Thymol is a naturally occurring phenol monoterpene derivative of cymene and isomer of carvacrol. Thymol (10–64%) is one of the major constituent of essential oils of thyme (Thymus vulgaris L., ...Lamiaceae), a medicinal plant with several therapeutic properties. This plant, native to Mediterranean regions, is commonly used as a culinary herb and also with a long history of use for different medicinal purposes. Nowadays, thymol and thyme present a wide range of functional possibilities in pharmacy, food, and cosmetic industry. The interest in the formulation of pharmaceuticals, nutraceuticals, and cosmeceuticals based on thymol is due to several studies that have evaluated the potential therapeutic uses of this compound for the treatment of disorders affecting the respiratory, nervous, and cardiovascular systems. Moreover, this compound also exhibits antimicrobial, antioxidant, anticarcinogenesis, anti‐inflammatory, and antispasmodic activities, as well as a potential as a growth enhancer and immunomodulator. In the present review, these bioactivities have been covered because some of them can contribute to explain the ethnopharmacology of thymol and its main source, T. vulgaris. Other important aspects about thymol are discussed: its toxicity and bioavailability, metabolism, and distribution in animals and humans.
The aim of the present study was to optimize the extraction of phenolic compounds in avocado peel using pressurized liquid extraction (PLE) with GRAS solvents. Response surface methodology (RSM) ...based on Central Composite Design 22 model was used in order to optimize PLE conditions. Moreover, the effect of air drying temperature on the total polyphenol content (TPC) and individual phenolic compounds concentration were evaluated. The quantification of individual compounds was performed by HPLC‐DAD‐ESI‐TOF‐MS. The optimized extraction conditions were 200°C as extraction temperature and 1:1 v/v as ethanol/water ratio. Regarding to the effect of drying, the highest TPC was obtained with a drying temperature of 85°C. Forty seven phenolic compounds were quantified in the obtained extracts, showing that phenolic acids found to be the more stables compounds to drying process, while procyanidins were the more thermolabiles analytes. To our knowledge, this is the first available study in which phenolic compounds extraction was optimized using PLE and such amount of phenolic compounds was quantified in avocado peel. These results confirm that PLE represents a powerful tool to obtain avocado peel extracts with high concentration in bioactive compounds suitable for its use in the food, cosmetic or pharmaceutical sector.
As for other aromatic plants, there are many analytical methods for the determination of volatile compounds in lavender essential oils. Alternatively, in this study RP–HPLC–DAD–QTOF–MS was used for ...the profiling of the phytochemical constituents of hydromethanolic extracts of L. stoechas and L. dentata, which were obtained by pressurized liquid extraction. The spectrometric data revealed complex profiles constituted of a wide range of polar and semi‐polar phytochemicals, mainly, phenolic compounds (68). Most phenolic compounds (55) have not been previously reported in Lavandula; such is the case of caffeic acid‐based oligomers. Moreover, the analytical method was validated for the determination of phenolic compounds. Our findings showed both qualitative and quantitative differences between the extracts. In this sense, while hydroxycinnamic acids made up the largest class in both extracts, flavones were the most abundant class, accounting for 10.44 g (L. dentata) and 4.85 g (L. stoechas) per 100 g of dry extract. In conclusion, this analytical method provided essential information about the phytochemical composition of the studied medicinal plants, revealing novel constituents that were probably hidden for others. In addition, these results may help to understand the anti‐inflammatory properties of these extracts.
Intestinal microbiota has been associated with systemic autoimmune diseases, yet the functional consequences of these associations are elusive. We characterized the fecal microbiota (16S rRNA gene ...amplification and sequencing) and the plasma metabolome (high‐performance liquid chromatography coupled to mass spectrometry) in 59 patients with systemic sclerosis (SSc) and 28 healthy controls (HCs). Microbial and metabolic data were cross‐correlated to find meaningful associations after extensive data mining analysis and internal validation. Our data show that a reduced model of nine bacteria is capable of differentiating HCs from SSc patients. SSc gut microbiota is characterized by a reduction in protective butyrate‐producing bacteria and by an increase in proinflammatory noxious genera, especially Desulfovibrio. From the metabolic point of view, a multivariate model with 17 metabolite intermediates well distinguished cases from controls. The most interesting peaks we found were identified as glycerophospholipid metabolites and benzene derivatives. The microbial and metabolic data showed significant interactions between Desulfovibrio and alpha‐N‐phenylacetyl‐l‐glutamine and 2,4‐dinitrobenzenesulfonic acid. Our data suggest that in SSc, intestinal microbiota is characterized by proinflammatory alterations subtly entwined with the metabolic state. Desulfovibrio is a relevant actor in gut dysbiosis that may promote intestinal damage and influence amino acid metabolism.
The analysis of fecal microbiota (16S rRNA gene amplification and sequencing) and plasma metabolome (high‐performance liquid chromatography coupled to mass spectometry) in 59 systemic sclerosis patients and 28 healthy controls shows correlations between microbial genera and metabolites capable of differentiating cases from controls.
In the present study, the extracts of Cytinus hypocistis (L.) L using both traditional solvents (hexane, ethyl acetate, dichloromethane, ethanol, ethanol/water, and water) and natural deep eutectic ...solvents (NADESs) were investigated in terms of their total polyphenolic contents and antioxidant and enzyme-inhibitive properties. The extracts were found to possess total phenolic and total flavonoid contents in the ranges of 26.47–186.13 mg GAE/g and 0.68–12.55 mg RE/g, respectively. Higher total phenolic contents were obtained for NADES extracts. Compositional differences were reported in relation to antioxidant potential studied by several assays (DPPH: 70.19–939.35 mg TE/g, ABTS: 172.56–4026.50 mg TE/g; CUPRAC: 97.41–1730.38 mg TE/g, FRAP: 84.11–1534.85 mg TE/g). Application of NADESs (choline chloride—urea 1:2, a so-called Reline) allowed one to obtain the highest number of extracts having antioxidant potential in the radical scavenging and reducing assays. NADES-B (protonated by HCl L-proline-xylitol 5:1) was the only extractant from the studied solvents that isolated a specific fraction without chelating activity. Reline extract exhibited the highest acetylcholinesterase inhibition compared to NADES-B and NADES-C (protonated by H2SO4 L-proline-xylitol 5:1) extracts, which showed no inhibition. The NADES extracts were observed to have higher tyrosinase inhibitory properties compared to extracts obtained by traditional organic solvents. Furthermore, the NADES extracts were relatively better inhibitors of the diabetic enzymes. These findings provided an interesting comparison in terms of total polyphenolic content yields, antioxidant and enzyme inhibitory properties (cholinesterase, amylase, glucosidase, and tyrosinase) between traditional solvent extracts and NADES extracts, used as an alternative. While the organic solvents showed better antioxidant activity, the NADES extracts were found to have some other improved properties, such as higher total phenolic content and enzyme-inhibiting properties, suggesting functional prospects for their use in phytonutrient extraction and fractionation. The obtained results could also be used to give a broad overview of the different biological potentials of C. hypocistis.
The family Arecaceae includes 181 genera and 2,600 species with a high diversity in physical characteristics. Areca plants, commonly palms, which are able to grow in nearly every type of habitat, ...prefer tropical and subtropical climates. The most studied species Areca catechu L. contains phytochemicals as phenolics and alkaloids with biological properties. The phenolics are mainly distributed in roots followed by fresh unripe fruits, leaves, spikes, and veins, while the contents of alkaloids are in the order of roots, fresh unripe fruits, spikes, leaves, and veins. This species has been reputed to provide health effects on the cardiovascular, respiratory, nervous, metabolic, gastrointestinal, and reproductive systems. However, in many developing countries, quid from this species has been associated with side effects, which include the destruction of the teeth, impairment of oral hygiene, bronchial asthma, or oral cancer. Despite these side effects, which are also mentioned in this work, the present review collects the main results of biological properties of the phytochemicals in A. catechu. This study emphasizes the in vitro and in vivo antioxidant, antimicrobial, anticancer, and clinical effectiveness in humans. In this sense, A. catechu have demonstrated effectiveness in several reports through in vitro and in vivo experiments on disorders such as antimicrobial, antioxidant, or anticancer. Moreover, our findings demonstrate that this species presents clinical effectiveness on neurological disorders. Hence, A. catechu extracts could be used as a bioactive ingredient for functional food, nutraceuticals, or cosmeceuticals. However, further studies, especially extensive and comprehensive clinical trials, are recommended for the use of Areca in the treatment of diseases.
Bioactive compounds in wheat have received a great interest in the last few years due to their nutritional and health benefits. Various analytical procedures were used to identify these compounds in ...wheat kernels. An ultra‐performance liquid chromatography coupled to electrospray ionization quadrupole‐time‐of‐flight mass spectrometry (UPLC–ESI‐QTOF‐MS/MS) was used for the screening of bioactive compounds in seven Tunisian durum wheat extracts. The aim of this study was to realize a screening of several classes of bioactive compounds in the same analysis and to identify specific metabolite markers for discriminating the durum wheat varieties. The UPLC‐ESI‐QTOF‐MS/MS allows the detection of 81 metabolites, belonging to different chemical families such as sugars, organic acids, amino acids, fatty acids, and phenolic compounds represented by benzoic and cinnamic acid derivatives, phenolic alcohols, flavones, lignans, and condensed tannins. Chemical profiles identified varied greatly between different wheat genotypes. As far as the authors know, this is the first time that different chemical classes were detected at the same time in durum wheat kernels using UPLC‐ESI‐QTOF‐MS/MS. This study gives the most complete map of metabolites in Tunisian durum wheat and proves that UPLC‐QTOF‐MS/MS coupled with chemometric analysis is a great tool for discrimination between durum wheat cultivars.
Olive leaves have always aroused an important interest, especially for folk medicine. Polyphenols contained in olive leaves have played an important role to this end, because they have demonstrated ...to be responsible for their anti-carcinogenic, anti-inflammatory, and antimicrobial proprieties. Olive leaves have common phenolics with other plants, but they also contain phenolics belonging to the secoiridoids family (exclusive to the Oleaceae family). Chemical, agronomical and medicinal researches have contributed together to highlight the interest in the use of olive leaves as a potential source of phenolic compounds for the production of functional food and nutraceuticals. The aim of this review is to provide a guideline summarizing the great information available about phenolic compounds of olive leaves. Therefore, from one side, it has been reported the availability of leaves as by-products, a brief description of the main phenolics identified in leaves, as well as the main analytical methods used for their extraction and determination. From another side, the effects of abiotic and biotic factors on the phenolic compound content in leaves have also been exposed for the first time, and finally, an overview of the main research studies dealing with the beneficial effects of olive leaves phenolic compounds has been included.
•Bioactive phenolic compounds in olive leaves are decribed•Overview of the protocols for the determination of phenolics in olive leaves.•Polyphenols as dynamic compounds under different biotic and abiotic influences: An important fact to take in account at olive leaves sampling•Health potentials of olive leaf phenolic compounds are summarized•Olive leaves are promoting by-products for functional food and/or nutraceuticals
Plants of the genus Brassica occupy the top place among vegetables in the world. This genus, which contains a group of six related species of a global economic significance, three of which are ...diploid: Brassica nigra (L.) K. Koch, Brassica oleracea L., and Brassica rapa L. and three are amphidiploid species: Brassica carinata A. Braun, Brassica juncea (L.) Czern., and Brassica napus L. These varieties are divided into oily, fodder, spice, and vegetable based on their morphological structure, chemical composition, and usefulness of plant organs. The present review provides information about habitat, phytochemical composition, and the bioactive potential of Brassica plants, mainly antioxidant, antimicrobial, anticancer activities, and clinical studies in human. Brassica vegetables are of great economic importance around the world. At present, Brassica plants are grown together with cereals and form the basis of global food supplies. They are distinguished by high nutritional properties from other vegetable plants, such as low fat and protein content and high value of vitamins, fibers along with minerals. In addition, they possess several phenolic compounds and have a unique type of compounds namely glucosinolates that differentiate these crops from other vegetables. These compounds are also responsible for numerous biological activities to the genus Brassica as described in this review.
•A total of 211 phytochemicals have been characterised in sumac by HPLC–DAD/QTOF-MS.•Tentative suggestion of the presence of phenolic-malic acid conjugate compounds in sumac.•One hundred and ...eighty-one (181) new compounds are reported in R. coriaria fruits for the first time.•The obtained results highlight sumac as an abundant source of phenolic components, mainly, hydrolysable tannins.
Rhus coriaria L. (sumac) is an important crop widely used in the Mediterranean basin as a food spice, and also in folk medicine, due to its health-promoting properties. Phytochemicals present in plant foods are in part responsible for these consequent health benefits. Nevertheless, detailed information on these bioactive compounds is still scarce. Therefore, the present work was aimed at investigating the phytochemical components of sumac fruit epicarp using HPLC–DAD–ESI-MS/MS in two different ionisation modes. The proposed method provided tentative identification of 211 phenolic and other phyto-constituents, most of which have not been described so far in R. coriaria fruits. More than 180 phytochemicals (tannins, (iso)flavonoids, terpenoids, etc.) are reported herein in sumac fruits for the first time. The obtained results highlight the importance of R. coriaria as a promising source of functional ingredients, and boost its potential use in the food and nutraceutical industries.
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