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ARS Home » Northeast Area » Beltsville, Maryland (BHNRC) » Beltsville Human Nutrition Research Center » Diet, Genomics and Immunology Laboratory » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #341582
Title: Home food preparation techniques impacted the availability of natural antioxidants and bioactivities in kale and broccoli

Author
item YU, LU - University Of Maryland
item GAO, BOYAN - University Of Maryland
item LI, YANFANG - University Of Maryland
item Wang, Thomas - Tom
item LUO, YINGHUA - University Of Maryland
item WANG, JING - Beijing Advanced Innovation Center For Food Nutrition And Human Health, Beijing Technology & Busine
item YU, LIANGLI - University Of Maryland

Submitted to: Food & Function
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 11/29/2017
Publication Date: 1/24/2018
Citation: Yu, L., Gao, B., Li, Y., Wang, T.T., Luo, Y., Wang, J., Yu, L. 2018. Home food preparation techniques impacted the availability of natural antioxidants and bioactivities in kale and broccoli. Food & Function. 9(1):585-593. https://doi.org/10.1039/c7fo00948h.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1039/c7fo00948h

Interpretive Summary: Food preparation methods may influence the stability and release of food bioactives. This study evaluated the effects of grinding and chopping with/without microwaving on the health-beneficial components, and antioxidant, anti-inflammation and anti-proliferation capacities of commercial kale and broccoli. The availability of the beneficial component indole-3-carbinol (I3C) of kale and broccoli was evaluated using high performance liquid chromatography. The total phenolic contents, and the scavenging activities against DPPH, oxygen, hydroxyl and cation ABTS radicals were determined for their antioxidant capacities, along with the effects of food preparation on cell-based antioxidant capacity, and anti-inflammation and anti-proliferation activities. The results indicated that chopping released the least nutraceutical components and antioxidant capacities. Microwaving had no effect on I3C release from kale, but resulted in an elevated (more than 2-fold) release of I3C from broccoli. In addition, the choice of a blender affected the availability of anti-proliferative capacity release from the vegetables, but the performance of blenders was not necessarily related to the price. In summary, different food preparation methods could strongly impact the availability of bioactive factors in the selected vegetables. These findings suggest that choosing an appropriate food processing method for each vegetable might be critical to obtain desirable health-beneficial effects. The information may be used by food scientists and nutritionists, as well as consumers.

Technical Abstract: This study evaluated the effects of grinding and chopping with/without microwaving on the health-beneficial components, and antioxidant, anti-inflammation and anti-proliferation capacities of commercial kale and broccoli. The availability of the beneficial component indole-3-carbinol (I3C) of kale and broccoli was evaluated using high performance liquid chromatography. The total phenolic contents, and the scavenging activities against DPPH, oxygen, hydroxyl and cation ABTS radicals were determined for the antioxidant capacities, along with the effects of food preparation on cell-based antioxidant capacity, and anti-inflammation and anti-proliferation activities. The results indicated that chopping released the least nutraceutical components and antioxidant capacities. Microwaving had no effect on I3C release from kale, but resulted in an elevated (more than 2-fold) release of I3C from broccoli. In addition, the choice of a blender affected the availability of anti-proliferative capacity release from the vegetables, but the performance of blenders was not necessarily related to the price. In summary, different food preparation methods could strongly impact the availability of bioactive factors in the selected vegetables. These findings suggest that choosing an appropriate food processing method for each vegetable might be critical to obtain desirable health-beneficial effects.