Basil as functional and preserving ingredient in “Serra da Estrela” cheese

Antitumor, antimicrobial and antioxidant activities of basil were studied, along with its characterization in phenolic compounds, organic acids and soluble sugars. The results placed basil as a valuable candidate for functionalization and conservation of food products, maintaining their nutritional properties, while increasing their shelf life and potential health effects. The basil leaves were then incorporated in "Serra da Estrela Cheese", either in its dehydrated form or as a decoction. The cheeses were then subject to a nutritional evaluation, being characterized for their fatty acids, minerals and CIE color parameters. To assess the combined effects of plant incorporation and storage time, a 2-way ANOVA was used to process the results, further analysed through a linear discriminant analysis. Overall, basil leaves provided antioxidant activity to the cheeses, reduced the moisture, and preserved the unsaturated fatty acids and proteins. Comparing both incorporation types, the decoctions had a higher functionalizing and conservative effect.

HPLC-DAD-ESI/MS analysis of phenolic compounds in four tomato varieties and evaluation of the antioxidant capacity

Tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum L.) is the second most important vegetable crop worldwide and a key component in the so-called “Mediterranean diet”. In the Northeastern region of Portugal, local populations still prefer to consume traditional tomato varieties which they find very tasty and healthy, as they are grown using extensive farming techniques. A previous study of our research team described the nutritional value of the round (batateiro), long (comprido), heart (coração) and yellow (amarelo) tomato varieties [1], but the phenolic profile was unknown until now. Thus, the objective of this study was to characterize the phenolic profiles of these four tomato farmers’ varieties by using HPLC-DAD-ESI/MS and evaluate its antioxidant capacity through four in vitro assays based on different reaction mechanisms. A cis p-coumaric acid derivative was the most abundant compound in yellow and round tomato varieties, while 4-O-caffeolyquinic acid was the most abundant in long and heart varieties. The most abundant flavonoid was quercetin pentosylrutinoside in the four tomato varieties. Yellow tomato presented the highest levels of phenolic compounds, including phenolic acids and flavonoids, but the lowest antioxidant activity. In turn, the round tomato gave the best results in all the antioxidant activity assays. This study demonstrated that these tomato farmers’ varieties are a source of phenolic compounds, mainly phenolic acid derivatives [2], and possess high antioxidant capacity [1]; being thus key elements in the diet to prevent chronic degenerative diseases associated to oxidative stress, such as cancer and coronary artery disease.