Coumarin is a natural product with aromatic and fragrant characteristics, widespread in the entire plant kingdom. It is found in different plant sources such as vegetables, spices, fruits, and medicinal plants including all parts of the plants—fruits, roots, stems and leaves. Coumarin is found in high concentrations in certain types of cinnamon, which is one of the most frequent sources for human exposure to this substance. However, human exposure to coumarin has not been strictly determined, since there are no systematic measurements of consumption of cinnamon-containing foods. The addition of pure coumarin to foods is not allowed, since large amounts of coumarin can be hepatotoxic. However, according to the new European aroma law, coumarin may be present in foods only naturally or as a flavoring obtained from natural raw materials (as is the case with cinnamon). In this paper, the overview of the current European regulations on coumarin levels in food is presented, along with the most common coumarin food sources, with a special emphasis on cinnamon-containing food. Human exposure to coumarins in food is also reviewed, as well as the methods for determination and separation of coumarin and its derivatives in food.

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In this study, for the first time, the adsorption/desorption characteristics of carnosic acid and carnosol from deep eutectic solvent extract of Salvia officinalis on five macroporous resins (HP20, XAD7HP, XAD16N, HP21, HP2MG) were evaluated. The high adsorption and medium desorption capacities of carnosic acid and carnosol as well as antibacterial and antiradical activity from the extract obtained with choline chloride:lactic acid (1:2) on XAD7HP resin indicated that resin was appropriate. To get the optimal separation process, the influence of factors such as adsorption/desorption time and volume of desorbent was further investigated. The results showed that the extract with high antiradical and antibacterial activity was obtained via adsorption and desorption on XAD7HP resin. The extraction efficiencies of the deep eutectic solvents (DESs) recycled once, twice, and thrice were 97.64% (±0.03%), 93.10% (±0.66%), and 88.94% (±1.15%), respectively, for carnosic acid, and 96.63% (±0.04%), 94.38% (±0.27%), and 91.19% (±0.36%), respectively, for carnosol, relative to the initial solvent efficiency. Based on that, this method is a promising basis for the large-scale preparation of extracts from Salvia officinalis with further application in the pharmaceutical or food industry, especially for maintaining the “green” character of the whole process to obtain the appropriate extract.

Chocolate is considered as both caloric and functional food. Its nutritional properties may be improved by addition of fiber; however, this may reduce polyphenols content. The aim of this research was to determine the influence of cocoa shell addition (as a source of fiber) and its combination with different ingredients (cocoa butter equivalents (CBE), emulsifiers, dairy ingredients) on polyphenols of dark and milk chocolates. Total polyphenol (TPC) and total flavonoid (TFC) contents were determined spectrophotometrically, identification and quantification of individual compounds by high pressure liquid chromatography and antioxidant capacity by ferric reducing antioxidant power (FRAP) assay. Results showed that even though addition of cocoa shell to chocolate results in reduced contents of TPC, TFC, and individual compounds, it is not significant compared to ones reported by other authors for commercial chocolates. Other ingredients influence determined values for all investigated parameters; however, additional research is needed to reveal exact mechanisms and implications.

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