Copper complexing properties and physico-chemical characterization of the organic matter in Greek aromatic plants infusions

Karavoltsos, Sotirios; Plavšić, Marta; Kalogeropoulos, Nick; Kogiannou, Dimitra A. A.; Strmečki, Slađana; Sakellari, Aikaterini; Dassenakis, Manos; Scoullos, Michael (2014) Copper complexing properties and physico-chemical characterization of the organic matter in Greek aromatic plants infusions. Food Chemistry, 160 (1). pp. 53-60. ISSN 0308-8146

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Abstract

Complex formation is among the mechanisms affecting metals’ bioaccessibility. Evaluating the extent of interactions between trace elements and several constituents of food items is of great interest. This paper examines the release of copper-complexing ligands in herbal infusions of 13 aromatic plants commonly used in Greece. The concentration of ligands (LT) and the copper-binding strength (logKapp) of herbal infusions were determined with Differential Pulse Anodic Stripping Voltammetry (DPASV). All herbal infusions were found to release Cu complexing ligands, at concentrations ranging from 8.8 to 112.5 μM in rosemary and marjoram, respectively. In all infusions the total copper concentrations were lower than the corresponding LT values, indicating that Cu is fully complexed. Aiming to partially characterize the physico-chemical properties of the released organic material, the surface active substances (SAS), reduced sulfur species (RS) and catalytically active compounds (CAC) were measured, for the first time, in herbal infusions by sensitive electrochemical techniques.

Item Type:

Article

Uncontrolled Keywords:

copper; complexation; organic ligands; herbs; phenolic compounds; infusions

Subjects:

NATURAL SCIENCES > Interdisciplinary Natural Sciences > Environmental Science

Divisions:

Division for Marine and Enviromental Research

Projects: