• Journal of Life Science
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• v.17 no.5 s.85
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• pp.652-657
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• 2007

To make functional fresh-cut yam using natural spices, the water or the methanol extract was prepared from different kinds of natural spices including ginger, wasabi, black pepper, mustard, cinnamon, chinese pepper, garlic, thyme, rosemary, chamomile, and peppermint. The extraction yields were varied as spice sources and extraction solvents used. Among the water extracts, peppermint extract showed strong antithrombosis activity with 26-folds extended thrombin time, and the $IC_{50}s$ of the extracts from cinnamon and rosemary were $61.3{\mu}g/ml\;and\;84.3{\mu}g/ml$ in DPPH scavenging assay, respectively. Whereas, the antimicrobial activity of all water extracts was ignorable. Among the methanol extracts, the extracts from thyme, ginger, and cinnamon showed antimicrobial activity against yam putrefactive bacteria. Strong antioxidative activity was found in the extracts from cinnamon and thyme. Based on these results, the functional fresh-cut yam was prepared using the water extract from peppermint or cinnamon. The antioxidative and antithrombin activities in the fresh-cut yam were maintained at $4^{\circ}C$ for 24 hr. Our results suggest that the natural spices could be applied to production of functional fresh-cut yam.