Terpenoids and Polyphenols as Natural Antioxidant Agents in Food Preservation

Abstract

Synthetic antioxidant food additives, such as BHA, BHT and TBHQ, are going through a difficult time, since these products generate a negative perception in consumers. This has generated an increased pressure on food manufacturers to search for safer natural alternatives like phytochemicals (such as polyphenols, including flavonoids, and essential oils rich in terpenoids, including carotenoids). These plant bioactive compounds have antioxidant activities widely proven in in vitro tests and in diverse food matrices (meat, fish, oil and vegetables). As tons of food are wasted every year due to aesthetic reasons (lipid oxidation) and premature damage caused by inappropriate packaging, there is an urgent need for natural antioxidants capable of replacing the synthetic ones to meet consumer demands. This review summarizes industrially interesting antioxidant bioactivities associated with terpenoids and polyphenols with respect to the prevention of lipid oxidation in high fat containing foods, such as meat (rich in saturated fat), fish (rich in polyunsaturated fat), oil and vegetable products, while avoiding the generation of rancid flavors and negative visual deterioration (such as color changes due to oxidized lipids). Terpenoids (like monoterpenes and carotenoids) and polyphenols (like quercetin and other flavonoids) are important phytochemicals with a broad range of antioxidant effects. These phytochemicals are widely distributed in fruits and vegetables, including agricultural waste, and are remarkably useful in food preservation, as they show bioactivity as plant antioxidants, able to scavenge reactive oxygen and nitrogen species, such as superoxide, hydroxyl or peroxyl radicals in meat and other products, contributing to the prevention of lipid oxidation processes in food matrices.

Olive Cake Powder as Functional Ingredient to Improve the Quality of Gluten-Free Breadsticks

“…From the data reported, a general reduction in the concentration of the aforementioned aldehydes in GF breadsticks added with OCP (BS1, BS2, and BS3) could be observed when compared to BSC (control sample without OCP). This could be related to the higher antioxidant activity and phenolic compounds ( Figure 1 ) able to inactivate free radicals, stabilising them through their transfer of a hydrogen atom or a single electron [ 89 ]. Therefore, a delay in the oxidation process of the products can be assumed, as was also observed by Difonzo et al [ 53 ] by adding olive leaf extract (OLE) in baked snacks.…”

Metabolomic Profile and Biological Properties of Sea Lavender (Limonium algarvense Erben) Plants Cultivated with Aquaculture Wastewaters: Implications for Its Use in Herbal Formulations and Food Additives

“…It is well-documented that phenols are great antioxidants that may act in several ways: (1) hydrogen-donating antioxidants react with reactive oxygen and nitrogen species, stopping the production of radicals by generating a molecule that is more chemically stable than the initial radical; (2) related to their metal chelating properties that participate in free radicals generation; or (3) interaction with proteins, due to their ability to inhibit enzymes implicated in free radicals formation, such as cytochrome P450, lipoxygenases, cyclooxygenase, and xanthine oxidase [ 35 , 48 ]. Therefore, natural products rich in these compounds, such as the water extract studied in this work, have the potential to be used as antioxidant supplements, to inactivate free radicals, and decrease the potential occurrence of cellular damage that leads to disease development [ 49 ], or as antioxidant food additives, to slow or stop the breakdown of fats and oils, thus contributing to food preservation [ 50 ].…”

Antibacterial Activity and Epigenetic Remodeling of Essential Oils from Calabrian Aromatic Plants

“…Furthermore, the extensive use of antimicrobial products in humans and animal farming has greatly contributed to the selection of resistant bacterial strains [20,21]. Natural and organic compounds, such as EOs, are becoming one of the most promising research topics for their applications in food and nutraceutical products, as an increased amount of research has pointed out their beneficial effects on health with little or no side effects, and they are cost effective and environmentally friendly when compared with non-organic synthetic compounds [22]. Therefore, plant-derived natural antibacterial and antimycotics substances are becoming new green and ideal alternatives to chemical preservatives in the food industry and are powerful potential therapeutic tools [23,24].…”