Traditionally used medicinal plants, herbs and spices in Latin America were investigated to determine their phenolic profiles, antioxidant activity and in vitro inhibitory potential against key ...enzymes relevant for hyperglycemia and hypertension. High phenolic and antioxidant activity-containing medicinal plants and spices such as Chancapiedra (Phyllantus niruri L.), Zarzaparrilla (Smilax officinalis), Yerba Mate (Ilex paraguayensis St-Hil), and Huacatay (Tagetes minuta) had the highest anti-hyperglycemia relevant in vitro α-glucosidase inhibitory activities with no effect on α-amylase. Molle (Schinus molle), Maca (Lepidium meyenii Walp), Caigua (Cyclanthera pedata) and ginger (Zingiber officinale) inhibited significantly the hypertension relevant angiotensin I-converting enzyme (ACE). All evaluated pepper (Capsicum) genus exhibited both anti-hyperglycemia and anti-hypertension potential. Major phenolic compounds in Matico (Piper angustifolium R.), Guascas (Galinsoga parviflora) and Huacatay were chlorogenic acid and hydroxycinnamic acid derivatives. Therefore, specific medicinal plants, herbs and spices from Latin America have potential for hyperglycemia and hypertension prevention associated with Type 2 diabetes.
Thirty-three Chilean corn accessions were screened for the first time regarding their phenolic profiles, total phenolic contents (TPC), antioxidant capacity (DPPH and ABTS), and in vitro inhibition ...against key enzymes relevant for hyperglycemia (α-amylase and α-glucosidase) and hypertension (angiotensin I-converting enzyme, ACE-I) in both free and cell wall-bound fractions. TPC varied from 132.2 to 262.5 mg of gallic acid equivalents/100g dry weight (DW), and around 88% of TPC and antioxidant capacity were found in the bound form. Vanillin, vanillic, protocatechuic, ferulic, and p-coumaric acids were detected by HPLC in free fractions, whereas ferulic and p-coumaric acids were found in the bound form. Pisankalla accession (red kernel) had the highest ferulic acid content (269.5 mg/100g DW). No α-amylase and ACE-I inhibition were found; however, all free fractions inhibited α-glucosidase (10.8–72.5%). Principal component analysis revealed that darker samples (free fraction) showed higher TPC and antioxidant capacity, while α-glucosidase inhibition was related to yellow-colored samples.
Corn (Zea mays L.) is an important cereal crop indigenous to the Americas, where its genetic biodiversity is still preserved, especially among native populations from Mesoamerica and South America. ...The use of metabolomics in corn has mainly focused on understanding the potential differences of corn metabolomes under different biotic and abiotic stresses or to evaluate the influence of genetic and environmental factors. The increase of diet-linked non-communicable diseases has increased the interest to optimize the content of bioactive secondary metabolites in current corn breeding programs to produce novel functional foods. This review provides perspectives on the role of metabolomics in the characterization of health-relevant metabolites in corn biodiversity and emphasizes the integration of metabolomics in breeding strategies targeting the enrichment of phenolic bioactive metabolites such as anthocyanins in corn kernels.
Abstract
Chicha
is a traditional ethnic corn-based fermented beverage with a profound cultural relevance in the Andean region, especially in Peru where it has been part of religious ceremonies since ...pre-Inca civilizations.
Chicha de Guiñapo
is made with purple corn and is a typical beverage from the Peruvian region of Arequipa (South of Peru) where some local people still preserve its traditional process and use, but no investigation has been focused on the study of its potential health-relevant functional properties linking the historical perspectives. The current research was aimed at advancing the ethnic cultural relevance of this traditional beverage with an understanding of deep historical and ecological roots and further by evaluating the differences in the traditional processing of
Chicha de Guiñapo
from five geographical zones in Arequipa (Peru). Furthermore, to understand the potential health relevance, the influence on the total phenolic content (TPC), the total anthocyanin content (TAC), the antioxidant capacity, the in vitro inhibition of α-glucosidase and α-amylase relevant for hyperglycemia management, along with the physicochemical characteristics, were evaluated. No significant differences were observed in the physicochemical parameters, the antioxidant capacity, and the phenolic contents among the
Chicha
samples from different origins. However, all samples showed a remarkable in vitro inhibition of α-glucosidase and α-amylase with a significant influence of the geographical zone of origin that links historical usage and contemporary health benefits. The Z2
Chicha
sample that followed the most traditional preparation had the highest values of TAC, in vitro antioxidant capacity, and anti-hyperglycemia-relevant α-glucosidase and α-amylase inhibitory activities. Results from the current study reveal that
Chicha
has an important health-relevant functional potential and that the preservation of the traditional historical and ethnic knowledge about its processing is critical for its validation for wider use across all communities.
Abstract The loquat cultivar Golden Nugget (leaves, flowers and fruits), which has potential commercial importance in Chile, was analyzed for targeted bioactive composition (total phenolic contents: ...TPC, phenolic profiles and triterpenic acids) and in vitro bioactivity such as antioxidant capacity (AC) and inhibitory activity against enzymes relevant for hyperglycemia (α-amylase and α-glucosidase) and hypertension (angiotensin I-converting enzyme, ACE-I) management. Leaves and flowers had higher TPC and AC than fruits and hydroxycinnamic acid derivatives were found in all structures by HPLC. Chlorogenic acid and quercetin derivatives were detected only in leaves and flowers, which also inhibited the α-amylase and α-glucosidase enzymes, but flowers showed the highest anti-hyperglycemia activity. No inhibition of ACE-I and hyperglycemia-relevant enzymes were found in loquat fruits; additionally, TPC and AC were high at the green stage. Loquat leaves and flowers are sources of phenolic bioactives with potential for diet-based hyperglycemia management. No triterpenic acids were found in any of the loquat parts.
The effects of different cooking conditions such as soaking, atmospheric (100 °C) or pressure boiling (121 °C), and draining of cooking water following thermal treatment on phenolic compounds and the ...DPPH radical scavenging capacity from two selected Brazilian bean cultivars (black and yellow-brown seed coat color) were investigated using a factorial design (23). Factors that significantly reduced the total phenolic contents and antioxidant capacity in both cultivars were the soaking and draining stage. Independent of cooking temperature, total phenolics and antioxidant capacities were enhanced in treatments without soaking and where cooking water was not discarded, and this was likely linked to an increase of specific phenolic compounds detected by high performance liquid chromatography such as flavonols and free phenolic acids in both cultivars. Cooking of beans either at 100 or 121 °C, without a soaking stage and keeping the cooking water, would be recommendable for retaining antioxidant phenolic compounds.
Beneficial effects on overall gut health by phenolic bioactives‐rich foods are potentially due to their modulation of probiotic gut bacteria and antimicrobial activity against pathogenic bacteria. ...Based on this rationale, the effect of the free and bound phenolic fractions from a Peruvian purple corn accession AREQ‐084 on probiotic lactic acid bacteria such as Lactobacillus helveticus and Bifidobacterium longum and the gastric cancer‐related pathogen Helicobacter pylori was evaluated. The free and bound phenolic composition was also determined by ultra‐performance liquid chromatography. Anthocyanins were the major phenolic compounds (310.04 mg cyanidin‐3‐glucoside equivalents/100 g dry weight, DW) in the free phenolic fraction along with hydroxycinnamic acids such as p‐coumaric acid derivatives, followed by caffeic and ferulic acid derivatives. The bound phenolic form had only hydroxycinnamic acids such as ferulic acid, p‐coumaric acid, and a ferulic acid derivative with ferulic acid being the major phenolic compound (156.30 mg/100 g DW). These phenolic compounds were compatible with beneficial probiotic lactic acid bacteria such as L. helveticus and B. longum as these bacteria were not inhibited by the free and bound phenolic fractions at 10 to 50 mg/mL and 10 mg/mL of sample doses, respectively. However, the pathogenic H. pylori was also not inhibited by both purple corn phenolic forms at same above sample doses. This study provides the preliminary base for the characterization of phenolic compounds of Peruvian purple corn biodiversity and its potential health benefits relevant to improving human gut health.
Practical Application
This study provides insights that Peruvian purple corn accession AREQ‐084 can be targeted as a potential source of health‐relevant phenolic compounds such as anthocyanins along with hydroxycinnamic acids linked to its dietary fiber fraction. Additionally, these phenolic fractions did not affect the gut health associated beneficial bacteria nor the pathogenic H. pylori. Purple corn can be targeted for design of probiotic functional foods integrated with their anthocyanin linked‐coloring properties.
Since the number of drugs based on natural products (NPs) represents a large source of novel pharmacological entities, NPs have acquired significance in drug discovery. Peru is considered a ...megadiverse country with many endemic species of plants, terrestrial, and marine animals, and microorganisms. NPs databases have a major impact on drug discovery development. For this reason, several countries such as Mexico, Brazil, India, and China have initiatives to assemble and maintain NPs databases that are representative of their diversity and ethnopharmacological usage. We describe the assembly, curation, and chemoinformatic evaluation of the content and coverage in chemical space, as well as the physicochemical attributes and chemical diversity of the initial version of the Peruvian Natural Products Database (PeruNPDB), which contains 280 natural products. Access to PeruNPDB is available for free ( https://perunpdb.com.pe/ ). The PeruNPDB's collection is intended to be used in a variety of tasks, such as virtual screening campaigns against various disease targets or biological endpoints. This emphasizes the significance of biodiversity protection both directly and indirectly on human health.
Seed coats and cotyledons from 25 Brazilian and 3 Peruvian bean cultivars were investigated in relation to their phenolic profiles and antioxidant capacity. Condensed tannins, anthocyanins, and ...flavonols such as kaempferol and quercetin glycosides were mostly found in seed coats. Cotyledons were rich in phenolic acids, such as ferulic, sinapic, chlorogenic, and other hydroxycinnamic acids. In general, the seed coat color pattern and the type of cultivar showed an important influence on the variability of phenolic profiles and levels, respectively. Total phenolics and antioxidant capacity assessed by the DPPH method were higher in seed coats than in cotyledons. The antioxidant capacity had a significant correlation with condensed tannins for all samples and with total anthocyanins in black and red seed coats, whereas in cotyledons, it was more related to the total phenolic content. Keywords: Brazilian and Peruvian bean cultivars; Phaseolus vulgaris L.; polyphenols; antioxidant capacity; seed coat; cotyledon
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