Fermentation enhances the in vitro antioxidative effect of onion (Allium cepa) via an increase in quercetin content
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Updated: May 23, 2026

Mitochondrial Respiration Quantification in Yeast Whole Cells
Published on: November 8, 2024
Eun-Ju Yang1, Sang-In Kim, Sang-Yun Park
1BK21 Research Team for Developing Functional Health Food Materials, Kyungpook National University, 1370, Sankyuk-Dong, Daegu 702-701, Republic of Korea.
Abstract:
Yellow onion (Allium cepa) extract showed enhanced antioxidative effects in 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH), Trolox equivalent antioxidant capacity (TEAC) and 5-(and-6)-chloromethyl-2',7'-dichlorodihydrofluorescein diacetate and acetyl ester (CM-H(2)DCFDA) assay after being treated with a crude enzyme extract from soybean paste fungi, Aspergillus kawachii. HPLC analysis showed two increased and two decreased peaks after enzyme treatment. The decreased peaks were identified as quercetin-3,4'-di-O-β-d-glucoside (1) and quercetin-4'-O-β-d-glucoside (2), and peaks that increased were quercetin-3-O-β-d-glucoside (3) and quercetin (4), respectively. It was expected that 3 and 4 were originated from the glucosidic cleavage of their glucosides, 1 and 2. Among the increased compounds, only quercetin (4) showed strong antioxidative activity in the DPPH assay. In addition, the protective effect against glutamate-induced neurotoxicity in HT22 cells was increased when treated with 25 μg/ml of fermented onion. The enhanced neuroprotective effect was also originated from the increased quercetin content. As a consequence, fermentation raised the quercetin content in onion, and subsequently increased the antioxidative and neuroprotective activities.
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