Green rooibos' bioactive compounds contribute greatly towards its antioxidant activity. The anti-browning activity of aqueous (GRE) and beta-cyclodextrin (β-GRE)-assisted extracts of green rooibos was investigated in canned apples. Freeze-dried extracts (GRE and β-GRE) obtained at 40 °C for 60 min were added in canned apples at 0.25 and 0.5% prior to heat processing and stored at 23 and 37 °C for 24 weeks. Lightness (L*), colour difference (DE*), furfural and hydroxymethyl furfural (HMF) were determined to establish the effect of extracts against non-enzymatic browning (NEB) development. The L* value decreased, whereas DE*, HMF and furfural increased with increased storage time and temperature. A higher inhibition was observed for samples stored at 23 °C, and storage at 37 °C reduced (p < 0.05) the inhibitory capacity of extracts. Greater inhibition against NEB development was reported for β-GRE 0.25 and 0.5 via the L* value (40.93-46.67%), β-GRE 0.25 for DE* (46.67%) and β-GRE 0.25 and 0.5 for HMF (59.55-67.33%). No differences (p > 0.05) were observed in furfural inhibition between all extracts, although inhibition was reported at 62.69-72.29%. Browning inhibition correlated with the reaction rate constant (k0) and activation energy (Ea), exhibiting a correlation coefficient of 0.925, 0.964, 0.932 and 0.754 for L*, DE*, HMF and furfural, respectively.
Keywords: betacyclodextrin; encapsulation; green rooibos; hydroxymethyl furfural; non-enzymatic browning; polyphenols.