Acorns as a Functional Food for Cardiovascular Disease Prevention: Chemical Characterization and Bioactivity

Abstract

: Acorns are one of the most promising natural resources to be considered nationally and internationally due to their nutritional benefits, thus, their valorization is an essential factor of sustainability nowadays. Therefore, this project aims to characterize acorns by analyzing their chemical composition and bioactivity toward cardiovascular disease-related enzyme inhibition. Proximate analysis was performed where moisture, ash, lipids, and proteins were determined, and the values obtained in mass percentage on a dry basis were 10.07 ± 0.24, 1.94 ± 0.03, 3.94 ± 0.34 and 3.72 ± 0.07, respectively. The concentration of acorn extract that inhibits 50% of the enzyme α -glucosidase is 29.7 µg/mL; however, no inhibition of the α -amylase was registered.