Matricaria chamomilla L. contains antioxidant flavonoids that can have
their bioactivity enhanced by enzymatic hydrolysis of specific glycosyl groups. This study
implements an untargeted metabolomics approach based on ultra-performance liquid
chromatography coupled with electrospray ionisation quadrupole time-of-flight mass
spectrometry technique operating in MSE mode (UPLC-QTOF-MSE) and
spectrophotometric analysis of chamomile aqueous infusions, before and after hydrolysis by
hesperidinase and β-galactosidase. Several phenolic compounds were altered in the
enzymatically treated infusion, with the majority being flavonoid derivatives of apigenin,
esculetin, and quercetin. Although enzymatically modifying the infusion only led to a
small increase in antioxidant activity (DPPH• method), its inhibitory effect
on pancreatic lipase was of particular interest. The enzymatically treated infusion
exhibited a greater inhibitory effect (EC50 of 35.6 µM) than unmodified
infusion and kinetic analysis suggested mixed inhibition of pancreatic lipase. These
results are of great relevance due to the potential of enzymatically treated functional
foods in human health.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.