The main chemical composition, contents of total phenolic (TPh), total flavonoid (TF), and total monomeric anthocyianin (TMA), as well as the antioxidant activity of two raspberry cultivars (Meeker and Willamette), two blackberry cultivars (Čačanska bestrna and Thornfree) and wild bilberry were studied. The raspberry cultivars had the highest total solids among fruits investigated. Bilberry fruits had the highest sugar-to-acid ratio. Blackberry fruits were richer in crude fibers (cellulose) in comparison to raspberry and bilberry fruits. The content of pectic substances was highest in the bilberry. Also, bilberry had a highest content of TPh (808.12 mg GAE/100 g FW), TF (716.31 mg RE/100 g FW) and TMA (447.83 mg CGE/100 g FW). The antioxidant activity was evaluated spectrophotometrically, using 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) radical scavenging activity assay. The DPPH free radical scavenging activity, expressed as the EC50 value (in mg of fresh weight of berry fruit per ml of the reaction mixture), of bilberry (0.3157 ± 0.0145 mg/ml) was the highest. These results also showed that the antioxidant value of 100 g FW bilberry, raspberry - Willamette, raspberry - Meeker, blackberry - Čačanska bestrna and blackberry - Thornfree is equivalent to 576.50 mg, 282.74 mg, 191.58 mg, 222.28 mg and 272.01 mg of vitamin C, respectively. There was a significant positive correlation between the antioxidant activities and content of total phenolics (RTPh 2=0.9627), flavonoids (RTF 2=0.9598) and anthocyanins (RTMA 2=0.9496) in berry fruits. [Projekat Ministarstva nauke Republike Srbije, br. TR 31044

Utilization of carotenoids as a nutraceutical ingredients or natural colorants within foods is currently limited due to their instability. Encapsulation is one of the prominent means used to improve carotenoid stability. In this study the content of bioactive compounds (lycopene, ?-carotene and phenolics) and antioxidant activity (DPPH, ABTS, superoxide anion and reducing power test) were investigated in the tomato waste extract. Based on the obtained results, tomato waste showed high contents of lycopene (13.72 mg/100 g DW), ?-carotene (12.36 mg/100 g DW) and phenolic compounds (203.33 mg/100 g DW). Also, high values of antioxidant activity were determined in all applied tests. To protect extracted sensitive carotenoid compounds (lycopene and ?-carotene) tomato waste extract was encapsulated with various encapsulating materials (soy protein, pea protein, inulin and gum arabica) by freeze drying method. The influence of applying different encapsulating materials on the encapsulation efficiency of carotenoids (lycopene and ?-carotene) was studied. Also, obtained encapsulates were characterized in terms of water activity, moisture content, hygroscopicity, flowability, density ratios and particles size. Encapsulate on the basis of gum arabic showed highest encapsulation efficiency of ?-carotene (53.47%), while encapsulate prepared with soy protein as encapsulating material showed highest encapsulation efficiency of lycopene (51.44%). The results of this study support the need for preparation of encapsulates with different encapsulating material and evaluation of their characteristics with the aim of development powder forms suitable for supplementation and food fortification.

The production of high-quality freeze-dried raspberry was studied by response surface method. Two independent variables, temperature (X1) and time (X2) were determined as the most important factors affecting the final product quality estimated by the responses: total phenol (Y1), total anthocyanin (Y2), vitamin C (Y3) and total bioactive compounds (Y4) content. A two-factor central composite design was used for freeze-drying experiments. The second order polynomial models obtained were found to be significant (p<0.05) for all responses. The statistical analysis of experimental data indicated that only quadratic time variable (X22) had significant (p<0.05) effect on all responses. The optimal conditions for all responses combined were found to be: -31 ?C and 35 h. The experimental values of all responses obtained under optimal conditions were in good agreement with predicted values which enables the use of the proposed mathematical models for optimization of investigated process. [Projekat Ministarstav nauke Republike Srbije, br. TR31044]

In this study, lipophilic tomato waste extracts (obtained from the Knjaz, Backa, Saint Pierre, Rutgers and Novosadski niski genotypes) were analyzed to determine their lycopene and ?-carotene content, as well as their kinetics of antiradical activity. The kinetic behaviour of lipophilic tomato waste extracts and standard antioxidant compound (BHA) were investigated using the 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) radical test. In addition, correlations between the contents of lycopene and ?-carotene content and antiradical activity of lipophilic tomato waste extracts were also sought. The content of lycopene in tomato waste extracts ranged from 4.29 ? 0.14 mg/g for Rutgers waste exract to 22.64 ? 0.86 mg/g for Knjaz waste extract, while the content of ?-carotene varied from 2.48 ? 0.09 mg/g for Novosadski niski waste exract to 15.93 ? 0.56 mg/g for Knjaz waste extract. Based on the time required for the DPPH radical-extract reaction to reach steady state, the investigated lipophilic extracts, as well as BHA can be classified as the antioxidants with slow (steady state ? 150 min) antiradical behaviour. A comparison of the efficient concentrations at different kinetic times (EC50,t) for the lipophilic tomato waste extracts and BHA showed that the DPPH antiradical activity decreased in the order of BHA > Knjaz > Backa > Saint Pierre > Rutgers > Novosadski niski. The results of the correlation analysis suggest that lycopene is the main individual carotenoid responsible for the EC50,t values of the tomato waste extracts towards the stable DPPH radical. [Projekat Ministarstva nauke Republike Srbije, br. TR 31044]