98 Emir. J. Food Agric ● Vol 34 ● Issue 2 ● 2022 Evaluation of phenolic acid, total phenolic content, antioxidant capacity and in-vitro simulated bioaccessibility of healthy snack: Aromatized pumpkin chips Emine Aydin* Duzce University, Faculty of Agriculture, Department of Agricultural Biotechnology, 81620, Duzce, Turkey *Corresponding author: Emine Aydin, Duzce University, Faculty of Agriculture, Department of Agricultural Biotechnology, 81620, Duzce, Turkey. Telephone:+90 380-5412294, Fax:+90 380-5412295. E-mail: emineaydin@duzce.edu.tr, emineaydn@gmail.com Received: 29 July 2021; Accepted: 06 December 2021 INTRODUCTION People assume that snack foods, such as chips, cookies, crackers, chocolates and candies, are enjoyable food products. These snack foods are consumed by people to have a good time. As in the examples, snack foods contain large amounts of refned sugar, salt and fat. Improvements in food science and technology facilitate the production of functional foods. In this context, as reported by Monteiro et al. (2020), healthy, natural, and appropriated snack foods are a trend in the world market. Thus, it is required to have new sources of functional characteristics in addition to other nutritive and natural materials. At this stage, fruits and vegetables have a very important role. Fruit snacks are an important part of the daily diet, which can help rising consumer demand for healthier food (Feng et al., 2021). In general, while fat or oil is used as a fxative agent to favour snack foods and salts are used on the snack surface. High-caloric value and lipid quantities, as well as low protein and fbre content, occur due to the production process of the classic snack (Capriles et al., 2007). Most of the diseases, such as cardiovascular diseases (Prospective Studies Collaboration, 2007), obesity, and type II diabetes (Hu et al., 2001), are believed to be induced by fat consumption. For this reason, the consumption of fat and salt should be restricted. Five major species, which are C. moschata, C. maxima, C. pepo, C. argyrosperma, and C. fci folia, belong to the genus of Cucurbita. Among them, C. moschata and C. maxima are widely cultivated in many parts of the world (Khalid Abbas et al., 2020). In this respect, pumpkin is a plant which has been used frequently as a functional food or medicine (Saganuwan, 2009) in many places. Pumpkin is a valuable source of vitamins, minerals, carotene, and pectin and includes bioactive substances such as phenolic compounds and terpenoids. Saura-Calixto et al. (2000) informed that pumpkin had higher dietary fbre contents compared to banana, potato, apple, and orange. In this context, pumpkin snacks are a rich source of dietary Pumpkin (Cucurbita moschata Duch.) is a vegetable which has positive effects on health due to its valuable nutrients and can therefore be used as a functional snack food. The objective of this study was to investigate the total phenolic contents, antioxidant capacities, in-vitro bioaccessibilities, and phenolic acids of pumpkin chips (PCs) supplemented with some aromatizing spices (cinnamon and ginger). According to the results, especially PCs aromatized with spices are rich in terms of phenolic content, antioxidant capacities and bioaccessibility. Within the phenolic acids, the p-hydroxybenzoic is the predominant phenolic acid in the PCs. The results of this research revealed that PCs were a functional snack thanks to their high antioxidant capacities, phenolic content, and their bioaccessibility. In addition, cinnamon and ginger further increased the functional properties of PCs. It is consequently thought that aromatized PCs could be an excellent alternative snack food for people from all ages. Keywords: Antioxidant capacity; Bioaccessibility; Chips; Phenolic acid; Pumpkin; Snack food ABSTRACT Emirates Journal of Food and Agriculture. 2022. 34(2): 98-106 doi: 10.9755/ejfa.2022.v34.i2.2807 http://www.ejfa.me/ RESEARCH ARTICLE