In vitro bioaccessibility, antioxidant and antibacterial activities of three different safflower (Carthamus tinctorius L.) genotypes

Abstract

Safflower (Carthamus tinctorius L.) is one of the significant medicinal and aromatic plants and used as the source of food additives, natural dyestuffs, healthy beverages and cosmetics in various countries. In this study, extracts of three safflower genotypes (Remzibey-05, Dincer 5-18-1, and Arizona SC III) were prepared and examined for the first time in terms of their total phenolic content (TPC), antioxidant activities using radical scavenging capacity (DPPH) and copper reducing antioxidant capacity (CUPRAC) assays after subjecting them to in vitro gastrointestinal digestion. Additionally, the antibacterial potential of the flower extracts was determined. There were significant differences (P<0.05) in antioxidant activities between the extracts of the different genotypes of safflower; the highest antioxidant activity was observed in Remzibey-05, while the phenolic content reached its maximum in Arizona SC III. After gastric digestion (PG), in comparison to the initial values, significantly lower recovery levels of TPC (5-8%), DPPH (11-39%) and CUPRAC (7-15%) were observed for the safflower extracts. The highest inhibition zone was observed in the Dincer 5-18-1 extract applied against Listeria monocytogenes. The results showed that the extracts of the safflower genotypes displayed potent antioxidant and antibacterial activities, and the safflower extracts were important in terms of the bioaccessibility of bioactive compounds.