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Dragon's Blood Sap: Storage Stability and Antioxidant Activity
Juan D Escobar1, Cristina Prieto2, Maria Pardo-Figuerez3
1R&D Department, Bioinicia S.L. Calle Algepser 65, 46980 Paterna, Spain. jdescobar@bioinicia.com.
Molecules (Basel, Switzerland)
|October 18, 2018
Summary
Dragon's Blood Sap (DBS) shows high stability, with phenolic compounds degrading less at 0% relative humidity. Its potent antioxidant properties make it ideal for natural consumer products.
Area of Science:
- Natural Products Chemistry
- Food Science
- Pharmacognosy
Background:
- Consumers increasingly seek natural, additive-free products.
- Dragon's Blood Sap (DBS), from Croton lechleri, is rich in phenolic compounds valuable for various industries.
- These phenolic compounds are prone to degradation, necessitating stability studies.
Purpose of the Study:
- To evaluate the storage stability and photo-oxidation of Dragon's Blood Sap (DBS).
- To determine the impact of temperature, relative humidity, and UV light on DBS.
- To assess the antioxidant capacity of DBS.
Main Methods:
- Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR) and UV-Vis spectrophotometry were employed.
- DBS was stored for 39 days under varying temperatures (4–21 °C) and relative humidities (0–56%).
- Photo-oxidation was assessed under UV light exposure.
Main Results:
- Phenolic compound degradation was minimized at 0% relative humidity.
- Temperature variations within the studied range did not significantly affect DBS degradation.
- UV light exposure caused approximately 20% degradation of DBS.
- DBS demonstrated high and stable antioxidant content (≥93% DPPH inhibition).
Conclusions:
- Dragon's Blood Sap exhibits significant storage stability, particularly at low humidity.
- Its robust antioxidant capacity supports its use as a natural ingredient.
- DBS is a promising candidate for additive-free food, pharmaceutical, and cosmetic formulations.