Extractable and Non-Extractable Antioxidants Composition in the eBASIS Database: A Key Tool for Dietary Assessment in Human Health and Disease Research

• Main Authors: Jenny Plumb, Alessandra Durazzo, Massimo Lucarini, Emanuela Camilli, Aida Turrini, Luisa Marletta, Paul Finglas
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: MDPI AG 2020-11-01
• Series: Nutrients
• Subjects: eBASIS; extractable compounds; non-extractable compounds; bioactive compounds; human health; dietary intake
• Online Access: https://www.mdpi.com/2072-6643/12/11/3405

The antioxidant properties of foods are crucial in nutrition, food chemistry, and medicine studies but are often underestimated, with significant amounts of bioactive compounds containing physiological and biochemical properties remaining in the residue from extraction as non-extractable antioxidants. Over the last decade, extractable and non-extractable compounds have become key in the evaluation/determination of the antioxidant properties of food matrices because of their relevance in human health. This has led to the need to include extractable and non-extractable antioxidants in comprehensive and harmonized food composition databases for a wide range of applications within research, food, pharmaceutical, nutraceutical, and cosmeceutical areas. Additionally, the databases are invaluable as part of the health claims application process. eBASIS, (Bioactive Substances in Food Information System) a comprehensive database containing quality-evaluated scientific data, covering the composition of bioactive compounds present in foods, has flexible structures, allowing it to be extended to include newly emerging data on extractable and non-extractable compounds. Search criteria were developed and defined for compiling suitable peer-reviewed literature. Data quality assessment methods were established for the addition of composition data and antioxidant activity, with a focus on various parameters including: the extraction procedure, the antioxidant measurements, the expression of results. A total of 437 quality-evaluated datapoints on the composition of extractable and/or non-extractable compounds were entered into the database. This database update represents one of the first examples of building a database dedicated to antioxidant properties. This expansion of eBASIS provides a novel and unique tool for nutritionists, dietitians, researchers to use for a wide range of applications, such as dietary assessment, exposure studies and epidemiological studies, and may contribute to an increase in high-bioactive food consumption by consumers.