Song Yang, Xu Baojun
School of Life Sciences, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong.
Food Science and Technology Program, Beijing Normal University-Hong Kong Baptist University United International College, Zhuhai, Guangdong 519085, China.
Foods. 2013 Jan 25;2(1):32-42. doi: 10.3390/foods2010032.
The fruit (goji berry) of , a traditional Chinese medicine, has been widely used in health diets due to its potential role in the prevention of chronic diseases. One of the most popular applications of goji berry is to make goji wine in China by steeping goji berry in grain liquor. However, how the steeping process affects antioxidant capacities and phytochemicals of goji berry is not yet fully understood. Therefore, to provide scientific data for the utilization of goji berry in the nutraceutical industry, the diffusion rate of betaine, β-carotene, phenolic compounds in goji berry and their antioxidant capacities affected by alcohol concentration and steeping time were determined by UV-Visible spectrophotometer. The results showed that low alcohol concentration (15% or 25%) would promote the diffusion of betaine and increase antioxidant activity, while high concentration (55% or 65%) would generally increase the diffusion of flavonoids and reduce antioxidant activity. The steeping time had no significant effect on the diffusion of phenolic compounds and antioxidant activities. However, all goji berry wine steeped for 14 days with different alcohol concentrations exhibited the highest betaine concentration. Current findings provide useful information for the nutraceutical industries to choose proper steeping time and alcohol concentration to yield desired health promotion components from goji.
枸杞作为一种传统中药，其果实（枸杞子）由于在预防慢性病方面的潜在作用，已被广泛应用于健康饮食中。枸杞最受欢迎的应用之一是在中国将枸杞浸泡在白酒中制成枸杞酒。然而，浸泡过程如何影响枸杞的抗氧化能力和植物化学物质尚未完全了解。因此，为了为枸杞在营养保健品行业的利用提供科学数据，用紫外可见分光光度计测定了枸杞中甜菜碱、β-胡萝卜素、酚类化合物的扩散速率及其受酒精浓度和浸泡时间影响的抗氧化能力。结果表明，低酒精浓度（15%或25%）会促进甜菜碱的扩散并增加抗氧化活性，而高浓度（55%或65%）通常会增加黄酮类化合物的扩散并降低抗氧化活性。浸泡时间对酚类化合物的扩散和抗氧化活性没有显著影响。然而，所有用不同酒精浓度浸泡14天的枸杞酒中甜菜碱浓度最高。目前的研究结果为营养保健品行业选择合适的浸泡时间和酒精浓度以从枸杞中获得所需的健康促进成分提供了有用的信息。
