Effects of high temperature steam treatment on microbial and phytochemical contents, antioxidant activities, chemical stability, and shelf life of oral liquid prepared from the leaves of Zanthoxylum bungeanum Maxim

The effects of high temperature steam (HTS) treatment on liquid prepared from the leaves of Zanthoxylum bungeanum Maxim (ZBOL) were studied with by comparing other three treatment methods. After HTS treatment, the microbial content met the standard requirements, the ratios of the phytochemical content were all higher than 84.5%, the antioxidant activities had decreased by <9.57%, no obvious changes were observed in the sensory characteristics, and the results were all better than other treatments. Furthermore, ZBOL showed excellent chemical stability in assays in terms of the use of high temperature (60 ± 2°C) and strong illumination (4,500 ± 500 lx), and prediction and verification tests determined the shelf life of ZBOL to be 12 months (25°C). In summary, HTS was demonstrated to be an efficient treatment method of ZBOL, and these results can be used for the utilization of Z. bungeanum leaves in an industrial setting. Practical application This work provides an efficient method for treatment of oral liquid prepared with flavonoids and antioxidants from the leaves of Zanthoxylum bungeanum Maxim (ZBOL). Herein, the quality information of ZBOL is provided, and a theoretical basis is established for the market promotion of ZBOL and the comprehensive utilization of the resources of Z. bungeanum leaves.