Physicochemical properties and antioxidant activities of steam-dried Allium hookeri root

This study was carried out to investigate the effect of steam-drying method on physicochemical properties and antioxidant activities of Alliun hookeri root (AHR). Moisture, crude protein, crude fat, and crude ash contents of raw and steam-dried AHRs were 10.91∼14.15%, 11.14∼13.49%, 0.83∼3.02%, and 7.55∼8.98%, respectively. Sulfur contents of steam-dried AHRs were 2.0 and 2.2 times lower than that of raw AHR (0.51%), respectively. pH and total sugar contents of AHRs were reduced by steam-drying, whereas titrate acidity and browning intensity were increased. The L and b values of AHRs in Hunter's value were also reduced, but a value was increased by steam-drying. Among hot water extracts from raw and steam-dried AHRs, four times steam-drying showed the lowest EC₅₀ values (0.44, 9.01, and 0.48 mg/mL, respectively) in DPPH radical assay, ABTS radical assay, and reducing power, whereas four times steam-drying had the highest total phenolic content (34.47 μg/mg) and browning intensity (2.05 and 0.20 at 280 and 420 nm, respectively). The antioxidant activities of hot water extracts from raw and steam-dried AHRs were closely correlated with their total phenolic contents and browning intensity, showing coefficient of determination (R²) values higher than 0.87. From the results, we suggest that steam-drying method could be used as an effective process for increasing the antioxidant activity of AHR.