Comparative study of the antioxidant properties of lyophilized egg powders from Japanese quail enriched with herbal extracts

The aim of the research was a comparative analysis of the antioxidant activity of lyophilized albumen, yolk and melange of quail eggs, enriched with aqueous extracts of three medicinal plants - Mursalski tea, dwarf everlast and St. John's wort. Before freeze-drying, the separated parts of the quail eggs were mixed with the aqueous extracts in the following ratios: albumen (1:1), yolk (1:2), melange (1:1.4). The addition of the extracts slightly affected the amount of lipids and ash, but significantly increased the content of phenolic substances. The antioxidant activity of the lyophilisates was evaluated by determining the radical scavenging ability towards DPPH and ABTS. The addition of the extracts increased the DPPH radical scavenging activity up to 11 times compared to the control (93.41±3.75 µmol TE/g for lyophilized albumen with St. John's wort). When using the ABTS method, the highest value was obtained for the lyophilized albumen with Mursalski tea extract (325.90±3.67 µmol TE/g). The obtained lyophilized egg powders enriched with herbal extracts have significantly increased antioxidant activity and could be used in the development of new functional food products with a positive effect on human health.