contains carnosic acid and carnosol as their main antioxidant components [6]. The plant is rich in rosmarinic acid, which is a potent radical scavenger and antioxidant [7,8]. Rosmarinic acid is present in some herbs of the Lamiaceae family and is responsible for the high antiradical and antioxidant activities of the extracts obtained from these herbs [6]. Other phenolic components of the plant comprise flavonoids, mainly in the form of glycosides [6]

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