scholarly journals Pomegranate as a natural source of phenolic antioxidants

2020 ◽  
Vol 9 ◽  
Author(s):  
Fellipe Lopes De Oliveira ◽  
Thaise Yanka Portes Arruda ◽  
Renan Da Silva Lima ◽  
Sabrina Neves Casarotti ◽  
Maressa Caldeira Morzelle

Pomegranate, a recognized source of phenolic compounds, has been associated with health-promoting benefits, mostly due to its antioxidant activity. Ellagic and gallic acids, anthocyanins, and ellagitannins are the main phenolics in pomegranate, showing antioxidant activity. For this reason, pomegranate has been used in foods, such as meat products, as an attempt to retard lipid oxidation and increase shelf-life. In recent years, in vitro, in vivo, and human studies reported the antioxidant activity of pomegranate, especially its peels, with reduced incidence of chronic diseases (e.g., cardiovascular ailments, cancer, neurodegenerative disease, type 2 diabetes, chronic kidney disease). This review aims to present the main antioxidant compounds on pomegranate and their biological effects, the antioxidant activity of pomegranate-based foods, the application of pomegranate as a natural antioxidant food additive, the role of pomegranate in the prevention and management of chronic diseases, as well as the trends and prospects regarding the application of pomegranate in innovative food and health.

Revista CERES ◽  
2014 ◽  
Vol 61 (suppl) ◽  
pp. 764-779 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lívia de Lacerda de Oliveira ◽  
Mariana Veras de Carvalho ◽  
Lauro Melo

Phenolic compounds have been extensively studied in recent years. The presence of these compounds in various foods has been associated with sensory and health promoting properties. These products from the secondary metabolism of plants act as defense mechanisms against environmental stress and attack by other organisms. They are divided into different classes according to their chemical structures. The objective of this study was to describe the different classes of phenolic compounds, the main food sources and factors of variation, besides methods for the identification and quantification commonly used to analyze these compounds. Moreover, the role of phenolic compounds in scavenging oxidative stress and the techniques of in vitro antioxidant evaluation are discussed. In vivo studies to evaluate the biological effects of these compounds and their impact on chronic disease prevention are presented as well. Finally, it was discussed the role of these compounds on the sensory quality of foods.


2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
C. Tigrine ◽  
A. Kameli

In this study a polyphenolic extract from Cleome arabica leaves (CALE) was investigated for its antioxidant activity in vitro using DPPH•, metal chelating and reducing power methods and for its protective effects against AraC-induced hematological toxicity in vivo using Balb C mice. Results indicated that CALE exhibited a strong and dose-dependent scavenging activity against the DPPH• free radical (IC50 = 4.88 μg/ml) and a high reducing power activity (EC50 = 4.85 μg/ml). Furthermore, it showed a good chelating effects against ferrous ions (IC50 = 377.75 μg/ml). The analysis of blood showed that subcutaneous injection of AraC (50 mg/kg) to mice during three consecutive days caused a significant myelosupression (P < 0.05). The combination of CALE and AraC protected blood cells from a veritable toxicity. Where, the number of the red cells, the amount of hemoglobin and the percentage of the hematocrite were significantly high. On the other hand, AraC cause an elevation of body temperature (39 °C) in mice. However, the temperature of the group treated with CALE and AraC remained normal and did not exceed 37.5 °C. The observed biological effects of CALE, in vitro as well as in vivo, could be due to the high polyphenol and flavonoid contents. In addition, the antioxidant activity of CALE suggested to be responsible for its hematoprotective effect.


2018 ◽  
Vol 18 (7) ◽  
pp. 985-992 ◽  
Author(s):  
Aysegul Hanikoglu ◽  
Ertan Kucuksayan ◽  
Rana Cagla Akduman ◽  
Tomris Ozben

This systematic review aims to elucidate the role of melatonin (N-acetyl-5-metoxy-tryptamine) (MLT) in the prevention and treatment of cancer. MLT is a pineal gland secretory product, an evolutionarily highly conserved molecule; it is also an antioxidant and an impressive protector of mitochondrial bioenergetic activity. MLT is characterized by an ample range of activities, modulating the physiology and molecular biology of the cell. Its physiological functions relate principally to the interaction of G Protein-Coupled MT1 and MT2 trans-membrane receptors (GPCRs), a family of guanidine triphosphate binding proteins. MLT has been demonstrated to suppress the growth of various tumours both, in vivo and in vitro. In this review, we analyze in depth, the antioxidant activity of melatonin, aiming to illustrate the cancer treatment potential of the molecule, by limiting or reversing the changes occurring during cancer development and growth.


Author(s):  
J. H. H. Thijssen ◽  
M. A. Blankenstein

SynopsisThe levels of endogenous steroids in the target tissues are thought to be more closely related to the biological effects than their concentrations in plasma. Therefore studies on oestrogen levels in malignant and non-malignant breast tissues (expressed per g wet weight) were conducted and the following conclusions were drawn:(1) malignant tumours contained higher oestradiol levels than normal or benign breast tissues, whereas oestrone levels were more comparable;(2) in contrast to the large decrease in plasma concentrations after menopause, the levels of oestradiol in tumours and in normal breast tissue did not change with advancing age;(3) the oestradiol levels in breast tissues were lower than in uterine tissues, particularly in women before menopause; oestrone levels were very similar in all tissues studied;(4) the mean oestradiol level was higher in oestrogen-receptor-positive tumours, but no correlation between the two parameters was found;(5) preliminary results indicated lower oestradiol levels in tumours obtained from countries with a lower incidence of breast cancer;(6) as far as available, oestrone levels were comparable and those of oestradiol were lower in fat tissues than in breast tumours;(7) neither in vitro studies with breast tumours, nor in vivo results using myometrial tissues support a prominent role of the metabolism of oestrogens at the 16α-position in the development of tumours;(8) the role of local factors in the production, retention and metabolism of oestradiol in the breast remains to be elucidated.


2019 ◽  
Vol 316 (6) ◽  
pp. E987-E997 ◽  
Author(s):  
Binbin Huang ◽  
Chen Huang ◽  
Huashan Zhao ◽  
Wen Zhu ◽  
Baobei Wang ◽  
...  

Chemerin and G protein-coupled receptor 1 (GPR1) are increased in serum and placenta in mice during pregnancy. Interestingly, we observed increased serum chemerin levels and decreased GPR1 expression in placenta of high-fat-diet-fed mice compared with chow-fed mice at gestational day 18. GPR1 protein and gene levels were significantly decreased in gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) patient placentas. Therefore, we hypothesized that chemerin/GPR1 signaling might participate in the pathogenic mechanism of GDM. We investigated the role of GPR1 in carbohydrate homeostasis during pregnancy using pregnant mice transfected with small interfering RNA for GPR1 or a negative control. GPR1 knockdown exacerbated glucose intolerance, disrupted lipid metabolism, and decreased β-cell proliferation and insulin levels. Glucose transport protein-3 and fatty acid binding protein-4 were downregulated with reducing GPR1 in vivo and in vitro via phosphorylated AKT pathway. Taken together, our findings first demonstrate the expression of GPR1, the characterization of its direct biological effects in humans and mice, as well as the molecular mechanism that indicates the role of GPR1 signaling in maternal metabolism during pregnancy, suggesting a novel feedback mechanism to regulate glucose balance during pregnancy, and GPR1 could be a potential target for the detection and therapy of GDM.


Cells ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 9 (9) ◽  
pp. 2104 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bernardo Cuffaro ◽  
Aka L. W. Assohoun ◽  
Denise Boutillier ◽  
Lenka Súkeníková ◽  
Jérémy Desramaut ◽  
...  

Alterations in the gut microbiota composition and diversity seem to play a role in the development of chronic diseases, including inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), leading to gut barrier disruption and induction of proinflammatory immune responses. This opens the door for the use of novel health-promoting bacteria. We selected five Parabacteroides distasonis strains isolated from human adult and neonates gut microbiota. We evaluated in vitro their immunomodulation capacities and their ability to reinforce the gut barrier and characterized in vivo their protective effects in an acute murine model of colitis. The in vitro beneficial activities were highly strain dependent: two strains exhibited a potent anti-inflammatory potential and restored the gut barrier while a third strain reinstated the epithelial barrier. While their survival to in vitro gastric conditions was variable, the levels of P. distasonis DNA were higher in the stools of bacteria-treated animals. The strains that were positively scored in vitro displayed a strong ability to rescue mice from colitis. We further showed that two strains primed dendritic cells to induce regulatory T lymphocytes from naïve CD4+ T cells. This study provides better insights on the functionality of commensal bacteria and crucial clues to design live biotherapeutics able to target inflammatory chronic diseases such as IBD.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
kunwei niu ◽  
Shibin Qu ◽  
Xuan Zhang ◽  
Jimin Dai ◽  
Jianlin Wang ◽  
...  

Abstract Background: Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is often diagnosed at a late stage, when the prognosis is poor. The regulation of long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) plays a crucial role in HCC. However, the precise regulatory mechanisms of lncRNA signaling in HCC remain largely unknown. We study aim to investigate the underlying mechanisms of lncRNA (upregulated in hepatocellular carcinoma) URHC in HCC. Methods: RT-qPCR, fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) staining, EdU, colony formation, and tumor xenografts experiments were used to identify localized and biological effects of URHC on HCC cells in vitro and in vivo. The bioinformatics analysis, Dual-luciferase reporter assay, and rescue experiments revealed the potential mechanism of URHC.Results: URHC silencing may inhibit the HCC cells proliferation in vitro and in vivo. We found that URHC was mainly localized in the cytoplasm. The expression of miR-5007-3p was negatively regulated by URHC. And miR-5007-3p could reverse the effect of URHC in HCC cells. The expression of DNAJB9 was negatively regulated by miR-5007-3p but positively regulated by URHC. These suggesting of lncRNA-URHC positively regulated the level of DNAJB9 by sponging miR-5007-3p.Conclusion: Together, our study elucidated the role of URHC as a miRNA sponge in HCC, and shed new light on lncRNA-directed diagnostics and therapeutics in HCC.


Author(s):  
Mo'ez Al-Islam Ezzat Faris ◽  
Hadeel Ghazzawi

Camel milk has been used as part of the human diet since ancient times. This chapter tries to elaborate the different aspects of nutraceutical functional properties of camel milk, focusing on the nutritional composition, presence of bioactive zoochemicals and peptides, antioxidant nutrients (vitamin C), and health rendering properties of this unique milk. Recent research has identified camel milk as a prophylactic and therapeutic functional food due to its noticeable content of essential macronutrients, namely bioactive functional proteins and peptides, along with its considerable content of essential micronutrients. Indeed, the presence of this unique mixture has shown to be promising contributors to the management and prevention of chronic diseases, such as cancer, diabetes, liver and kidney, metabolic syndrome, inflammatory bowel diseases in adults, and autism. In vivo, in vitro, and epidemiological and experimental studies were reviewed, and molecular mechanisms were highlighted for better understanding of the health-promoting, disease-preventing potential of camel milk.


2021 ◽  
Vol 2021 ◽  
pp. 1-20
Author(s):  
Javad Sharifi-Rad ◽  
Cristina Quispe ◽  
Jesús Herrera-Bravo ◽  
Muhammad Akram ◽  
Wafa Abbaass ◽  
...  

Medicinal plants are being used worldwide for centuries for their beneficial properties. Some of the most popular medicinal plants belong to the Melissa genus, and different health beneficial effects have already been identified for this genus. Among these species, in particular, the Melissa officinalis L. has been reported as having many biological activities, such as antioxidant, antimicrobial, antitumour, antiviral, antiallergic, anti-inflammatory, and also flatulence inhibiting effects. The beneficial properties of the Melissa officinalis, also known as “lemon balm herb”, can be related to the bioactive compounds such as terpenoids, alcohols, rosmarinic acid, and phenolic antioxidants which are present in the plant. In this updated review, the botanical, geographical, nutritional, phytochemical, and traditional medical aspects of M. officinalis have been considered as well as in vitro and in vivo and clinically proven therapeutic properties have been reviewed with a special focus on health-promoting effects and possible perspective nutraceutical applications. To evidence the relevance of this plant in the research and completely assess the context, a literature quantitative research analysis has been performed indicating the great interest towards this plant for its beneficial properties.


2022 ◽  
Vol 23 (2) ◽  
pp. 639
Author(s):  
Kamila Kasprzak-Drozd ◽  
Tomasz Oniszczuk ◽  
Marek Gancarz ◽  
Adrianna Kondracka ◽  
Robert Rusinek ◽  
...  

Obesity is a global health problem needing urgent research. Synthetic anti-obesity drugs show side effects and variable effectiveness. Thus, there is a tendency to use natural compounds for the management of obesity. There is a considerable body of knowledge, supported by rigorous experimental data, that natural polyphenols, including curcumin, can be an effective and safer alternative for managing obesity. Curcumin is a is an important compound present in Curcuma longa L. rhizome. It is a lipophilic molecule that rapidly permeates cell membrane. Curcumin has been used as a pharmacological traditional medicinal agent in Ayurvedic medicine for ∼6000 years. This plant metabolite doubtless effectiveness has been reported through increasingly detailed in vitro, in vivo and clinical trials. Regarding its biological effects, multiple health-promoting, disease-preventing and even treatment attributes have been remarkably highlighted. This review documents the status of research on anti-obesity mechanisms and evaluates the effectiveness of curcumin for management of obesity. It summarizes different mechanisms of anti-obesity action, associated with the enzymes, energy expenditure, adipocyte differentiation, lipid metabolism, gut microbiota and anti-inflammatory potential of curcumin. However, there is still a need for systematic and targeted clinical studies before curcumin can be used as the mainstream therapy for managing obesity.


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