In this study, using the surface dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) produced at atmospheric pressure to improve the physiological activities of quercetin was investigated. Quercetin (at 200 ppm) was treated using air DBD with an input power of 250 W. The tyrosinase inhibition effect and total phenolic content of quercetin increased from 38.96 to 91.58% and from 134.53 to 152.93 ppm, respectively, after 20 min of plasma treatment. The antioxidant activity of quercetin treated for 20 min in the lipid models was higher than that of quercetin treated for 0, 5, and 10 min. Furthermore, plasma-treated quercetin exhibited antimicrobial activity against Listeria monocytogenes, Salmonella Typhimurium, and Staphylococcus aureus, whereas activity was not shown in the control. Structural modifications of the quercetin molecule induced by plasma might be responsible for the improvements in its physiological activity. These results indicate that DBD plasma could be used to enhance the physiological activity of quercetin for various applications in food.

• Hyun-Joo Kim(Crop Post-Harvest Technol. Division, Dept. of Central Area Crop Science, National Institute of Crop Science, RDA, Suwon 16613, Korea)
• Hae In Yong(Dept. of Agricultural Biotechnology, Center for Food and Bioconvergence, and Research Institute of Agriculture and Life Science, Seoul National University, Seoul 16614, Korea)
• Sanghoo Park(Dept. of Physics, Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology, Daejeon 34141, Korea)
• Jooyoung Park(Dept. of Physics, Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology, Daejeon 34141, Korea)
• Samooel Jung(Dept. of Animal and Dairy Science, Chungnam National University, Daejeon 34143, Korea) Corresponding author
• Wonho Choe(Dept. of Animal and Dairy Science, Chungnam National University, Daejeon 34143, Korea)
• Cheorun Jo(Dept. of Agricultural Biotechnology, Center for Food and Bioconvergence, and Research Institute of Agriculture and Life Science, Seoul National University, Seoul 16614, Korea)