Lentils (Lens culinaris, L.)

2018 ◽  
pp. 361-391
Author(s):  
Mo'ez Al-Islam Ezzat Faris ◽  
Amita Attlee

Lentils have been part of human diet from ancient times. This chapter focuses on the nutritional composition, presence of bioactive substances, antioxidants and health rendering properties of lentils. Recent definitions have considered lentils as a prophylactic and therapeutic functional food due to its considerable content of essential macronutrients, namely functional proteins and carbohydrates, and essential micronutrients, as well as bioactive phytochemicals such as phytates and polyphenols. Indeed, the presence of an impressive arsenal of secondary metabolites, minerals and bioactive constituents in lentils have shown to be promising contributors in the management and prevention of several human chronic diseases, attributed to their anticarcinogenic, hypoglycemic, hypocholesterolemic and blood-pressure lowering properties.

Author(s):  
Mo'ez Al-Islam Ezzat Faris ◽  
Amita Attlee

Lentils have been part of human diet from ancient times. This chapter focuses on the nutritional composition, presence of bioactive substances, antioxidants and health rendering properties of lentils. Recent definitions have considered lentils as a prophylactic and therapeutic functional food due to its considerable content of essential macronutrients, namely functional proteins and carbohydrates, and essential micronutrients, as well as bioactive phytochemicals such as phytates and polyphenols. Indeed, the presence of an impressive arsenal of secondary metabolites, minerals and bioactive constituents in lentils have shown to be promising contributors in the management and prevention of several human chronic diseases, attributed to their anticarcinogenic, hypoglycemic, hypocholesterolemic and blood-pressure lowering properties.


2021 ◽  
Vol 22 (11) ◽  
pp. 5746
Author(s):  
Il-Sup Kim ◽  
Cher-Won Hwang ◽  
Woong-Suk Yang ◽  
Cheorl-Ho Kim

Cheonggukjang (CGJ, fermented soybean paste), a traditional Korean fermented dish, has recently emerged as a functional food that improves blood circulation and intestinal regulation. Considering that excessive consumption of refined salt is associated with increased incidence of gastric cancer, high blood pressure, and stroke in Koreans, consuming CGJ may be desirable, as it can be made without salt, unlike other pastes. Soybeans in CGJ are fermented by Bacillus strains (B. subtilis or B. licheniformis), Lactobacillus spp., Leuconostoc spp., and Enterococcus faecium, which weaken the activity of putrefactive bacteria in the intestines, act as antibacterial agents against pathogens, and facilitate the excretion of harmful substances. Studies on CGJ have either focused on improving product quality or evaluating the bioactive substances contained in CGJ. The fermentation process of CGJ results in the production of enzymes and various physiologically active substances that are not found in raw soybeans, including dietary fiber, phospholipids, isoflavones (e.g., genistein and daidzein), phenolic acids, saponins, trypsin inhibitors, and phytic acids. These components prevent atherosclerosis, oxidative stress-mediated heart disease and inflammation, obesity, diabetes, senile dementia, cancer (e.g., breast and lung), and osteoporosis. They have also been shown to have thrombolytic, blood pressure-lowering, lipid-lowering, antimutagenic, immunostimulatory, anti-allergic, antibacterial, anti-atopic dermatitis, anti-androgenetic alopecia, and anti-asthmatic activities, as well as skin improvement properties. In this review, we examined the physiological activities of CGJ and confirmed its potential as a functional food.


Antioxidants ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (10) ◽  
pp. 1634
Author(s):  
Yu-Chao Tang ◽  
Yi-Jie Liu ◽  
Guo-Ren He ◽  
Yu-Wei Cao ◽  
Meng-Meng Bi ◽  
...  

The genus Lilium contains more than 100 wild species and numerous hybrid varieties. Some species of them have been used as medicine and food since ancient times. However, the research on the active components and the medical properties of lilies has only focused on a few species. In this study, the total phenolic acid content (TPC), total flavonoid content (TFC), and antioxidant capacity of 22 representative lilies were systematically investigated. The results showed that the TPC, TFC and antioxidant activity were highly variable among different lilies, but they were significantly positively correlated. Hierarchical cluster analysis indicated that L. henryi and L. regale were arranged in one group characterized by the highest TPC, TFC and antioxidant capacity, followed by Oriental hybrids and Trumpet and Oriental hybrids. The traditional edible and medicinal lilies were clustered in low TPC, TFC and antioxidant capacity group. A total of 577 secondary metabolites, including 201 flavonoids, 153 phenolic acids, were identified in the five species with great differences in antioxidant capacity by extensive targeted metabonomics. Differentially accumulated metabolites (DAMs) analysis reviewed that the DAMs were mainly enriched in secondary metabolic pathways such as isoflavonoid, folate, flavonoid, flavone, flavonol, phenylpropanoid, isoquinoline alkaloid biosynthesis, nicotinate and nicotinamide metabolism and so on. Correlation analysis identified that 64 metabolites were significantly positively correlated with antioxidant capacity (r ≥ 0.9 and p < 0.0001). These results suggested that the genus Lilium has great biodiversity in bioactive components. The data obtained greatly expand our knowledge of the bioactive constituents of Lilium spp. Additionally, it also highlights the potential application of Lilium plants as antioxidants, functional ingredients, cosmetic products and nutraceuticals.


2018 ◽  
Vol 16 (2) ◽  
pp. 250-253 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mohammed Arif Sadik Polash ◽  
Md Arif Sakil ◽  
Md Alamgir Hossain

Low consumption of vegetables due to unavailability and unscrupulous application of chemicals and pesticides leads to malnutrition and chronic diseases. In this regards, microgreens technology could be a boon to mankind because they are grown in chemicals and pesticides free environment and offer functional food along with proper nutrient supply. But a little knowledge has been developed about the consumption period from harvesting, because being perishable in nature their bioactive substances and antioxidant activity get deteriorate. Therefore, the goal of this study was to explore the best consumption period of microgreens for obtaining the maximum bioactive substances (such as chlorophyll, ß-carotene and lycopene), vitamin C and the activity of 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH). The experiment revealed that after 1st day of harvest the microgreens of four tested varieties (mustard, leaf mustard, radish and cabbage) showed the maximum bioactive substances such as total chlorophyll (8.22, 10.28, 7.62 and 7.63mg/100g respectively), ß-carotene (2.41, 2.88, 2.11 and 2.06 mg/100g respectively), lycopene (4.37, 5.24, 4.91 and 4.44mg/100g respectively), vitamin C (16.23, 13.17, 8.57 and 8.03mg/100g, respectively) and the activity of DPPH (0.75, 1.20, 2.90 and 3.57μg/ml respectively) whereas these substances deteriorated significantly on 3rd or 5th day of harvest. Considering all, it can be concluded that consumption of microgreens immediately after harvesting was the best time getting ample amount of bioactive substances, vitamin C and antioxidant (DPPH) activity.J. Bangladesh Agril. Univ. 16(2): 250-253, August 2018


2021 ◽  
Vol 18 (1) ◽  
pp. 23-35
Author(s):  
Bhupesh Kaushik ◽  
Jatin Sharma ◽  
Keshav Yadav ◽  
Prithik Kumar ◽  
Abhilasha Shourie

Over the past decades, there has been increasing attention tothe study of medicinal plants that contain many phytochemicals beneficial for human health. A number of secondary metabolites derived from various plants have been used as drug components to treat several human disorders since ancient times. The traditional therapeutic applications of secondary metabolites have been reported in the whole world. Numerous bioactive phytochemicals constituents have been identified and isolated using many advanced techniques. These bioactive phytochemicals are responsible for many pharmacological activities such as anti-inflammation, anti-cancer, anti-allergic, and antimicrobial infection. These secondary metabolites are not only beneficial for human health but also protect plants themselves from biotic and abiotic stress. These secondary metabolites are classified into many subclasses like terpenoids, alkaloids and phenolics. Each class of secondary metabolites has its pharmacological activities, which is required to be studied thoroughly for better use in pharmaceuticals, cosmetics, food, and other industries. Therefore, this review paper represents many medicinal plants that contain bioactive secondary metabolites and show pharmacological activities, which provides an opportunity to utilize them for improvement of human health and discover new herbal medicines.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document