Rosmarinus officinalis L. leaves can be valorized by their uses in the production of healthy foods. Rosemary powder and its lyophilized ethanolic extract at different concentrations (g/100 g) were used for the formulation of fresh cheeses: powder cheeses (B: 0.25%, C: 0.5%, D: 0.75%), extract cheeses (E: 0.25 %, F: 0.5 %) and control cheese (A: 0 %). The ethanolic extract was obtained under the optimum conditions of microwave‐assisted extraction (MAE) using response surface methodology (RSM) coupled with a Box–Behnken design (BBD); the optimum conditions were as follows: ethanol concentration 78.162%, microwave power 351.825W, ratio of solvent to raw material 101.623:1, and extraction time 122.648 s. Physicochemical parameters (pH, proteins, fat) of the formulated cheeses were not affected by this supplementation but the plant extract improved phenolics content and antioxidant capacity when compared to the control cheese. A correlation between physicochemical parameters, antioxidant activity as well as the sensory characteristics was carried out using principal component analysis (PCA). Cheeses C; D and F were most appreciated (60‐80%) by the panelists.

This study deals with drying properties and focuses on the drying kinetics of potato peels (PP) by two processes, namely convection drying (CD) at various temperatures (40, 60, 80, 100, and 120 °C) and microwave drying (MD) at different powers (200, 400, 600, and 800 W). In addition, the effectiveness of the adopted processes was evaluated in terms of antioxidant contents and antioxidant capacity. A total of 22 mathematical models were undertaken to predict the drying kinetics, and the best model was selected based on the highest R² values and the lowest χ² and RMSE values. The Sledz model was the more appropriate for both methods with values of 0.9995 ≤ R² ≤ 0.9999, χ² = 0.0000, and 0.0054 ≤ RMSE ≤ 0.0030 for CD, and the results of MD were 0.9829 ≤ R² ≤ 0.9997, 0.0000 ≤ χ² ≤ 0.0010, and 0.0304 ≤ RMSE ≤ 0.0053. The best drying rates (DR) of PP were assigned to a temperature of 120 °C and a power of 600 W with values of 0.05 and 0.20 kg water/kg dw min, respectively. A potential explanation is that as PP’s moisture content decreased during the drying process, there was a drop in absorption, which led to a reduction in the DR. The energy consumption of both processes was assessed, and it rose with increasing temperature or power. The microwave process reduced the drying time, consumed lower energy, and presented a higher drying efficiency at a moderate power level compared to the convection process. Furthermore, MD preserved antioxidants better compared to CD and improved the antioxidant capacity. Therefore, the proposed microwave process for drying PP is suggested for its expected use in various fields, including the food processing industries.

Background: Qualitative and quantitative investigations of bioactive compounds in plant materials are heavily based on the selection of an accurate extraction method. Aims: That’s why; this work consists of a comparative study between Microwave Assisted Extraction (MAE) and Conventional Extraction (CE), based on the total phenolic compounds (TPC) yield, phenolic profile, and antioxidant activity of coriander leaves powder (Coriandrum sativum L.). Material and Methods: MAE was optimized and performed using the Response Surface Methodology (RSM), and was modeled by using a second-order regression equation. While CE was done using the classic water bath method. Results: Under the optimal conditions, the recovery of TPC yield obtained was 37.94 ± 2.06 mg (MAE) vs 44.47 ± 0.57 mg GAE/g DW (CE). The UHPLC characterization showed a close phenolic composition of the two extracts, mainly represented by quercetin glucosides and by dimethoxycinnamoyl hexoside. No significant difference (p>0.05) was recorded in terms of the antioxidant activity of both extracts, as estimated by Ferric reducing antioxidant power (FRAP), Nitric oxide (NO•), and superoxide anion (O2•-) scavenging tests. Conclusions: Hence, the exploitation of MAE has many valuable advantages, as the processing time is brief and the antioxidant activities and phenolic composition were not affected by the extraction process. Supplementary data : PDF

Aims: The aim of this work is the evaluation the anticarcinogenic effect on HT29 cancer cells lines and antioxidant effect of three extracts from different morphological parts (leaves (LE), pink flowers (PFE) and white flowers (WFE)) of Nerium oleander lin. Methods: This research provides the anticarcinogenic activity of extracts from N. oleander white flowers. Principal Component Analysis (PCA) was applied to estimate the relationship between antioxidant and anticarcinogenic activities, and to further understand the similarities and differences between the extracts. Results: All of the extracts exhibited different antioxidant (ABTS, DPPH and FC) and anticarcinogenic activities. FTIR analysis designed the existence of various functional groups in extracts confirming the presence of alcohol, alkanes, amino, aromatic compound and primary alcohol. The PCA results show that the WFE extract exhibits a greater antioxidant activity with a potent potential for inhibiting the cell growth of colorectal cancer HT29 than the two other extracts (LE and PFE). Conclusions: Nerium oleander may therefore be an excellent source of natural antioxidant and anticancer agents, as well as a possible pharmaceutical supplement.