Effect of Freeze-Drying and Hot Air-Convection Drying on the Antioxidative Activity of Butterbur (Petasites japonicus)

The principal objective of this study was to assess the anti oxidative activities of Petasites japonicus against oxidative stress in bovine brain tissue. Petasites japonicus is found with a relatively widespread distribution, and is cultivated as a culinary vegetable in Korea. Petasites japonicus samples were dried either by freeze-drying or by hot air-convection drying ($80^{\circ}C$), then evaluated for their anti oxidative activity by measuring 1-dipheny-1,2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) radical scavenging, and by measuring thiobarbituric acid-reactive substances (TBARS) in brain homogenates subjected to $Fe^{2+}$-mediated lipids with or without the addition of botanical extract. Hot air convection-drying resulted in a slight increase in the extraction yield as compared with freeze-drying. However, total phenol and flavonoid contents in freeze-dried Petasites japonicas were significantly higher than those of hot air convection-drying. Freeze-drying increased the free radical scavenging activity of Petasites japonicas, leaves, and stems by 52.6, 28.6, and 248.0%, as compared with hot air convection-drying. Additionally, the $IC_{50}$ values measured by TBARS in hot air convection-dried Petasites japonicas, leaves, and stems were increased by 36.0, 31.6, and 15.9%, as compared to those of freeze-drying. Although anti oxidative activity was reduced slightly by heat processing in Petasites japonicas, freeze-drying for each portion of Petasites japonicus was the most appropriate for use as a functional food and pharmaceutical material.