Chemical and antioxidant parameters of dried forms of ginger rhizomes

There are various products that can be obtained from ginger (Zingiber officinale Roscoe) rhizomes, such as dried products, being difficult to choose the best option for antioxidant purposes. In this study, three different dried forms of ginger rhizomes (freshly dried, dried and powder dried) were characterized in terms of chemical composition including individual profiles in sugars, organic acids, fatty acids, tocopherols, and antioxidants (phenolics and flavonoids). The in vitro antioxidant properties (free radicals scavenging activity, reducing power and lipid peroxidation inhibition) of their methanolic extracts were also evaluated. The results of this study indicate that the ginger form has significant influence in chemical and antioxidant parameters of the plant; dried ginger (DG) proved to be the best choice. Overall, this study could help the consumer in the selection of the most suitable option regarding antioxidant purposes.The authors are grateful to Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia (FCT, Portugal) for financial support to CIMO (strategic project PEst-OE/AGR/UI0690/2014), A. Fernandes grant (SFRH/BD/76019/2011) and L. Barros researcher contract under “Programa Compromisso com Ciência-2008”. A. Jelled thanks M. Khaled Ben Abdessalem for his uncountable support