Red chicory (Cichorium intybus L.) is consumed worldwide for its sensory properties and medicinal effects, which are due to its phenolic compounds and anthocyanins. In a study published in the Journal of Food Science, researchers developed an experimental design to extract anthocyanins from red chicory. Then, they set out to determine the stability of the extract in relation to the effects of temperature and pH and to evaluate the antioxidant activity and in vitro cytotoxic and antiproliferative potentials against cancerous cell lines of the lyophilized and purified extract.
The best extraction conditions for the bioactive compounds from red chicory were a temperature of 64.2°C for 25 min at which the anthocyanin content was 73.53 ± 0.13 mg per 100 g fresh weight basis sample. The EC50 (half maximal effective concentration) value for the antioxidant activity assay in relation to DPPH (2,2‐diphenyl‐1‐picrylhydrazyl) with optimized extract was 0.363, which corresponds to a concentration of 39.171 µmol/L of anthocyanins. The activation energy for the degradation reaction of the anthocyanins from the red chicory extract was 84.88 kJ/mol.
The optimized extract, which was rich in anthocyanins, presented antioxidant activity in chemical and biological assays and low cytotoxicity and cytoprotective effects in relation to HepG2 (liver cancer), HCT8 (intestinal cancer), and Caco‐2 (colon cancer) cell lines. Additionally, the red chicory extract protected human erythrocytes against hemolysis. The researchers concluded that C. intybus extract “may be used as a natural colorant/antioxidant in foods.”
Source: IFT
