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Quercetin-grafted chitosan prepared by free radical grafting: characterization and evaluation of antioxidant and antibacterial properties

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Abstract

Chitosan (CS) is considered a versatile biopolymer with promising applications. However, it is not a good chain-breaking antioxidant due to the lack of H-atom donors. In this work, CS was combined with quercetin (Q), a natural antioxidant, via a free radical-mediated procedure to strengthen the antioxidant capacity. The successful formation of Q-grafted CS (Q-CS) was confirmed by ultraviolet–visible absorbance and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. After combination, the obtained Q-CS had a phenolic content of 13.9 mg QE/g Q-CS and showed a lower crystallinity and thermal stability than the native CS. The 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl, 2,2′-azino-bis(3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonic acid), superoxide, and hydroxyl radical scavenging activities of Q-CS were higher than those of CS, illustrating that grafting with Q is an available way to improve the antioxidant capacity of CS. In addition, Q-CS showed higher minimal inhibitory concentrations against tested bacteria than CS, suggesting that combining with Q has a negative effect on the antibacterial activity of CS. Our results indicate that Q-CS may have great potential for applications in the fields of food and healthcare.

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Acknowledgements

This work was supported by the Natural Science Foundation of Hebei Province (No. B2016202111).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Chemical Engineering and Technology, Hebei University of Technology, Tianjin, 300130, China

    Yujia Diao, Xueqing Yu, Chaohong Zhang & Yingjun Jing

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  1. Yujia Diao
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  2. Xueqing Yu
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  4. Yingjun Jing
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Correspondence to Yingjun Jing.

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Diao, Y., Yu, X., Zhang, C. et al. Quercetin-grafted chitosan prepared by free radical grafting: characterization and evaluation of antioxidant and antibacterial properties. J Food Sci Technol 57, 2259–2268 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13197-020-04263-2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s13197-020-04263-2

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