## 3 Results and Discussion  
The functional characterization of the aqueous and methanolic extracts obtained from carob flour is presented in Table 1. The solubility of the raw material in the resulting extracts was nearly identical for the aqueous (48.9%) and methanolic (49.1%) extracts. A similar trend was observed in the pH values, which were 5.1 and 5.6 for the aqueous and methanolic extracts, respectively. Hydrophilic carob flour extracts contain mostly dietary fiber and a phenolic fraction that includes both water-soluble and insoluble tannins, flavanol glycosides, and high contents of different forms of gallic acid [14]. Despite the comparable solubility, the extracts differed in total phenolic content, flavonoid content, and antioxidant activity, all of which were significantly higher in the methanolic extract. Specifically, the extract prepared with methanol showed a 1.4-fold-higher total phenolic content and a 1.6-fold-higher flavonoid content compared to the aqueous extract. Antioxidant activity was evaluated using the ABTS assay, which measures free radical-scavenging capacity, and the FRAP assay, which assesses electron-donating ability. Once again, significant differences were observed, with the methanolic extract exhibiting significantly greater antioxidant activity in both assays, consistent with previous studies focused on cereals, pseudocereals, and seeds [9]. More precisely, the methanolic extract displayed 1.2-fold-higher activity in the ABTS assay and 1.8-fold-greater activity in the FRAP assay than the aqueous extract. These results contradict previous reports suggesting that methanol and ethyl acetate are no more effective than water in extracting polyphenolic compounds from carob [15]. Carob flour is primarily composed of carbohydrates--mainly sucrose, glucose, and fructose--alongside dietary fiber, small amounts of protein, and a variety of polyphenolic compounds, particularly gallic acid, flavonoids, and tannins [3, 16, 17]. Carob has been widely recognized as a rich source of phenolic compounds and antioxidants [16, 18]. Incorporating carob products or their extracts into various foods--such as durum wheat pasta [19], bread [20], and cookies [21]--has been shown to enhance total phenolic content and antioxidant activity. In the present study, the TPC values obtained for carob flour extracts were higher than those previously reported by [PERSON] et al. [14] for carob powder (18.19-23.18 mg GAE/g) and by [PERSON] and [PERSON] [15] for various carob extracts. To evaluate the antiglycation capacity of carob flour extracts, two in vitro models were employed: the BSA-Glu and BSA-MGO systems. The BSA-Glu model simulates the early \begin{table}
\begin{tabular}{c c c} \hline \hline  & **Aqueous** & **Methanolic** \\ \hline Soluble extract (\%) & 48.9 \(\pm\) 0.1 a & 49.1 \(\pm\) 0.1 a \\ pH & 5.1 \(\pm\) 0.2 a & 5.6 \(\pm\) 0.3 a \\ TPC (mg GAE/g) & 30.6 \(\pm\) 0.9 a & 42.6 \(\pm\) 0.5 b \\ Flavonoids (mg QE/g) & 2.8 \(\pm\) 0.1 a & 4.6 \(\pm\) 0.4 b \\ ABTS (\(\mu\)mol TEAC/g) & 681.1 \(\pm\) 15.6 a & 855.0 \(\pm\) 53.3 b \\ FRAP (\(\mu\)mol TEAC/g) & 368.0 \(\pm\) 9.4 a & 663.3 \(\pm\) 57.3 b \\ \hline \hline \end{tabular}
\end{table} 
Table 1: Characterization of aqueous and methanolic extracts of carob flour. stages of non-enzymatic glycation, where glucose reacts slowly with proteins to form AGE over time. This system allows for the assessment of the ability of the extracts to inhibit glycation under hyperglycemic-like conditions. In contrast, the BSA-MGO system represents a more advanced stage of glycation using methylglyoxal, a highly reactive dicarbonyl compound that rapidly reacts with amino groups in proteins to form AGE [22]. The use of both models provides a comprehensive evaluation of antiglycation activity, enabling differentiation between the extracts' ability to prevent glycation through sugar-derived pathways and their capacity to trap reactive carbonyl intermediates.