From rosemary

CHANG s s, osTRic-MATiJASEVic B, HSIEH o A L and HUANG c L (1977) Natural antioxidants from rosemary and sage, J Food Sci, 42 (4), 1102-6. 

Dynamic extractions of the organic flavonr and fragrance componnds from dried lavender flowers and rosemary leaves nsing SCCO2 were carried ont. The data from the lavender and rosemary extractions were fitted to a model to prodnce the characteristic extraction cnrve. Using data obtained from rosemary extractions, an extrapolation method derived from the model was used with data from shorter extractions to show that the model provided qnantitative analytical information (Walker et al., 1994). 

Ultrasound-assisted leaching has also been used to extract natural compounds such as vitamins A, D and E from feeds [57], paclitaxel and related taxoids from leaf tissue of Taxus [58], opiates from hair samples [59] and antioxidants from rosemary [60]. Ultrasounds have so far had much more restricted application in this field than in the previous ones, possibly as a result of the technique being at a disadvantage with respect to alternatives such as microwave-assisted extraction [57] or supercritical CO, extraction [60]. 

The first thing to be healed by the alchemist is the very thing from which a medicine is made. In making a medicine from rosemary, for example, the alchemist seeks to perfect the plant itself. While a chemist might consider the resulting potion simply a combination of purified compounds from a dead plant, to the alchemist it represents the very idea of rosemary. As such it is more alive than ever before, in perfect resonance with its ideal form. 

One important trend in the food industry is the increased demand for natural food ingredients free of chemicals. Therefore, special attention has been paid to alternative processes directed toward extraction solvents and techniques with both GRAS and GMP labels (Ibanez et al., 1999). Supercritical C02-extraction (SFC C02) has been used (Weinreich, 1989 Nguyen et al., 1991 Nguyen et al., 1994 Ibanez et al., 1999). Tena et al. (1997) noted that extracts from rosemary obtained by SFC C02 (35 bar at 100°C) were the cleanest extracts and provided the highest recovery of carnosic acid compared to solvent extracts (acetone, hexane, dichlor-methane and methanol) after bleaching with active carbon. Bicchi et al. (2000) reported a fractionated SFC C02 method to selectively isolate carnosol and carnosic acid at 250 atm and 60°C in the second fraction. The authors used 5% methanol to modify the dissolution power of SFC C02. 

FIGURE 6.3 The phenolic diterpene composition of commercial extracts from rosemary and sage (for extraction solvents used, see text). Data taken from Schwarz et al. (1992). 

Dapkevicius et al. (1998) compared yields and antioxidant activities of four different extracts from rosemary and sage leaves an acetone, a water extract (both from deodorized plant material), and an acetone and SFC C02 extract (both from nondeodorized plant material). The yields (g per kg dry matter) ranged from 50.2 for the SFC C02 to 90.8 for the water extract from deodorized plant material. High antioxidant activity was found for the SFC C02 and the acetone extracts, but low activity was determined for all water extracts. This emphasizes the importance of camosol and carnosic acid that are extracted from leaves with water-ethanol solvent... 

Of particular relevance for the application of antioxidant extracts from rosemary and sage, are meat products. 

The strong antioxidant activity of plant material from rosemary and sage leaves compared to other herbs was already recognized by Chipault et al. (1952). The antioxidant properties of rosemary and sage are extensively documented and well related to the phenolic diterpenes. 

Figure 6.4 shows a chromatogram for a methanol extract from rosemary extract using UV detection (230 nm spectrophotometer HP 1100, Hewlett-Packard, Hald-bronn, Germany). The specifications for the column were Hypersil ODS-5 pm Saule (250 x 4 mm, Knauer, Berlin, Germany). The eluents consisted of water/acetonitril... 

Fernandez, L., Duque, S., Sanchez, I., Quinones, D., Rodriguez, F. and Garcia Abujeta, J.L. 1997. Allergic contact dermatitis from rosemary (Rosmarinus officinalis L.). Contact Dermatitis. 37 248-249. 

Hopia, A.I., Huang, S.-W., Schwarz, K., German, J.B. and Frankel, E.N. 1996. Effect of different lipid systems on antioxidant activity of rosemary constituents camosol and camosic acid with and without alpha-xocopherol. J. Agric. Food Chem. 44 2030-2036. Houlihan, C.M., Ho, C.-T. and Chang, S.S. 1984 Elucidation of the chemical structure of a novel antioxidant, rosmaridiphenol, isolated from rosemary. J. Am. Oil Chem. Soc. 61 1036-1039. 

Nakatani, N. and Inatani, R. 1981. Structure of rosmanol, a new antioxidant from rosemary (Rosmarinus officinalis L.). Agric. Biol. Chem. 45 2385-2386. 

Nakatani, N.R., Inatani, T. and Koishi, T. 1984. Antioxidative compound, method of extracting same from rosemary, and use of same. U.S. Patent 4,450,097. 

Richheimer, S.L., Bernart, M.W., King, G.A., Kent, M.C. and Bailey, D.T. 1996. Antioxidant activity of lipid-soluble phenolic diterpenes from rosemary. J. Am. Oil Chem. Soc. 73 507-514. 

Tena, M.T., Valcarel, M., Hidalgo, PJ. and Ubera, J.L. 1997. Supercritical fluid extraction of natural antioxidants from rosemary comparison with liquid solvent sonication. Analytical Chem. 69 521-526. 

Zhu, B.T., Loder, D.R, Cai, M.X., Ho, C.-T., Huang, M.-T. and Conney, A.H. 1998. Dietary administration of an extract from rosemary leaves enhances the liver microsomal metabolism of endogenous estrogens and decreases their uterotropic action in CD-I mice. Carcinogenesis. 19 1821-1827. 

The natural spice extracts from rosemary and sage are not regulated as antioxidants. However, they are GRAS (Generally Recognized As Safe), approved as spice extracts and they have to be declared as such. 

Figure 3.70 demonstrates impressively the extraordinary protecting power of rosemary extract [4]. A desodourized C02-extract from rosemary has been tested for the colour stabilization of carotenoids (i.e. paprika oleoresin). Fig. 3.70 shows the colour deterioration of stabilized versus unstabilized paprika oleoresin. For this test the carotenoids have been exposed to energetic radiation of 366 nm at ambient temperature. The colour units were measured as function of the radiation time. It is obvious that the colour reduction of the stabilized product (A) is almost 10 times slower compared to the unstabilized product (B). 

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