Quercetin is the great representative of polyphenols, flavonoids subgroup, flavonols. Its main natural sources in foods are vegetables such as onions, the most studied quercetin containing foods, and ...broccoli; fruits (apples, berry crops, and grapes); some herbs; tea; and wine. Quercetin is known for its antioxidant activity in radical scavenging and anti-allergic properties characterized by stimulation of immune system, antiviral activity, inhibition of histamine release, decrease in pro-inflammatory cytokines, leukotrienes creation, and suppresses interleukin IL-4 production. It can improve the Th1/Th2 balance, and restrain antigen-specific IgE antibody formation. It is also effective in the inhibition of enzymes such as lipoxygenase, eosinophil and peroxidase and the suppression of inflammatory mediators. All mentioned mechanisms of action contribute to the anti-inflammatory and immunomodulating properties of quercetin that can be effectively utilized in treatment of late-phase, and late-late-phase bronchial asthma responses, allergic rhinitis and restricted peanut-induced anaphylactic reactions. Plant extract of quercetin is the main ingredient of many potential anti-allergic drugs, supplements and enriched products, which is more competent in inhibiting of IL-8 than cromolyn (anti-allergic drug disodium cromoglycate) and suppresses IL-6 and cytosolic calcium level increase.
Berries, especially members of several families, such as Rosaceae (strawberry, raspberry, blackberry), and Ericaceae (blueberry, cranberry), belong to the best dietary sources of bioactive compounds ...(BAC). They have delicious taste and flavor, have economic importance, and because of the antioxidant properties of BAC, they are of great interest also for nutritionists and food technologists due to the opportunity to use BAC as functional foods ingredients. The bioactive compounds in berries contain mainly phenolic compounds (phenolic acids, flavonoids, such as anthocyanins and flavonols, and tannins) and ascorbic acid. These compounds, either individually or combined, are responsible for various health benefits of berries, such as prevention of inflammation disorders, cardiovascular diseases, or protective effects to lower the risk of various cancers. In this review bioactive compounds of commonly consumed berries are described, as well as the factors influencing their antioxidant capacity and their health benefits.
Characterizations of fatty acids composition in % of total methylester of fatty acids (FAMEs) of fourteen vegetable oils--safflower, grape, silybum marianum, hemp, sunflower, wheat germ, pumpkin ...seed, sesame, rice bran, almond, rapeseed, peanut, olive, and coconut oil--were obtained by using gas chromatography (GC). Saturated (SFA), monounsaturated (MUFA) and polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA), palmitic acid (C16:0; 4.6%-20.0%), oleic acid (C18:1; 6.2%-71.1%) and linoleic acid (C18:2; 1.6%-79%), respectively, were found predominant. The nutritional aspect of analyzed oils was evaluated by determination of the energy contribution of SFAs (19.4%-695.7% E(RDI)), PUFAs (10.6%-786.8% E(RDI)), n-3 FAs (4.4%-117.1% E(RDI)) and n-6 FAs (1.8%-959.2% E(RDI)), expressed in % E(RDI) of 1 g oil to energy recommended dietary intakes (E(RDI)) for total fat (E(RDI)--37.7 kJ/g). The significant relationship between the reported data of total fat, SFAs, MUFAs and PUFAs intakes (% E(RDI)) for adults and mortality caused by coronary heart diseases (CHD) and cardiovascular diseases (CVD) in twelve countries has not been confirmed by Spearman's correlations.
Plants are recognized as natural sources of antioxidants (e.g., polyphenols, flavonoids, vitamins, and other active compounds) that can be extracted by green solvents like water, ethanol, or their ...binary mixtures. Plant extracts are becoming more used as food additives in various food systems due to their antioxidant abilities. Their application in food increases the shelf life of products by preventing undesirable changes in nutritional and sensory properties, such as the formation off-flavors in lipid-rich food. This review summarizes the most recent literature about water or ethanol-water plant extracts used as flavors, colorings, and preservatives to fortify food and beverages. This study is performed with particular attention to describing the benefits of plant extract-fortified products such as meat, vegetable oils, biscuits, pastries, some beverages, yogurt, cheese, and other dairy products. Antioxidant-rich plant extracts can positively affect food safety by partially or fully replacing synthetic antioxidants, which have lately been linked to safety and health issues such as toxicological and carcinogenic consequences. On the other hand, the limitations and challenges of using the extract in food should be considered, like stability, level of purity, compatibility with matrix, price, sensory aspects like distinct taste, and others. In the future, continuous development and a tendency to use these natural extracts as food ingredients are expected, as indicated by the number of published works in this area, particularly in the past decade.
Lesser known fruits or underutilized fruit species are recently of great research interest due to the presence of phytochemicals that manifest many biological effects. European cranberry,
fruit, as ...an important representative of this group, is a valuable source of antioxidants and other biologically active substances, similar to American cranberry (
) which is well known and studied. European cranberry fruit is rich especially in polyphenolic compounds anthocyanins (12.4⁻207.3 mg/100 g fw), proanthocyanins (1.5⁻5.3 mg/100 g fw), and flavonols, especially quercetin (0.52⁻15.4 mg/100 g fw), which mostly contribute to the antioxidant activity of the fruit. Small cranberry is also important due to its various biological effects such as urinary tract protection (proanthocyanidins), antibacterial and antifungal properties (quercetin, proanthocyanidins, anthocyanins), cardioprotective (proanthocyanidins) and anticancer activities (proanthocyanidins), and utilization in food (juice drinks, jams, jellies, sauces, additive to meat products) and pharmacological industries, and in folk medicine.
Wine consumption has been popular worldwide for many centuries. Based on in vitro and in vivo studies, a certain amount of everyday wine consumption may prevent various chronic diseases. This is due, ...in part, to the presence and amount of important antioxidants in red wine, and, therefore, research has focused on them. Wine polyphenols, especially resveratrol, anthocyanins, and catechins, are the most effective wine antioxidants. Resveratrol is active in the prevention of cardiovascular diseases by neutralizing free oxygen radicals and reactive nitrogenous radicals; it penetrates the blood-brain barrier and, thus, protects the brain and nerve cells. It also reduces platelet aggregation and so counteracts the formation of blood clots or thrombi. The main aim of this review is to summarize the current findings about the positive influence of wine consumption on human organ function, chronic diseases, and the reduction of damage to the cardiovascular system.
The study objective was to investigate total phenolic content using Folin-Ciocalteu's method, to assess nine phenols by HPLC, to determine antioxidant capacity of the water soluble compounds (ACW) by ...a photochemiluminescence method, and to calculate the correlation coefficients in commercial algal food products from brown (Laminaria japonica, Eisenia bicyclis, Hizikia fusiformis, Undaria pinnatifida) and red (Porphyra tenera, Palmaria palmata) seaweed, green freshwater algae (Chlorella pyrenoidosa), and cyanobacteria (Spirulina platensis). HPLC analysis showed that the most abundant phenolic compound was epicatechin. From spectrophotometry and ACW determination it was evident that brown seaweed Eisenia bicyclis was the sample with the highest phenolic and ACW values (193 mg·g-1 GAE; 7.53 µmol AA·g-1, respectively). A linear relationship existed between ACW and phenolic contents (r = 0.99). Some algal products seem to be promising functional foods rich in polyphenols.
In recent years, growing attention has been focused on the utilization of natural sources of antioxidants in the prevention of chronic diseases. Black chokeberry (
) represents a lesser known fruit ...species utilized mainly as juices, purees, jams, jellies and wine, as important food colorants or nutritional supplements. The fruit is valued as a great source of antioxidants, especially polyphenols, such as phenolic acids (neochlorogenic and chlorogenic acids) and flavonoids (anthocyanins, proanthocyanidins, flavanols and flavonols), particularly cyanidin-3-galactoside and cyanidin-3-arabinoside, as well as (-)-epicatechin units. The berries of
, due to the presence and the high content of these bioactive components, exhibit a wide range of positive effects, such as strong antioxidant activity and potential medicinal and therapeutic benefits (gastroprotective, hepatoprotective, antiproliferative or anti-inflammatory activities). They could be also contributory toward the prevention of chronic diseases including metabolic disorders, diabetes and cardiovascular diseases, because of supportive impacts on lipid profiles, fasting plasma glucose and blood pressure levels.
Possibilities of edible insects use in European countries, are now an increasingly debated issue. Insects in Asian, African, Central American and South Central American cultures are mainly ...nutritional components. This review mainly describes the species of insects that are suitable as food in Europe and other developed countries. This comprehensive work addresses the issue of eating insects, especially considering the nutritionally important factors. Risks are also mentioned, as well as allergies, toxicity, and other aspects of the breeding and use of edible insects. Insects play and will play important roles in the future in various fields of research, exploitation, breeding, etc. This review provides a comprehensive current and future view of insects as a valuable foodstuff.
On a global scale, people are demanding more attractive and tasty food. Both the quality of foodstuffs and aesthetic aspects contribute to the appearance of consumed meals. The attraction and appeal ...of individual dishes could be enhanced by edible flowers. New information concerning the composition and nutritional value of edible flowers is also important and represents a sufficient reason for their consumption. The aim of this study is to contribute to the popularization of some selected edible flowers of ornamental plants involving altogether 12 species. The flowers were used to determine their antioxidant capacity, which fluctuated between 4.21 and 6.96 g of ascorbic acid equivalents (AAE)/kg of fresh mass (FM). Correlation coefficients between antioxidant capacity and the contents of total phenolics and flavonoids were r² = 0.9705 and r² = 0.7861, respectively. Moreover, the results were supplemented with new data about the mineral composition of edible flowers (mostly, not found in the available literature). The highest levels of mineral elements were observed in the flowers of species Chrysanthemum, Dianthus or Viola. The most abundant element was potassium, the content of which ranged from 1,842.61 to 3,964.84 mg/kg of FM.
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