Total phenolic, chromium contents and antioxidant activity of raw and processed sugars

Processing improves the visual quality of food; however, the ingredient and nutritional values may alter. In present study, the sugar samples (refined, raw, gur (Jaggery/jaggeree) and molasses) were collected from 20 different agro-climatic regions of Pakistan and analyzed for the chromium concentration, total phenolic and antioxidant activity, in order to evaluate the processing effect. The concentration of Cr was determined by digestion method using atomic absorption spectrophotometer, while antioxidant activity was determined by DPPH (1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl) and reducing power. It was observed that chromium content in Jaggery was 74% higher than raw sugar, while molasses showed 21.27% higher concentration versus jaggery. The total phenolic contents were found considerably higher in molasses (3751 μg GAE/g) followed by Jaggery (3285 μg GAE/g), raw sugar (27.75 μg GAE/g) and refined sugar (23.81 μg GAE/g). The DPPH scavenging activity and reducing power was also found dependent to sugar type. Form results, it can be concluded that processing significantly affected the chromium contents, total phenolics and antioxidant activity.