Bioactive Compounds from Plant Origin and Therapeutic and Nutraceutical Properties for Human Health Volume II

A special issue of Foods (ISSN 2304-8158). This special issue belongs to the section "Plant Foods".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (10 August 2023) | Viewed by 8086

Special Issue Editors


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Guest Editor
Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Lisbon, 1649-003 Lisboa, Portugal
Interests: oxidative burst; systemic inflammation; antioxidant activity; pharmacology; chronic inflammation; antioxidants; phenolic compounds
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Research Institute for Medicines (iMed.ULisboa), Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Lisbon, 1649-003 Lisbon, Portugal
Interests: phenolic compounds; immunometabolism; food nanotechnologies; nanoencapsulation; drug delivery systems; biodisponibility; colorectal cancerolic compounds; persimmon; food science; functional foods; biochemistry; haematology; in vitro/in vivo inflammation and cancer models
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

We are glad to invite you to submit a manuscript to the Special Issue “Bioactive Compounds from Plant Origin and Therapeutic and Nutraceutical Properties for Human Health” in the open access journal Foods (https://www.mdpi.com/journal/foods/, ISSN 2304-8158). We look forward to receiving your submissions.

Herbal medicines have played an important role in the discovery of new drugs and innovative mechanisms of action and have a long usage history as alternative treatments. Similarly, many plants are part of the diet, in functional foods, and they are important in maintaining health and wellbeing, as well as in disease prevention.

Among the various mechanisms exhibited by substances originating from these sources, antioxidant effects have been one of the most studied mechanisms. Given the importance of oxidative stress and the deleterious effects of reactive oxygen species in several diseases, the study of molecules that are able to prevent or reduce the magnitude of these oxidative mediators is of great importance.

An inflammatory process, which can also be caused by oxidative stress, is also responsible for the development of many chronic diseases such as diabetes, neurodegenerative diseases, stroke, and even cancer; the cellular pathways that regulate inflammatory processes have become very important in the research of many diseases.

The pleiotropic effects of substances derived from herbal and food sources and their ability to modulate several cellular, biochemical, and pharmacological targets that have the ability to modulate the development of several diseases have made this line of research one of the most active in recent years. Many other parallel and related mechanisms are being identified for herbal/food-derived substances and may contribute greatly to a better understanding of the pathophysiology of diseases while elucidating new and promising pharmacological targets.

The authors of this Special Issue invite researchers to contribute original research articles as well as review articles related to the study of the beneficial effect of bioactive compounds from plant origin/food products that contribute to the knowledge in this area and may have new data regarding a potential beneficial effect, either from in vitro, in vivo, or human experiments.

Prof. Dr. Maria Eduardo-Figueira
Dr. Rosa Direito
Guest Editors

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Keywords

  • antioxidants
  • inflammation
  • anti-inflammatory
  • polyphenols
  • functional foods
  • nutraceuticals
  • bioactive compounds

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Published Papers (2 papers)

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Research

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21 pages, 6073 KiB  
Article
Ethanol Extract of Mao Jian Green Tea Attenuates Gastrointestinal Symptoms in a Rat Model of Irritable Bowel Syndrome with Constipation via the 5-hydroxytryptamine Signaling Pathway
by Lei Wu, Liming Gao, Xiang Jin, Zhikang Chen, Xutong Qiao, Xiting Cui, Jianhua Gao and Liwei Zhang
Foods 2023, 12(5), 1101; https://doi.org/10.3390/foods12051101 - 4 Mar 2023
Cited by 5 | Viewed by 2668
Abstract
In a previous study, we demonstrated that the hydro extract of Mao Jian Green Tea (MJGT) promotes gastrointestinal motility. In this study, the effect of MJGT ethanol extract (MJGT_EE) in treating irritable bowel syndrome with constipation (IBS-C) in a rat model constructed via [...] Read more.
In a previous study, we demonstrated that the hydro extract of Mao Jian Green Tea (MJGT) promotes gastrointestinal motility. In this study, the effect of MJGT ethanol extract (MJGT_EE) in treating irritable bowel syndrome with constipation (IBS-C) in a rat model constructed via maternal separation combined with an ice water stimulation was investigated. First, a successful model construction was confirmed through the determination of the fecal water content (FWC) and the smallest colorectal distension (CRD) volume. Then, the overall regulatory effects of MJGT_EE on the gastrointestinal tract were preliminarily evaluated through gastric emptying and small intestinal propulsion tests. Our findings indicated that MJGT_EE significantly increased FWC (p < 0.01) and the smallest CRD volume (p < 0.05) and promoted gastric emptying and small intestinal propulsion (p < 0.01). Furthermore, mechanistically, MJGT_EE reduced intestinal sensitivity by regulating the expression of proteins related to the serotonin (5-hydroxytryptamine; 5-HT) pathway. More specifically, it decreased tryptophan hydroxylase (TPH) expression (p < 0.05) and increased serotonin transporter (SERT) expression (p < 0.05), thereby decreasing 5-HT secretion (p < 0.01), activating the calmodulin (CaM)/myosin light chain kinase (MLCK) pathway, and increasing 5-HT4 receptor (5-HT4R) expression (p < 0.05). Moreover, MJGT_EE enhanced the diversity of gut microbiota, increased the proportion of beneficial bacteria, and regulated the number of 5-HT-related bacteria. Flavonoids may play the role of being active ingredients in MJGT_EE. These findings suggest that MJGT_EE could serve as a potential therapeutic pathway for IBS-C. Full article
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Review

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25 pages, 16028 KiB  
Review
Bioactive Compounds and Health-Promoting Properties of Elephant Apple (Dillenia indica L.): A Comprehensive Review
by Deepanka Saikia, Radhakrishnan Kesavan, Baskaran Stephen Inbaraj, Praveen Kumar Dikkala, Prakash Kumar Nayak and Kandi Sridhar
Foods 2023, 12(16), 2993; https://doi.org/10.3390/foods12162993 - 8 Aug 2023
Cited by 5 | Viewed by 4692
Abstract
Elephant apple (Dillenia indica L.) grows wild in Southeast Asia’s forests, including in China, India, Nepal, Bangladesh, and Sri Lanka. Elephant apples are considered essential fruit crops because of their high nutritional value, which includes high levels of vitamin C, carbohydrates, fats, [...] Read more.
Elephant apple (Dillenia indica L.) grows wild in Southeast Asia’s forests, including in China, India, Nepal, Bangladesh, and Sri Lanka. Elephant apples are considered essential fruit crops because of their high nutritional value, which includes high levels of vitamin C, carbohydrates, fats, fibre, protein, minerals, and fatty acids. It is important to understand the nutritional value and health benefits of elephant apples in order to increase fruit intake in people’s daily diets. The present review paper focuses on elephant apple’s phytochemistry, bioactive compounds, therapeutic value, and medicinal capabilities for designing and developing a wide range of food formulations. Proteins, minerals, fats, crude fibre, carbohydrates, vitamin C, tannins, malic acid, and glucose are abundant in the leaves, bark, and fruit of the elephant apple. In addition to nutritional components, many phytochemicals found in elephant apples have been identified as bioactive compounds with a broad range of biological activities, the most prominent of which are antioxidant, anticancer, antidiabetic, and anti-inflammatory properties. Overall, elephant apple is a rich, natural source of bioactive compounds with potential applications in the production of value-added foods and nutraceuticals for disease prevention and management. Full article
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