EXTRACTION OF OLEORESIN AND ESSENTIAL OILS IN HERBS AND SPICES THAT IMPART FLAVOURS AND FRAGRANCES
CHAPTER ONE
1.0 INTRODUCTION
Herbs and spices have long been used for culinary, medicinal, and cosmetic purposes by ancient civilizations. Natural cures and elixirs have become less popular as a result of modernization and the development of patent medicines.
Disillusionment with synthetic drugs, artificial additives, and their potential side effects has resulted in a surge in popularity for many natural products, whether for culinary, medical, or cosmetic purposes. The popularity of natural cosmetic purposes is in line with the global trend of eco-consciousness. The popularity of natural cosmetic products, such as those sold in red earth and the body shop, attests to the current trend, which is in line with the global trend for eco-consciousness (Broadhurt CL, 2000).
Spices are aromatic plants and their parts, whether fresh or dried. whole or ground, that are primarily used to flavor and fragrance foods and beverages (Prosea 1986). The term is used broadly and includes culinary herbs. Spices are essential in the culinary arts, where they are used to create dishes that reflect a country’s history, culture, and geography. Curry powder, housing live five spice powder) Pizza herbs, and fine herbs are well-known examples (Polansky mm, 2000) Spice oils and oleoresins are also essential in the food and beverage manufacturing, perfumery and cosmetic industries, and pharmaceutical industries. With the growing interest in the commercial exploitation of aromatic plants for food preservation and crop protection, some spices and derivatives have antioxidant and antibiotic properties.
With the growing demand for natural and organic products, as well as the growing desire to avoid synthetic flavors and artificial food coloring, the future of spices appears bright.
Herbs and spices, according to Pearson 1976, are the dried leaves, flowers, buds, fruits, seeds, bark, or rhizomes of various plants. Local examples include Piper guineense (Uzuza), Xylopia gethiopica (uda), Mondora myristica (Ehuru), Tretaphleura tetraptra (Oshsho), and capsicum frutescens, all of which contribute significantly to odour and flavor due to the presence of volatile oil (9essential oil) and fixed oil (Ose Nsukka).
An antioxidant is any substance capable of delaying, retarding, or preventing the development of rancidity or other flavor deterioration in food.
oxidation,. Antioxidants are only one method of preventing packing; others include vacuum packaging or packing under an inert gas to exclude oxygen, as well as refrigeration and freezing, both of which significantly reduce the rate of authorization. Furthermore, it is often overlooked how little oxygen is required to initiate and sustain the oxidation process, as well as how difficult and costly it can be to remove the last traces of air from a product. For these reasons, it is quite common to combine the use of antioxidants with inert gas packing. Using an antioxidant should be viewed as one of several available measures, but when used properly, it is generally effective, simple to apply, and inexpensive.
The primary reason for using an antioxidant is a need for one.
An antioxidant can extend the shelf-life of a food, reducing waste and complaints; it can reduce nutritional losses (oil-soluble vitamins, such as vitamin A, are susceptible to oxidation); and, most importantly for food technologists, it can broaden the range of fat that can be used. The use of an antioxidant allows the food manufacturer to smooth out differences in fat/oil stability, making the food product less specific in terms of ingredient requirements. This allows for greater cost control without jeopardizing product quality or shelf-life. Without an effective antioxidant, lard, for example, would find far fewer applications.
Antioxidants have two primary functions.
1. They disrupt the oxidation chain by either containing free radicals or acting as hydrogen donors.
2. They
direct peroxide breakdown into stable substances that do not promote further oxidation (Ihekornye and Ngoddy 1985).
The following requirements must be met by an ideal antioxidant:
1. It is risk-free to use.
2. It should not have any odor, flavor, or color.
3. The effectiveness of low concentration.
4. Should be straightforward to implement
5. It should survive the cooking process.
6. Should be available at the current cost-in-use.
John and Peterson (1974), summarized the general use and properties of herbs and spices as the ability to:-
1. Infuse flavor into a flavorable base.
2. Add a distinct flavor character to the base product.
3. Disguise objectionable intrinsic flavour and boost intrinsic flavour which would otherwise be too weak.
According to Ikekornye and Ngoddy, (1985) the effectiveness and optimal utilization
The suitability of a spice for its various applications is determined by factors such as growing method, harvesting, sorting, storage, and, finally, processing techniques.
Traditionally, spices are used to prepare food for nursing mothers because they are thought to be very beneficial in cleaning the uterine lining after childbirth. It is thought to have returned the womb to normal size after birth. It is used to make a native concoction for the treatment of infant convulsions and “jedi-jedi,” a disease that causes greenish stool, stomach upset, and inflammation. It is commonly used to treat minor ailments such as stomach upset, headaches, malaria, bronchitis, and a variety of others (Uba, 1997).
1.1 THE PROJECT’S OBJECTIVES
Herbs and spices are known to be used in food only in small amounts, but they contribute significantly to odor and flavor due to the presence of volatile oil (essential oil) and fixed oil, and little or no work has been done on most local culinary herbs and spices. The goal of this project is to extract the oleoresins and essential oils present in herbs and spices that impart flavors and fragrances present in foods, beverages, perfumery, cosmetics, and pharmaceutical products, as well as to determine the antioxidant properties of these local spices and herbs for food products, cosmetics, and pharmaceuticals.