Hot pepper (Capsicum annuum) fruits, usually termed as chili, have been used since ancient times as food vegetables, flavoring ingredients, natural colorants, and in traditional medicines. Nowadays, ...a wide variation of sweet and pungent peppers are consumed worldwide in a large variety of forms. Interestingly, the most important hot pepper at the global level in commercial terms is C. annuum with a high number of varieties. This review compares C. annuum to other Capsicum species for plant agronomic traits, biochemical composition, the content of capsaicin and capsaicinoids and their nutraceutical and medical potentialities, and the effects of processing on quality and key components of the fruit, among other aspects. Chili contains important levels of pigments (i.e., chlorophyll, anthocyanin, and lutein) with potential health benefits; it also contains additional outstanding health‐promoting chemical compounds, such as vitamins, minerals, flavonoids, carotenoids, and capsaicinoids, in general. And capsaicin, the major active compound responsible for the pungent taste of these species has been proven to have a positive role in health. We report here on how dietary chili and capsaicinoids consumption, especially capsaicin, are involved in body weight reduction and their potential antiobesity effects, in urinary disorders, as well as antioxidants, antimicrobial, anticancer, and analgesic capacity. Selected characteristics of processing for the fruit preservation on its quality and content of these compounds are described as well. However, additional clinical research on the mechanism of action and efficacy of frequent capsaicinoid consumption on human health is needed.
The importance of the diet in relation to human health has increased the interest of consumers on nutraceuticals rich foods, and especially on fruits and vegetables. Berries are rich sources of a ...wide variety of antioxidant phenolics; these phytochemicals include flavonoids, stilbenes, tannins, and phenolic acids. Reactive oxidant species and free radicals are produced in an extensive range of physiological processes. In addition to the antioxidant defenses produced in the body, there are exogenous sources supplied by the diet; this is the case of berry fruits, among others. The insufficiency of antioxidant defense mechanisms is associated to the pathology of chronic disorders such as cardiovascular diseases, inflammation, and diabetes. Therefore, the enforcement of the latter mechanisms is of the utmost importance. The isolation and characterization of compounds that may delay the onset of aging is receiving intense research attention; some berry phenolics are being associated with this functional performance. Berry phenolics may also act as antimicrobials which may be of help in the control of the wild spectra of pathogens, in view of recent problems associated with antibiotic resistance. Most of the research works on the antioxidant activity of bioactive constituents of berries has been carried out using
in vitro
assays. In view of this, the human studies investigating the bioavailability and potential toxicity of phenolics are receiving more attention. Finally, we would like to emphasize the necessity of associating new plant breeding and genetic studies of berries with the expression and overexpression of compounds for human health and healthy aging.
Avocado oil characteristics of Mexican creole genotypes Espinosa‐Alonso, L. Gabriela; Paredes‐López, Octavio; Valdez‐Morales, Maribel ...
European journal of lipid science and technology,
October 2017, Letnik:
119, Številka:
10
Journal Article
Recenzirano
Mexico is a major avocado producer and exporter, mainly the Hass variety, while the Mexican creole genotypes remain unexplored. We investigated the physicochemical characteristics, phenolics, and ...bioactivity of oils from six different Mexican avocado genotypes to increase their consumption and utilization. Oil content varied significantly among Mexican genotypes and increased linearly with dry matter content. Oils from Mexican creole genotypes varied significantly in UV absorbance and generally exhibited low secondary oxidation. Avocado oil displayed two intense fluorescence peaks at 675 and 720 nm (chlorophyll concentration) and two broad bands centered at 465 and 510 nm (oxidation products). The antioxidant activity of avocado oils was independent of total phenolic content and influenced the anti‐inflammatory (COX) activity and selectivity. Three thermal structural transitions occurred in avocado oils between −30 and 20°C. Thermal oxidation by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) revealed that avocado oils from Mexican genotypes exhibited higher thermal stability than those of Hass. Multivariate data analysis performed on 18 oil characteristics using principal component and cluster analysis demonstrates that fluorescence emission was the major factor segregating Mexican avocado genotypes. Mexican creole avocado is an important beneficial resource for the diversity of its oil quality compared to Hass variety.
Practical applications: Mexican creole avocado oil exhibited superior distinctive physicochemical characteristics than Hass avocado variety. The fluorescence emission can be considered as the predictive attribute to characterize and identify the oil quality and distinguish creole avocado genotypes. Avocado oil from creole genotypes could be an important option to add value to these crop resources, ignored by their delicate post‐harvest management. Cold press avocado oil from creole genotypes provides a distinctive regional origin denomination of gourmet oil, enabling to break its confines by post‐harvest management, simultaneously conserving the huge genetic diversity of this valuable crop.
Mexican creole avocado oils exhibit superior physicochemical characteristics than Hass. Fluorescence emission effectively segregates avocado oil quality by genotypes.
Mexican creole avocado oils exhibit superior physicochemical characteristics than Hass. Fluorescence emission effectively segregates avocado oil quality by genotypes.
Fruits of Wild-Grown Shrubs for Health Nutrition Stabnikova, Olena; Stabnikov, Viktor; Paredes-López, Octavio
Plant foods for human nutrition (Dordrecht),
03/2024, Letnik:
79, Številka:
1
Journal Article
Recenzirano
Cultivated fruits and berries, such as raspberries, strawberries, black currants, cherries, blueberries, are generally recognized sources of antioxidants, vitamins, minerals, and other substances ...beneficial to human health and well-being. However, there are also wild berries and fruits that are of undoubted interest as food products having valuable medicinal properties due to the presence of phenolic compounds, antioxidants, and vitamins. These fruits have a great potential to be used in functional food making. The present review is dedicated to fruits of wild-grown shrubs Bird cherry (
Prunus padus
L.), Rowan berry (
Sorbus aucuparia
L.), Guelder rose (
Viburnum opulus
L.), Black elderberry (
Sambucus nigra
L.), and Barberry (
Berberis vulgaris
L.) The chemical compositions of these wild berries are described as well as their effects on the improvement of human health proved by clinical trials and epidemiological studies. The possibilities of using the fruits of wild-grown shrubs in the preparation of functional foods and examples of their implementation for the manufacturing of dairy, bakery and meat products are considered.
•An UHPLC method for phenolic compounds and isoflavones in chia was proposed.•Chia seeds are rich in phenolic compounds and have a high antioxidant capacity.•Chia isoflavones may be used to prevent ...various estrogen-related disorders.
Chia seeds (Salvia hispanica) were analyzed for total phenolic compounds, antioxidant activity, and quantification of phenolic acids and isoflavones by ultra high performance liquid chromatography (UHPLC), in order to obtain a phenolic phytochemical profile. The total phenolic concentration was 1.8-fold higher than previous reports and the antioxidant activity using DPPH (2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl) radical assay showed 68.83% inhibition, which was higher than the values reported previously for chia and different plant foods. Additionally, a simple, reproducible and rapid UHPLC method was proposed for the analysis of phenolic acids and isoflavones in chia. The method demonstrated to perform well with regard to linearity, limits of detection and quantification, precision, accuracy, and sensitivity. The detection limits ranged from 0.05 to 0.4ng/mL and the recovery percentage from 23.62 to 162.48%. With this method the major compounds identified and quantified were: rosmarinic acid 0.92, protocatechuic ethyl ester 0.74, caffeic acid 0.02, gallic acid 0.01, and daidzin 0.006mg/g seed. In brief, this study demonstrates that chia could be considered a seed with high antioxidant capacity and novel isoflavone source that can be incorporated in human diet.
This study aimed to determine the phytochemical profile and nutraceutical properties of nopal cladodes (Opuntia ficus-indica) at different stages of maturity. Medium-age cladodes showed the highest ...total saponins, phytosterols, and indigestible fiber, as well as the highest in vitro antioxidant capacity and digestive enzymes inhibitory activity. Furthermore, these cladodes presented the highest content of p-hydroxybenzoic acid, p-coumaric acid, rutin, narcissin, nicotiflorin, β-sitosterol, and sitosteryl-3-β-glucopyranoside, as well as several amino acids, organic acids, and fatty acids. Whereas young cladodes contained the highest concentration of condensed and hydrolyzable tannins. These results demonstrated that maturity affects the nutritional and nutraceutical properties of nopal cladodes.
Chia (Salvia hispanica L.) is a plant that produces seeds rich in some nutraceutical compounds with high protein content, but little is known about them; for this reason the aim of this study was to ...characterize the seed storage proteins. Protein fractions were extracted from chia seed flour. The main protein fraction corresponded to globulins (52%). Sedimentation coefficient studies showed that the globulin fraction contains mostly 11S and 7S proteins. The molecular sizes of all the reduced fractions were about 15–50 kDa. Electrophoretic experiments under native conditions exhibited four bands of globulins in the range of 104–628 kDa. The denaturation temperatures of crude albumins, globulins, prolamins, and glutelins were 103, 105, 85.6, and 91 °C, respectively; albumins and globulins had relatively good thermal stability. Selected globulin peptides by mass spectrometry showed homology to sesame proteins. A good balance of essential amino acids was found in the seed flour and globulins, especially of methionine+cysteine.
This study was designed to characterize and compare wild, commercial, and noncommercial cultivated blackberry genotypes grown in Michoacán, Mexico. Six genotypes, including WB-3, WB-7, WB-10, and ...WB-11 (all wild blackberry types), Tupy (a commercial cultivar), and UM-601 (a cultivated breeding line), were selected and profiled for anthocyanins and proanthocyanidins by separating extracts over Amberlite XAD-7 resin and Sephadex LH-20 columns. Subsequent high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) and liquid chromatography−electrospray ionization−mass spectrometry (LC−ESI−MS) analyses revealed that the major anthocyanin for all genotypes was cyanidin 3-O-glucoside. The proanthocyanidins (condensed tannins) were present in mono- to hexamer forms. Also, hydrolyzable tannins, ellagitannins, were characterized in the blackberry fruits. The average anthocyanin concentration in Sephadex LH-20 fractions was 49.2 mg/g in the commercial cultivar Tupy, while in the wild genotypes and the breeding line, the range was 361.3−494.9 mg/g (cyanidin 3-O-glucoside equivalent). The proanthocyanidin concentration varied widely among wild genotypes (417.5−1343.6 mg/g, catechin equivalent). This study demonstrated that the use of Amberlite XAD-7 followed by Sephadex LH-20 chromatography, with subsequent HPLC and LC−ESI−MS analyses, was able to effectively separate and characterize the diverse polyphenolics in blackberry genotypes. These results suggest that recommendations for dietary intake of blackberries for human health benefits need to take into account the source, because of the wide inherent variation in bioactive polyphenolic content in different blackberry genotypes.
This review reported an updated survey on the molecular functional properties of bioactive peptides derived from different Latin American ancient grains such as Maize, common Bean, Amaranth, Quinoa ...and Chia seeds. Seed storage proteins ecrypt in their sequences diverse peptides associated with a wide range of beneficial effects on the human health and the most studied are antihypertensive, anti-cholesterolemic, antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, anticancer, antimicrobial and immunomodulatory properties. Additionally, in the last decades molecular properties have been also used for their characterization to understand their activities and it makes them highly attractive to be incorporated into food formulations and to complement or replace some conventional cereal grains. Due to the nutraceutical effects, today, these seeds are one of the main gastronomic trends of consumption worldwide due to their nutritional benefits and are part of the shopping lists of many people, among them vegetarians, vegans, celiacs or lovers of raw food. These seeds are a legacy of pre-Columbian civilizations reason why in our time they are considered as "Superfoods of the Gods", "The pre-hispanic superfoods of the future" and "The new golden seeds of the XXI century".
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