Phenolic composition and nutraceutical properties of organic and conventional cinnamon and peppermint

Junli Lv; Haiqiu Huang; Lu Yu; Monica Whent; Yuge Niu; Haiming Shi; Thomas T Y Wang; Devanand Luthria; Denys Charles; Liangli Lucy Yu

doi:10.1016/j.foodchem.2011.11.135

Phenolic composition and nutraceutical properties of organic and conventional cinnamon and peppermint

Food Chem. 2012 Jun 1;132(3):1442-1450. doi: 10.1016/j.foodchem.2011.11.135. Epub 2011 Dec 8.

Authors

Junli Lv¹, Haiqiu Huang¹, Lu Yu¹, Monica Whent¹, Yuge Niu², Haiming Shi³, Thomas T Y Wang⁴, Devanand Luthria⁵, Denys Charles⁶, Liangli Lucy Yu⁷

Affiliations

¹ Department of Nutrition and Food Science, University of Maryland, College Park, MD, USA.
² Department of Nutrition and Food Science, University of Maryland, College Park, MD, USA; Key Lab of Urban Agriculture (South), School of Agriculture and Biology, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200240, China.
³ Key Lab of Urban Agriculture (South), School of Agriculture and Biology, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200240, China.
⁴ Diet, Genomics and Immunology Lab, Beltsville Human Nutrition Research Center, USDA, Beltsville, MD, USA.
⁵ USDA, Agricultural Research Service, Beltsville Human Nutrition Research Center, Food Composition and Methods Development Laboratory, Beltsville, MD, USA. Electronic address: [email protected].
⁶ Frontier Natural Products Co-op, Norway, IA, USA.
⁷ Department of Nutrition and Food Science, University of Maryland, College Park, MD, USA; Key Lab of Urban Agriculture (South), School of Agriculture and Biology, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200240, China. Electronic address: [email protected].

PMID: 29243634
DOI: 10.1016/j.foodchem.2011.11.135

Abstract

Conventional and organic cinnamon and peppermint were investigated for their phenolic profile, anti-proliferative, anti-inflammatory, and antioxidant properties. Accelerated solvent extraction with 75% acetone was used to extract samples. Caffeic acid was the most abundant phenolic acid in peppermint. Catechin, (-)-epigallocatechin gallate, syringic acid, gallic acid, vanillic acid, and p-coumaric acid were also detected in both spices. There was no significant difference between conventional and organic spices in the composition of most individual phenolics. All conventional and organic peppermint and cinnamon extracts exhibited strong anti-proliferative and anti-inflammatory properties. Cinnamon was more efficient in inhibiting IL-1β and COX-2 expression, while peppermint showed better inhibitory effect on IL-6 and MCP-1. This study indicates that cinnamon and peppermint may potentially be used as dietary sources of bioactive phytochemicals for improving health.

Keywords: Accelerated solvent extractor; Anti-inflammation; Anti-proliferation; Antioxidant; Cinnamon; Peppermint; Phenolics.