Temperature and Acidified Solvent Effect on Total Anthocyanins and RP-HPLC Phenolic Acids Determination in Selected Spices

Abstract

Total anthocyanins of spices (Syzygium aromaticum L., Coriadrum sativum L., Cuminum cyminum L., Zingiber officinale Rosc., Elettaria cardamomum, Curcuma longa, Rhus coriaria L., Cinnamomum zeylanicum Blume, Foeniculum vulgare Mill and Laurus nobilis L.) were determined using acidified (1% HCl) solvents (methanol, ethanol and acetone) at three temperatures (20˚C, 40˚C and 60˚C). Also phenolic acids were separated and identified by RP-HPLC. Results showed that sumac and cinnamon had the highest levels of anthocyanins, while for the acetone the cinnamon indicated the highest amount of anthocyanins when methanol and ethanol were used as extracting solvents at 20˚C. At 40˚C using ethanol, sumac showed the highest level of anthocyanins whereas acetone solvent yielded the highest anthocyanin contents for cinnamon. At 60˚C, cinnamon showed the highest level of anthocyanins when methanol and acetone were the solvents, while sumac had the highest anthocyanins level using ethanol as solvent. HPLC results showed ten phenolic acids found in those spices and varied in their concentrations. Gallic acid had the highest level (1642.3 mg/100g) (cloves). Gentisic acid had the lowest level (1.2 mg/100g) in ginger. Also sumac showed the highest level of chlorogenic acid (1528.7 mg/100g). Some acids were not found in some spices, for instance, benzoic acid was not found in coriander, cumin, ginger, green cardamom, cinnamon and sweet laurel.