Browsing by Author "Oliveira, Adriana"
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- Edible flowers as new novel foods concept for health promotionPublication . Pinto, Sara; Oliveira, Adriana; Manso, M. Conceição; Silva, Carla Sousa e; Ferreira da Vinha, AnaEdible flowers are commonly used in human nutrition and their con sumption has increased in the last years. In Europe, the most common application of flower petals in human nutrition is in the preparation of hot beverages (tisane or infusion), providing wellness due to the medicinal properties already recognized. Thus, it is paramount to know their nutritional composition as well as other functional and beneficial properties often related to their bioactive compounds and antioxidant properties. Rose (Rosa canina L.), marigold (Calendula officinalis L.) and camellia (Camellia L.) were compared for their contents in total phenolics, fla vonoids and carotenoids. Moreover, their antioxidant capacity was assessed.
- Edible flowers of ornamental plants: a food promise in the sustainability sectorPublication . Pinto, Sara; Oliveira, Adriana; Silva, Carla Sousa e; Ferreira da Vinha, AnaThe growing interest in nutraceutical ingredients and functional foods has increased research into new foods that provide beneficial health. Although flowers were already used as food in ancient times, they have only recently sparked off nutraceutical research focusing on new agronomic and economic horizons, which are part of the concept of sustainability. OBJECTIVES: Having in mind the potential of edible flowers as source of bioactive compounds and related antioxidant activity, this work evaluated the contents of total phenolics and flavonoids, in aqueous extracts of rose (Rosa canina L.), marigold (Calendula officinalis L.) and camellia (Camellia L.). Additionally, the antioxidant activity of all the extracts was evaluated.
- Flores edíveis como recurso natural de compostos bioativos e propriedades biológicasPublication . Pinto, Sara Vanessa; Oliveira, Adriana; Silva, Carla Sousa e; Manso, M. Conceição; Ferreira da Vinha, AnaAtualmente, muitas espécies de plantas que produzem flores já fazem parte da alimentação humana, salientando-se em particular as pétalas e sépalas edíveis. Habituais na cozinha desde a Antiguidade, o uso das flores não tem sido usual em Portugal. No entanto, com as novas tendências de recuperar os sabores agridoces e das múltiplas variantes da cozinha de fusão, as flores tornam-se ingredientes muito apreciados. Nem todas as flores são comestíveis. Para além da identificação das mesmas, é importante saber como foram produzidas pois, por exemplo, as flores para decoração ornamental não devem ser utilizadas para consumo humano, uma vez que não têm em consideração as regras de segurança alimentar. Contudo, existe pouca informação sobre algumas espécies de flores destinadas a consumo humano, nomeadamente calêndula (Calendula officinalis L.), camélia (Camellia japonica L.) e rosa (Rosa canina L.). Nesse sentido, o presente trabalho pretendeu contribuir para aumentar o conhecimento neste tema, designadamente ao nível da caracterização química e das propriedades antioxidantes destas espécies botânicas. Embora as três espécies de flores estudadas tenham compostos bioativos e atividade antioxidante, a C. officinalis foi a que apresentou o maior teor em fenólicos totais e carotenoides e, consequentemente, maior atividade antioxidante.
- Natural resources with sweetener power: phytochemistry and antioxidant characterisation of Stevia Rebaudiana (Bert.), sensorial and centesimal analyses of lemon cake recipes with S. Rebaudiana incorporationPublication . Silva, Carla Sousa e; Oliveira, Adriana; Pinto, Sara Vanessa; Manso, M. Conceição; Ferreira da Vinha, AnaStevia rebaudiana leaf extracts are calorie-free sweeteners of natural origin, derived from the Stevia rebaudiana plant known as a natural sweetener, which contains steviol glycosides and others bioactive compounds recognized by their biological properties. The present study was designed to evaluate the total phenolics (26.0 mg gallic acid/g) and total flavonoids contents (9.7 mg catechin/g) of a hydroalcoholic extract of Stevia rebaudiana dried leaves. A similar hydroalcoholic extract of commercial powder steviol sweetener was also evaluated, showing lower contents of bioactive compounds (11.9 mg/g and 5.1 mg/g, for total phenolics and flavonoids, respectively). The hydroalcoholic extract of dried Stevia rebaudiana leaves also showed high in vitro antioxidant activity, besides a positive correlation between total phenolic compounds and the DPPH and FRAP assays. Moreover, Stevia rebaudiana leaves have sensory and functional properties superior to those of many other high-potency sweeteners and is likely to become a major source of natural sweetener for the growing food market. Thus, four different lemon cakes formulations were studied (a traditional cake control recipe with sugar, two cakes with incorporation of Stevia rebaudiana fresh leaf and a cake with commercial powder steviol), using a sensory analysis covering 100 untrained consumers. Centesimal composition analyses of the four lemon cakes showed significant differences in fat, ashes, proteins and carbohydrates contents (p<0.05). Also, the raised energy value observed for the cake control was superior to the cake with Stevia rebaudiana leaves incorporation (309.8 Kcal/100 g, 268.0 Kcal/100 g,142 respectively). Sensorial analysis results showed that Stevia rebaudiana leaves were accepted and, in the future, they can be a natural option to replace some or all the saccharose in cakes formulations.