Characterization, Antioxidant Activities, and Functional Properties of Mucilage Extracted from Corchorus olitorius L

Abstract

This study extracted the mucilage from Corchorus olitorius L. to observe its chemical and functional properties and suggest its possible applications in various fields. Corchorus olitorius L. mucilage was isolated by hot water extraction. FT-IR and HPAEC-PAD were used to describe the chemical composition, and the functional properties and antioxidant activities of the mucilage were also examined. The mucilage was mainly composed of uronic acid (34.24%, w/w). The solubility was 79.48 ± 1.08% at 65 °C, the swelling index was 29.01 ± 2.54% at 25 °C, and the water-holding capacity and oil-binding capacity were 28.66 ± 1.48 and 8.423 ± 0.23 g/g, respectively. The mucilage viscosity increased from 4.38 to 154.97 cP in a concentration-dependent manner. Increasing the concentration decreased the emulsion activity and increased the emulsion stability, most likely because of the corresponding increase in surface tension and viscosity. Results from antioxidant assays confirmed that the in-vitro radical scavenging activity of the mucilage increased with concentration. This study shows that C. olitorius L. can be utilized as a new hydrocolloid source, with potential applications in fields ranging from foods to cosmetics and pharmaceuticals.

Keywords: Corchorus olitorius L.; antioxidant activity; emulsifying; functional property; mucilage; viscosity.

Figure 1

HPAEC-PAD chromatograms of the mucilage extracted from the Corchorus olitorius L. (A) uronic acid and (B) neutral sugars.

Figure 2

FT-IR spectrum of mucilage extracted from Corchorus olitorius L.

Figure 3

Viscosity of the mucilage from the Corchorus olitorius L., xanthan gum, and arabic gum at different concentrations. The inset represents the viscosity of the arabic gum at concentration of 5, 8, 10, 100, and 200 mg/mL.

Figure 4

Surface tension of mucilage extracted from Corchorus olitorius L.

Figure 5

(A) Emulsifying activity index and (B) emulsifying stability index. Bars showing different labels (a–f) are significantly different (p < 0.05) in each sample at different concentrations. Bars labeled with an asterisk (*) are significantly different (p < 0.05) between the mucilage solution and xanthan gum solution at the same concentration.

Figure 6

(A) DPPH free radical scavenging activity and (B) ABTS^•+ scavenging activity. Values of each bar with different labels (a–d) are significantly different (p < 0.05) in each sample at different concentrations. Bars labeled with a single asterisk (*) are significantly different (p < 0.05) between mucilage and ascorbic acid at the same concentration. Bars labeled with a double asterisk (**) are significantly different (p < 0.05) between mucilage and α-tocopherol at the same concentration.