Western Parsley has antioxidant potential in fatty foods – study

09-Jan-2012 - Last updated on 09-Jan-2012 at 12:02 GMT

Related tags Antioxidant Food Nutrition

The culinary herb western parsley (WP) can boost antioxidant activity in fatty foods and improve stabilisation over a long storage period, according to a study by Japanese researchers.

The study ‘Antioxidant potential of western parsley extract and its effects on oxidative stabilities of food during storage’ found that the oxidative stability of food increased by adding WP.

The researchers said this revealed the potent antioxidant activities of the herb and meant it could be used to help stabilise food during storage to prevent lipid oxidation as an alternative to synthetic antioxidants.

The research was conducted at the University of Tokyo by Huijuan Jia et al.

“Our results suggest WP, a commonly used plant, can be used effectively as a natural antioxidant, which is increasingly important as an additive in the food industry, especially in fat-based foods,” said the study.

Potential health benefits

“In addition to their antioxidative role, presently, there are convincing evidences that nature antioxidants exert a protective effect in many pathological conditions, such as inflammatory disorders, cardiovascular diseases and cancers,” it continued.

Previous research from the same researchers found WP could promote the excretion of heavy metals, such as cadmium which is present in dark chocolate.

In the present study the researcher also suggested that the herb had possible medicinal attributes, including diuretic, laxative and antimicrobial.

Method

The effect of WP on food storage was compared with the synthetic antioxidant ethoxyquin (EQ). Both were put under accelerated oxidative stress and stored for 42 days then compared using several tests to determine oxidative stability.

In most tests, WP was found to be more effective in preventing lipid oxidation than EQ.

“According to our results, replacement of EQ by a natural antioxidant such as WP might be considered a better option when the oxidative stability of food is a concern.”

Uses

WP is currently used predominantly as culinary herb for meat, fish and vegetables and has also been employed in the cosmetics and pharmaceutical industries.

The researchers believe the herb could have potential as an extract in fat based foods, such as confectionery or baked goods.

Study: JIA, H., REN, H., DENG, C., KATO, H. and ENDO, H. (2011), ANTIOXIDANT POTENTIAL OF WESTERN PARSLEY (PETROSELINUM CRISPUM) EXTRACT AND ITS EFFECTS ON OXIDATIVE STABILITIES OF FOOD DURING STORAGE. Journal of Food Biochemistry. doi: 10.1111/j.1745-4514.2011.00597.x

1 comment

antioxidant

Posted by jai, 15 January 2012 - 00:15 GMT

Antioxidants supplements and fruit are substances that may protect cells from the damage caused by unstable molecules known as free radicals. Free radical damage may lead to cancer. Antioxidants interact with and stabilize free radicals and may prevent some of the damage free radicals otherwise might cause. Examples of antioxidants include beta-carotene, lycopene, vitamins C, E, and A, and other substances. Considerable laboratory evidence from chemical, cell culture, and other studies indicates that antioxidants may slow or possibly prevent the development of cancer. However, information from recent clinical trials is less clear. In recent years, large-scale, randomized clinical trials reached inconsistent conclusions. What was shown in previously published large-scale clinical trials. Five large-scale clinical trials published in the 1990s reached differing conclusions about the effect of antioxidants on cancer. The studies examined the effect of beta-carotene and other antioxidants on cancer in different patient groups. However, beta-carotene appeared to have different effects depending upon the patient population. The conclusions of each study are summarized below.