The effect of 2-hydroxypropyl β-cyclodextrin on the stability of polyphenolic compounds from Moringa oleifera Lam leaf extracts in a natural low-transition temperature mixture

Polyphenol extracts from Moringa oleifera leaves (MoL) were obtained with a glycerol-based low-transition temperature mixture (LTTM) and a combination of LTTM with 2-hydroxypropyl β-cyclodextrin (HP-β-CD). The extracts were maintained at 4, 22 and 50 °C for 18 days and the antiradical activity (AAR) was recorded to detect modifications in the antioxidant activity of the extracts. AAR displayed a constant decline at every temperature tested, following pseudo first-order kinetics and the decay constants suggested that the presence of HP-β-CD had a protective action, slowing down AAR decline. The analysis of the polyphenolic profiles using liquid chromatography-diode array-mass spectrometry revealed that after storage for 18 days at 50 °C, the major quercetin glycosides occurring in MoL were extensively degraded. Based on the detection of protocatechuic acid in the stored extracts, putative pathways of flavonol glycoside degradation were proposed. It was concluded that the decomposition of these components was mainly responsible for the AAR decline observed.