Studies on the Antioxidant Activities of Natural Vanilla Extract and Its Constituent Compounds throughin VitroModels

Abstract

Vanilla extract was prepared by extraction of cured vanilla beans with aqueous ethyl alcohol (60%). The extract was profiled by HPLC, wherein major compounds, viz., vanillic acid, 4-hydroxybenzyl alcohol, 4-hydroxy-3-methoxybenzyl alcohol, 4-hydroxybenzaldehyde and vanillin, could be identified and separated. Extract and pure standard compounds were screened for antioxidant activity using beta-carotene-linoleate and DPPH in vitro model systems. At a concentration of 200 ppm, the extract showed 26% and 43% of antioxidant activity by beta-carotene-linoleate and DPPH methods, respectively, in comparison to corresponding values of 93% and 92% for BHA. Interestingly, 4-hydroxy-3-methoxybenzyl alcohol and 4-hydroxybenzyl alcohol exhibited antioxidant activity of 65% and 45% by beta-carotene-linoleate method and 90% and 50% by DPPH methods, respectively. In contrast, pure vanillin exhibited much lower antioxidant activity. The present study points toward the potential use of vanilla extract components as antioxidants for food preservation and in health supplements as nutraceuticals.

Vanillin and Vanillin Analogs Relax Porcine Coronary and Basilar Arteries by Inhibiting L-Type Ca2+Channels

“…The order of relaxing potencies of VA and its analogs may be related to their varying hydrophobicity which, to judge from the elution time during reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography separation (Shyamala et al, 2007;Tai et al, 2011), follows the same ranking as observed in the present experiments. Such a difference in hydrophobicity of VA, VAA, and EtVA may be responsible not only for their different antioxidant activities/capacities (Tai et al, 2011) but also for their varying potencies in inhibiting L-type Ca 21 channels (as discussed herein), which are involved in contractions to KCl, U46619, and endothelin-1 Kasuya et al, 1989;Sato et al, 2000;Nobe and Paul, 2001).…”

“…Based on these properties, VA, VAA, and EtVA could be used to prevent or relieve exaggerated Ca 21 influx resulting in PKC activation in coronary (Ito et al, 1994;Kadokami, et al, 1996) or cerebral (Laher and Zhang, 2001) vasospasm and other cardiovascular disorders (Khalil, 2013). However, the concentrations of VA and its analogs needed to act as antioxidants (Shyamala et al, 2007;Jung et al, 2010;Kwon et al, 2013;Lee et al, 2013) or as vasodilators (present study) are larger than the measured plasma level [0.0005 mM] reached after oral administration of 30 mg/kg VA in male ICR (imprinting control region) mice (Tai et al, 2011). This comparison implies that to obtain a therapeutically favorable coronary and/or cerebral vasodilator, larger doses of VA and its analogs would be required than are achieved with their use as additives.…”

“…1A) and vanillyl alcohol (VAA, Fig. 1B) are major components of natural vanilla (Vanilla planifolia) extracts (Shyamala et al, 2007), and ethyl vanillin (Fig. 1C) is a synthetic vanillin derivative (Gradeff and Murayama, 1982).…”

“…They are commonly used as flavoring agents or as additives by the food, cosmetic, and pharmaceutic industries. VA and its analogs have antioxidant (Shyamala et al, 2007;Jung et al, 2010;Tai et al, 2011;Kwon et al, 2013;Lee et al, 2013), antiinflammatory (Jung et al, 2010;Kwon et al, 2013;Lee et al, 2013), antiproliferative, and antiangiogenic (Fukuoka et al, 2004;Lirdprapamongkol et al, 2009;Jung et al, 2010) properties as well as antitumor properties (Lirdprapamongkol et al, 2009) in vitro and in vivo. VA provides protection against global cerebral ischemia in Mongolian gerbils (Kim et al, 2007), and VAA protects against apoptosis induced by a neurotoxin )] in dopaminergic MN9D cells (a mesencephalic cell line) (Kim et al, 2011).…”

Antioxidant Properties of Ethyl Vanillinin Vitroandin Vivo

“…It has been reported that vanillyl alcohol and vanillic acid exerted antioxidant activity. 25) Ethyl vanillin and apocynin reacted with ABTS þ in a manner similar to that of vanillin. estimated that 1 mole of ethyl vanillin and apocynin scavenged 2.5 moles of ABTS þ in reaction over 120 min, although one molecule of ethyl vanillin and apocynin has only one oxidizable phenolic hydroxyl group.…”