Page Title

Abstract

Text Box:

Text Box: TABLE OF
CONTENTS

SUMARY
INTRODUCTION
MATERIALS & METHODS
RESULTS & DISCUSSION
CONCLUSIONS
REFERENCES

AUTHORS:
1Zahur U. Haque (haque@ra.msstate.edu),
2Pertti Marnila (pertti.marnila@mtt.fi)
and
2Hannu
Korhonen (hannu.j.korhonen@mtt.fi)

1Department of Food Science and Technology, Mississippi State University, Box 9805, MSU, MS 39762, USA. phone: 66-325-3200, fax: 662-325-2474
www.msstate.edu
2Food Chemistry, MTT
AgriFood Finland
FIN-31600 Jokioinen, Finland.
www.mtt.fi

*Work IS part of sabbatical research of author Haque

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Text Box: Reactions of biological macromolecules with free radicals are common mechanisms leading to cellular damage. Antioxidants scavenge free radicals that are thought to cause cancer, heart disease, and stroke. Free radicals are the natural by-products of many processes within and among cells. They are also created by exposure to various environmental factors, tobacco smoke and radiation, for instance. Nature provides us with powerful antioxidants that can be effectively used in food processing (Shahidi F 1997). Spices extracts are being increasingly recognized for their antioxidative activity. Rosemary (Rosmarinus officinalis) leaves and sage (Salvia officinalis) are well studied examples (Bandoniene D; Gruzdiene D, and Venskutonis PR 2001;Cuvelier ME; Berset C, and Richard H 1994).
More recently, Ginger (Z. officinales) has attracted attention of researchers in this regard. It (1% w/w diet) was seen to significantly lowered lipid peroxidation by maintaining the activities of the antioxidant enzymes -- superoxide dismutase, catalase and glutathione peroxidase, in rats. The blood glutathione content was significantly increased in ginger-fed rats. Similar effects were also observed after treatment with the natural antioxidant, ascorbic acid (100 mg/kg)(Ahmed RS; Vandana Seth; Banerjee BD, and Seth V 2000;Aruoma OI 1994). These and other related data warrant a closer look at the commonly used spices and their extracts.
The “total” antioxidant (or free radical trapping) capacity of antioxidants is of considerable interest since it directly reflects potential capacity to reduce oxidative stress. An excellent procedure is to evaluate the antioxidant status is

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Food Functionality Update

Text Box: Antioxidative potential of some commonly used spice oleoresins as determined by luminol-enhanced
chemiluminescence measurements

Red Capsucum