title: Promising new applications of Castanea sativa shell: nutritional composition, antioxidant activity, amino acids and vitamin E profile.
abstract: The present study was aimed to assess the macronutrient composition and the amino acid and vitamin E profiles of Castanea sativa shell from different production regions of Portugal (Minho, Trás-os-Montes and Beira-Alta). The nutritional composition was similar for all samples, with a high moisture content and low fat amounts. Arginine and leucine were the predominant essential amino acids (EAA) accounting for 3.55-7.21% and 1.59-2.08%, respectively, for samples of the different production zones. All the shells presented high contents of vitamin E (481.5 mg per 100 g sample, 962.8 mg per 100 g sample and 567.5 mg per 100 g sample, respectively, for Minho, Trás-os-Montes and Beira-Alta). The predominant vitamer was γ-tocopherol (670 mg per 100 g sample for Trás-os-Montes). The antimicrobial and antioxidant activities of C. sativa shell were also determined. Trás-os-Montes extracts displayed the highest antioxidant activity (EC50 = 31.8 ± 1.3 μg mL(-1) for DPPH; 8083.5 ± 164.8 μmol per mg db for FRAP). The total phenolic content (TPC) varied from 241.9 mg to 796.8 mg gallic acid equivalents (GAE) per g db sample, the highest TPC being obtained for Trás-os-Montes. The total flavonoid content (TFC) varied from 31.4 to 43.3 mg of catechin equivalents (CEQ) per g db sample. No antimicrobial activity was observed. The results showed the potentialities of C. sativa shell extracts.
authors.affiliation: REQUIMTE, Department of Chemical Sciences, Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Porto, Rua de Jorge Viterbo Ferreira, 228, 4050-313 Porto, Portugal. beatoliv@ff.up.pt.
authors.forename: Francisca
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Rodrigues
authors.forename: Joana
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Santos
authors.forename: Filipa B
authors.initials: FB
authors.lastname: Pimentel
authors.forename: Nair
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Braga
authors.forename: Ana
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Palmeira-de-Oliveira
authors.forename: M Beatriz P P
authors.initials: MB
authors.lastname: Oliveira
mesh_terms: D000596:Amino Acids / Q000737:chemistry*; D000975:Antioxidants / Q000737:chemistry*; D029962:Fagaceae / Q000737:chemistry*; D005419:Flavonoids / Q000737:chemistry*; D009753:Nutritive Value; D010936:Plant Extracts / Q000737:chemistry*; D011174:Portugal; D014810:Vitamin E / Q000032:analysis*
chemical_list: D000596:Amino Acids; D000975:Antioxidants; D005419:Flavonoids; D010936:Plant Extracts; D014810:Vitamin E