Effect of vanilla extract on radical scavenging activity in biscuits

There is an increasing trend worldwide towards using natural flavours. Vanilla being an important food flavouring agent, the demand for natural vanilla is increasing. Hence, the present study was an attempt to evaluate the utilization of vanilla extract as a source of flavorant as well as an antioxidant in biscuits. Biscuit doughs were incorporated with 0.4% vanilla extract and synthetic vanillin 0.2%. The biscuits were powdered, extracted with aqueous ethyl alcohol and screened for radical scavenging activity. Natural vanilla and synthetic vanillin biscuit extracts at a concentration of 200 ppm showed 70% and 43% of radical scavenging activity, respectively, by the DPPH method in comparison to a corresponding value of 93% for BHA. The extract was profiled by HPLC. The effect of moisture content on retention of flavour in biscuits was studied. The loss of flavour in packed and stored biscuits with time was also studied. Addition of vanilla extract showed higher antioxidant activity and lowered the peroxide value in biscuits. The results revealed that the natural vanilla extract 0.4% level could be used in glucose biscuit preparation, since this concentration imparted considerable antioxidant properties to the biscuits. Copyright (C) 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.