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. 2022 Jan;29(1):346-354.
doi: 10.1016/j.sjbs.2021.08.092. Epub 2021 Sep 4.

Flavoring and extending the shelf life of cucumber juice with aroma compounds-rich herbal extracts at 4 °C through controlling chemical and microbial fluctuations

Mohamed T El-Saadony  1 , Ahmed M Saad  2 , Hend A Elakkad  2 , Amira M El-Tahan  3 , Omniah A Alshahrani  4 , Mashaeal S Alshilawi  4 , Hanan El-Sayed  5 , Shimaa A Amin  6 , Alshaymaa I Ahmed  7
Affiliations

Flavoring and extending the shelf life of cucumber juice with aroma compounds-rich herbal extracts at 4 °C through controlling chemical and microbial fluctuations

Mohamed T El-Saadony et al. Saudi J Biol Sci. 2022 Jan.

Abstract

This work aims to enhance the flavor of functional cucumber juice using herbal extracts of peppermint, basil, lavender, and lemongrass ethanolic extracts and extend its lifetime by controlling the chemical and microbial fluctuations. Cucumber juices were processed as; non-supplemented (J-Con), J-PME, J-BE, J-LE, and J-LEE supplemented with peppermint, basil, lavender, and lemongrass ethanolic extracts, respectively. Peppermint extract was significantly scavenged 88% of DPPH radicals and inhibited the growth of tested gram-positive, gram-negative bacteria and fungi followed by the lemongrass extract. The antioxidant activity of cucumber juices increased due to polyphenols and aroma compounds in the added extracts. However, the antioxidant content was decreased after two months of storage at 4 °C, due to the decrease in polyphenols. The flavor compounds were determined using GC mass, wherein hydrocarbons, acids, alcohols, and carbonyl compounds were the main aroma contents in cucumber juices, and their contents decreased with storage time. Peppermint and lemongrass extracts were significantly (p ≤ 0.05) increased the whiteness of J-PME, and J-LEE, respectively. The highest score of flavor and taste was observed in J-PME that scored 8.3 based on panelists' reports followed by J-LEE. The PME was significantly maintained 91% of the odor and color of J-PME as compared to other juices.

Keywords: Antimicrobial; Antioxidants; Cucumber; Flavor; Herbal extract; Quality; Volatile compounds.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
(A) Phenolic contents of peppermint extract (PME), basil extract (BE), lavender extract (LE), and lemongrass extract (LEE); (B) DPPḢ Scavenging activity of PME, BE, LE, and LEE after 30 min.
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
Fluctuations in total phenolic content (A) and antioxidant activity (B) during cold storage for 2 months, means with different lowercase letters indicate significant differences between phenolic and antioxidant contents and uppercase indicate significant differences between phenolic and antioxidant contents during storage.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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