
based bakery products nor in these foods after in vitro gastro-
intestinal digestion.
In this study, different forms of phenolics (onion skin
powder: OSP, onion skin phenolic extract: OSE, or quercetin)
were added to wheat/lentil crackers at two different ratios
(functional crackers). The aim was to investigate the protein–
phenolic interactions in functional crackers or crackers con-
sumed with phenolics (co-digestion) after in vitro gastrointesti-
nal digestion by determining the total phenolic content and
antioxidant activity values.
Materials and methods
Materials
Yellow onion skins were collected from local onion suppliers.
Red lentil flour (carbohydrate: 41.9, protein: 25.8, oil: 1.6 g per
100 g flour), wheat flour (carbohydrate: 71.9, protein: 10.5, oil:
1.1 g per 100 g flour), corn starch, salt and butter were pur-
chased from a local market. α-Amylase from Aspergillus oryzae
(A9857, 1500 U L
−1
), pepsin from porcine gastric mucosa
(P7000, ≥250Umg
−1
), bile extract porcine (B8631), pancreatin
from porcine pancreas (P7545, 8 × USP), DL-dithiothreitol
(D9163), sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS), L-serine (S4500),
albumin from bovine serum (BSA, A2153), Trolox ((±)-6-
hydroxy-2,5,7,8-tetramethylchromane-2-carboxylic acid), DPPH
(2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl) and HPLC grade standards
(protocatechuic acid, quercetin, quercetin 3-glucoside, and
kaempferol) were purchased from Sigma-Aldrich (St. Louis,
Missouri, ABD). Other reagents were purchased from Merck
(Darmstadt, Germany).
Preparation of onion skin Powder (OSP) and onion skin
phenolic extract (OSE)
Yellow onion skins were separated from impurities (stem,
adventitious roots, shoots, etc.), washed in cold water, and
dried at room temperature. The dried onion skins were then
ground in a coffee grinder and passed through a household-
type flour sieve to obtain onion skin powder (OSP).
Phenolic extracts of onion skins (OSE) were prepared
according to Günal-Köroğlu et al.,
12
The phenolic profile of
OSP and OSE in 80% methanol : water (v/v) was also deter-
mined by HPLC. OSP and OSE were stored at −18 °C.
Formulation and preparation of crackers
Functional crackers. Each phenolic source (OSP, OSE, quer-
cetin) at two different ratios was added by replacing with
wheat/lentil flour (weight basis). The amount of OSE and quer-
cetin was calculated to be equivalent to the amount of OSP by
considering the extraction yield of OSE (6.88%, w/w), and the
TPC of OSE (412.50 ± 6.45 mg QE per g extract), respectively
and the basic formulation of cracker dough (control) was pre-
pared according to Han et al.,
13
with some modifications
(Table 1).
Dry and liquid ingredients were mixed, and the dough was
kneaded for 3 minutes before resting for 10 minutes. A house-
hold pasta-making machine was first adjusted to 6 mm thick-
ness and the dough was passed twice. The machine was
adjusted to 2 mm thickness and the dough was passed for the
last time. After the dough was shaped (1.8 × 4 cm) with a
cracker mold, the wheat and lentil dough were baked for 30
and 20 minutes in an oven at 175 °C, respectively. The cooked
crackers were then left to cool down before storing at −18 °C.
Preparation of samples for in vitro gastrointestinal diges-
tion. Co-digested crackers were also prepared to understand
the matrix effect of consuming phenolic sources and crackers
together.
14
Functional crackers were the final products that are
baked after adding the phenolic source to the dough and were
powdered before the application of digestion protocol. Each
functional cracker, phenolic source, and co-digested sample
was weighed in separate flasks and in vitro gastrointestinal
digestion procedure was applied. Representations of samples
are given in Table 2.
Nutritional value, sensory analysis, and color of functional
crackers
Moisture (945.39A), ash (923.03), crude fat (920.39C), and
crude protein content by the Kjeldahl method (960.52) were
determined according to AOCS.
15
Chromameter (Konica Minolta, CR-400, Japan) was used to
determine CIE-L* (lightness/darkness), a* (redness/greenness),
and b* (yellowness/blueness) color parameters by three
different readings on five different crackers of the same
Table 1 Formulation of crackers
Ingredients (g) Control S1 S2 E1 E2 Q1 Q2
Flour 80 79.20 76.80 79.95 79.78 79.98 79.92
Corn starch 20 20 20 20 20 20 20
Clarified butter 20 20 20 20 20 20 20
Water
a
45/40 45/40 45/40 45/40 45/40 45/40 45/40
Salt 1 1 1 1 1 1 1
Baking powder 0.6 0.6 0.6 0.6 0.6 0.6 0.6
Phenolic source –– 0.80 3.20 0.06 0.22 0.02 0.08
a
45 g and 40 g for wheat and lentil flour, respectively. Control: plain crackers without phenolic source, S1: 1% onion skin powder, S2: 4% onion
skin powder, E1: 0.075% onion skin phenolic extract, E2: 0.27% onion skin phenolic extract, Q1: 0.025% quercetin, Q2: 0.1% quercetin was
replaced with wheat/lentil flour in the dough.
Food & Function Paper
This journal is © The Royal Society of Chemistry 2023 Food Funct.,2023,14,3538–3551 | 3539
Published on 21 March 2023. Downloaded on 6/26/2024 3:20:35 AM.