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Oxidative stress diseases are usually treated or prevented by using antioxidants from natural or artificial sources. However, as a sustainable source of phytochemicals, plants got a renewed interest in obtaining their active agents using green extraction technologies, i.e., sustainable extraction techniques that reduce energy consumption, use renewable sources and result in less post-extraction wastes. The high-pressure homogenization (HPH) technique was introduced into the food industry since it was invented in 1900 to homogenize milk and later to produce fruit juices with a longer shelf-life without preservatives. Recently, HPH was introduced as an eco-friendly method to nanomill plants for improved extraction efficacy without using organic solvents. In this study, sumac was used as an antioxidants-rich spice model to investigate the effects of HPH on its antioxidant capacity (AOC). Sumac was rendered into PlantCrystals by using HPH. Particle size characterization proved the presence of submicron-sized particles (about 750 nm). Thus, HPH was able to produce sumac PlantCrystals and increased the AOC of bulk sumac by more than 650% according to the ORAC (oxygen radical absorbance capacity) assay. The polyphenol and flavonoid contents showed higher values after HPH. Interestingly, the DPPH (1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl) assay also showed a well improved AOC (similar to ascorbic acid) after HPH. In fact, in this study, the PlantCrystal-technology was demonstrated to cause an efficient cell rupture of the sumac plant cells. This caused an efficient release of antioxidants and resulted in sumac PlantCrystals with a 6.5-fold higher antioxidant capacity when compared to non-processed sumac bulk material.
Abraham Abraham; Camilo Quintero; Luis Carrillo-Hormaza; Edison Osorio; Cornelia Keck. Production and Characterization of Sumac PlantCrystals: Influence of High-Pressure Homogenization on Antioxidant Activity of Sumac (Rhus coriaria L.). Plants 2021, 10, 1051 .
AMA StyleAbraham Abraham, Camilo Quintero, Luis Carrillo-Hormaza, Edison Osorio, Cornelia Keck. Production and Characterization of Sumac PlantCrystals: Influence of High-Pressure Homogenization on Antioxidant Activity of Sumac (Rhus coriaria L.). Plants. 2021; 10 (6):1051.
Chicago/Turabian StyleAbraham Abraham; Camilo Quintero; Luis Carrillo-Hormaza; Edison Osorio; Cornelia Keck. 2021. "Production and Characterization of Sumac PlantCrystals: Influence of High-Pressure Homogenization on Antioxidant Activity of Sumac (Rhus coriaria L.)." Plants 10, no. 6: 1051.
Antioxidants are recommended to prevent and treat oxidative stress diseases. Plants are a balanced source of natural antioxidants, but the poor solubility of plant active molecules in aqueous media can be a problem for the formulation of pharmaceutical products. The potential of PlantCrystal technology is known to improve the extraction efficacy and antioxidant capacity (AOC) of different plants. However, it is not yet proved for plant waste. Black tea (BT) infusion is consumed worldwide and thus a huge amount of waste occurs as a result. Therefore, BT waste was recycled into PlantCrystals using small-scale bead milling. Their characteristics were compared with the bulk-materials and tea infusion, including particle size and antioxidant capacity (AOC) in-vitro. Waste PlantCrystals possessed a size of about 280 nm. Their AOC increased with decreasing size according to the DPPH (1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl) and ORAC (oxygen radical absorbance capacity) assays. The AOC of the waste increased about nine-fold upon nanonization, leading to a significantly higher AOC than the bulk-waste and showed no significant difference to the infusion and the used standard according to DPPH assay. Based on the results, it is confirmed that the PlantCrystal technology represents a natural, cost-effective plant-waste recycling method and presents an alternative source of antioxidant phenolic compounds.
Abraham Abraham; Reem Alnemari; Jana Brüßler; Cornelia Keck. Improved Antioxidant Capacity of Black Tea Waste Utilizing PlantCrystals. Molecules 2021, 26, 592 .
AMA StyleAbraham Abraham, Reem Alnemari, Jana Brüßler, Cornelia Keck. Improved Antioxidant Capacity of Black Tea Waste Utilizing PlantCrystals. Molecules. 2021; 26 (3):592.
Chicago/Turabian StyleAbraham Abraham; Reem Alnemari; Jana Brüßler; Cornelia Keck. 2021. "Improved Antioxidant Capacity of Black Tea Waste Utilizing PlantCrystals." Molecules 26, no. 3: 592.
PlantCrystals are obtained by milling plant material to sizes <10 µm. Due to the disruption of the plant cells, active compounds are easily released, rendering the PlantCrystal technology an effective and low-cost process for the production of environmentally friendly plant extracts. The extracts can be used to produce phytomedicines, nutritional supplements or cosmetic products. Previous studies could already demonstrate the use of PlantCrystals to improve the antimicrobial or antifungal activity of different plants. This study investigated whether PlantCrystal technology is suitable to produce plant derived formulations with high antioxidant capacity. The study also aimed to identify the most suitable production methods for this. Methods: Various plant materials and parts of plants, i.e., seeds, leaves and flowers, and different methods were employed for the production. PlantCrystals were characterized regarding size, physical stability and antioxidant capacity (AOC). Results: PlantCrystals with particles <1 µm were produced from the different plant materials. Both production methods, i.e., high-pressure homogenization, bead milling or the combination of both were suitable to obtain PlantCrystals. Nano milling of the plant material greatly affected their AOC and resulted in formulations with distinctly higher AOC when compared to classical extracts. Conclusions: Rendering plant material into small sized particles is highly effective to obtain plant extracts with high biological efficacy.
Abraham M. Abraham; Reem M. Alnemari; Claus Jacob; Cornelia M. Keck. PlantCrystals—Nanosized Plant Material for Improved Bioefficacy of Medical Plants. Materials 2020, 13, 4368 .
AMA StyleAbraham M. Abraham, Reem M. Alnemari, Claus Jacob, Cornelia M. Keck. PlantCrystals—Nanosized Plant Material for Improved Bioefficacy of Medical Plants. Materials. 2020; 13 (19):4368.
Chicago/Turabian StyleAbraham M. Abraham; Reem M. Alnemari; Claus Jacob; Cornelia M. Keck. 2020. "PlantCrystals—Nanosized Plant Material for Improved Bioefficacy of Medical Plants." Materials 13, no. 19: 4368.