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Effect of the herbs used in the formulation of a Spanish herb liqueur, Herbero de la Sierra de Mariola, on its chemical and functional compositions and antioxidant and antimicrobial activities

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Abstract

Herbero de la Sierra de Mariola is a traditional Spanish herb liqueur which can have up to 15 different plants. The aim of this study was to help in deciding which are the best suited herbs to be used to prepare a liqueur with the highest contents of bioactive compounds and their functional properties. Chemical parameters (FT-IR spectroscopy), total contents of bioactive compounds (polyphenols, flavonoids, and phenolic acids), sensory quality (total content of volatile compounds and aroma intensity), antioxidant activity (DPPH‧ and ABTS+), and antimicrobial activity, and sensory intensity were the parameters studied. In general, the best highest contents of the bioactive compounds and functional activities were found in liqueurs of the Lamiaceae family. An optimized version of this traditional liqueur might contain (i) winter savory, (ii) fennel, (iii) thyme, and (iv) peppermint. This study can be an example of how the scientific knowledge can be used to optimize traditional products, such as an Herbero de la Sierra de Mariola, and why not also to support the advantages of these products to establish future marketing campaigns.

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Acknowledgements

Authors want to thank Consejo Regulador Bebidas Espirituosas Tradicionales de Alicante (http://www.licoresdealicante.com/) for kindly providing the all liqueurs used in this study. Luis Noguera-Artiaga was funded by an FPU grant from the Spanish government (FPU014/01874).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Grupo Calidad y Seguridad Alimentaria (CSA), Departamento de Tecnología Agroalimentaria, Escuela Politécnica Superior de Orihuela (EPSO), Universidad Miguel Hernández de Elche (UMH), Ctra. de Beniel, km 3.2, 03312, Orihuela, Alicante, Spain

    Hanán Issa-Issa, Luis Noguera-Artiaga & Ángel A. Carbonell-Barrachina

  2. Department of Plant Storage and Processing, Faculty of Biotechnology and Food Science, Slovak University of Agriculture in Nitra, Tr. A. Hlinku 2, 949 76, Nitra, Slovakia

    Eva Ivanišová & Attila Kántor

  3. Departamento de Economía Agroambiental, Ingeniería Cartográfica y Expresión Gráfica en la Ingeniería, EPSO, UMH, Orihuela, Alicante, Spain

    David López-Lluch

  4. Department of Microbiology, Faculty of Biotechnology and Food Science, Slovak University of Agriculture in Nitra, Tr. A. Hlinku 2, 949 76, Nitra, Slovakia

    Miroslava Kačániová

  5. Bioenergetics and Food Analysis, Faculty of Biology and Agriculture, Rzeszow University, Rzeszow, Poland

    Miroslava Kačániová

  6. Faculty of Food Science, Department of Chemistry, Wrocław University of Environmental and Life Sciences, Norwida 25, 53-375, Wrocław, Poland

    Antoni Szumny

Authors
  1. Hanán Issa-Issa
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  2. Eva Ivanišová
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  3. Luis Noguera-Artiaga
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  5. David López-Lluch
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  8. Ángel A. Carbonell-Barrachina
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Correspondence to Ángel A. Carbonell-Barrachina.

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Issa-Issa, H., Ivanišová, E., Noguera-Artiaga, L. et al. Effect of the herbs used in the formulation of a Spanish herb liqueur, Herbero de la Sierra de Mariola, on its chemical and functional compositions and antioxidant and antimicrobial activities. Eur Food Res Technol 245, 1197–1206 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00217-019-03247-7

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