A New Age for Quercus spp. Fruits: Review on Nutritional and Phytochemical Composition and Related Biological Activities of Acorns

The current global food system must adapt to the expected growth of world population (about 9 billion individuals by 2050). This adaptation will probably include an increased consumption of edible wild foods, due to their richness in micronutrients and bioactive compounds, besides providing a cost-effective and sustainable way of improving caloric food security. A striking example of such natural matrices is the Quercus genus, which has the additional advantage of being widespread throughout the Northern Hemisphere. In a traditional sense, Quercus fruits (acorns) were mainly used in animal feeding, despite their potentially important role on the rural economy. But this preconception is changing. In fact, their nutritional value, high contents in phytochemical compounds, biological activity (such as antioxidant, anticarcinogenic, and cardioprotective properties) and use in the treatment of specific diseases (such as atherosclerosis, diabetes, or Alzheimer's disease) have raised the interest in integrating acorns into the human diet. Accordingly, this comprehensive overview was designed to provide an evidence-based review of the literature, with the objective to achieve useful conclusions regarding the nutritional properties, methodologies of extraction, identification, and characterization of a wide variety of bioactive compounds and scientifically validated bioactivities in Quercus species worldwide. The industrial by-products from acorn oil extraction or flour production are also included. Data regarding the analytical techniques, individual compounds, and their bioactivities, are organized in tables. The reported data are discussed and directions for further investigations are suggested, highlighting the use of acorns in food, nutraceutical, and pharmaceutical applications.The authors are grateful for the financial support (UID/QUI/ 50006/2013-POCI/01/0145/FEDER/007265) from FCT/ MEC through national funds and cofinanced by FEDER, under the Partnership Agreement PT2020. J.C.M. Barreira thanks FCT, POPH-QREN, and FSE for his grant (SFRH/BPD/72802/ 2010). The authors thank Telma Oliveira for drawing the acorn sketch depicted in Figure 1.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

A new age for Quercus spp. fruits: review on nutritional and phytochemical composition and related biological activities of acorns

The current global food system must adapt to the expected growth of world population (about 9 billion individuals by 2050). This adaptation will probably include an increased consumption of edible wild foods, due to their richness in micronutrients and bioactive compounds, besides providing a cost-effective and sustainable way of improving caloric food security. A striking example of such natural matrices is the Quercus genus, which has the additional advantage of being widespread throughout the Northern Hemisphere. In a traditional sense, Quercus fruits (acorns) were mainly used in animal feeding, despite their potentially important role on the rural economy. But this preconception is changing. In fact, their nutritional value, high contents in phytochemical compounds, biological activity (such as antioxidant, anticarcinogenic, and cardioprotective properties) and use in the treatment of specific diseases (such as atherosclerosis, diabetes, or Alzheimer's disease) have raised the interest in integrating acorns into the human diet. Accordingly, this comprehensive overview was designed to provide an evidence-based review of the literature, with the objective to achieve useful conclusions regarding the nutritional properties, methodologies of extraction, identification, and characterization of a wide variety of bioactive compounds and scientifically validated bioactivities in Quercus species worldwide. The industrial by-products from acorn oil extraction or flour production are also included. Data regarding the analytical techniques, individual compounds, and their bioactivities, are organized in tables. The reported data are discussed and directions for further investigations are suggested, highlighting the use of acorns in food, nutraceutical, and pharmaceutical applications.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Pre-meal tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum) intake can have anti-obesity effects in young women?

The effect of pre-meal tomato intake in the anthropometric indices and blood levels of triglycerides, cholesterol, glucose, and uric acid of a young women population (n = 35, 19.6 ± 1.3 years) was evaluated. During 4 weeks, daily, participants ingested a raw ripe tomato (∼90 g) before lunch. Their anthropometric and biochemical parameters were measured repeatedly during the follow-up time. At the end of the 4 weeks, significant reductions were observed on body weight (−1.09 ± 0.12 kg on average), % fat (−1.54 ± 0.52%), fasting blood glucose (−5.29 ± 0.80 mg/dl), triglycerides (−8.31 ± 1.34 mg/dl), cholesterol (−10.17 ± 1.21 mg/dl), and uric acid (−0.16 ± 0.04 mg/dl) of the participants. The tomato pre-meal ingestion seemed to interfere positively in body weight, fat percentage, and blood levels of glucose, triglycerides, cholesterol, and uric acid of the young adult women that participated in this study.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Nutritional, chemical and antioxidant/pro-oxidant profiles of silverskin, a coffee roasting by-product

Coffee silverskin (a coffee roasting by-product) contains high amounts of dietary fibre (49% insoluble and 7% soluble) and protein (19%). Potassium (∼5 g/100 g), magnesium (2 g/100 g) and calcium (0.6 g/100 g) are the major macrominerals. The vitamin E profile of silverskin comprises α-tocopherol, β-tocopherol, ɣ-tocopherol, δ-tocopherol, β-tocotrienol, ɣ-tocotrienol, and δ-tocotrienol. The fatty acid profile is mainly saturated (C16:0 and C22:0), but the total amount of fat is low (2.4%). Caffeine (1.25 g/100 g), chlorogenic acid (246 mg/100 g), and 5-hydroxymethylfurfural (5.68 mg/100 g) are also present in silverskin. Total phenolics and flavonoids are partially responsible for the in vitro antioxidant activity. Silverskin extracts protected erythrocytes from oxidative AAPH- and H2O2-induced hemolysis, but at high concentrations a pro-oxidant effect on erythrocyte morphology was observed.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Improving bioactive compounds extractability of Amorphophallus paeoniifolius (Dennst.) Nicolson

Elephant foot yam (Amorphophallus paeoniifolius (Dennst.) Nicolson) is an underground, unbranched deciduous plant that produces a large tubercle (rhizome) with recognized health effects. In this study, the influence of solvent nature (water, water/etanol (1:1) and absolute ethanol) and processing type (fresh, lyophilized and boiled) on the antioxidant activity and bioactive compounds extractability of elephant foot yam was evaluated. Extracts were compared for their contents in total phenolics, flavonoids and tannins. Moreover, their antioxidant capacity was assessed by the ferric reducing antioxidant power (FRAP) and the 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl radical (DPPH▪) scavenging capacity assays. Phenolics (154 mg GAE/L) and tannins (109 mg GAE/L) were maximized in lyophilized samples extracted with the hydroalcoholic solvent, which attained also the highest FRAP value (711 mg FSE/L). In turn, flavonoids reached the highest yields in lyophilized samples (95 mg ECE/L) extracted with pure ethanol, as well as the highest DPPH▪ scavenging activity. These findings might have practical applications to define the best processing methodology regarding the enhancement of elephant foot yam, either for prompt consumption, as well as to develop food supplements or pharmaceutical related products.J.C.M. Barreira and R.C. Alves thank to FCT, POPH-QREN and FSE for their grants (SFRH/BD/76019/2011 and SFRH/BPD/68883/2010, respectively). This work received financial support from the European Union (FEDER funds through COMPETE) and National Funds (FCT) through project LAQV UID/QUI/50006/2013. This work also received financial support from the European Union (FEDER funds) under the framework of QREN through Project NORTE-07-0124-FEDER-000069

Antioxidant activity and cytotoxic effects of polar extracts from saffron (Crocus sativus L) flowers

Saffron (Crocus sativus L.) flower is composed of six purple tepals, three yellow stamens and a white filiform style ending in a stigma with three threads, which only represents less than 10% (w/w) of the flower weight. Nevertheless, saffron is cultivated for the stigma of its flowers which, after being dried, is the most valued spice [1]. For each kg of this spice, about 63 kg of floral bio-residues are produced, which so far are not exploited, being usually thrown away. However, the floral bio-residues were reported as having high phenolic content and bioactive properties, such as antioxidant, antityrosinase, antidepressant, antinociceptive, anti-inflammatory, antifungal and arterial pressure reducer activities [2]. In view of the reported bioactivity, it is important to study the cytotoxic effects of saffron [3]. Furthermore, it is a wellknown fact that the effectiveness of bioactive compounds extraction from plants, as well as their corresponding activity, is highly dependent on factors such as different types of solvent, solvent-to-solid ratios and specially the solvent polarity [4]. In the present work, the antioxidant activity of different polar extracts (ethanol, ethanol:water 1:1 v/v, and water) of saffron was evaluated using different in vitro assays (2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl radical-scavenging activity, ferric reducing reducing power and inhibition of β-carotene bleaching assay). In addition, the cytotoxicity of the extracts was also evaluated in Caco-2 (ATCC HTB-37TM) cultures by using MTT (3-[4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl]-2,5 diphenyltetrazolium bromide) assay. All samples proved to have antioxidant activity, despite the higher effectiveness of the hydroalcoholic extract. Up to the assayed concentrations, none of the extracts showed cytotoxicity against Caco-2 cell lines. Accordingly, saffron flowers might be used in different applications such as the development of food supplements or pharmaceutic related products

Floral bio-residues of Crocus sativus L. as a potential source of anthocyanins

Saffron (Crocus sativus L.) flower is composed of six purple tepals, three yellow stamens and a white phylliform style ending in a stigma with three threads. Saffron is cultivated for its stigma, which corresponds to the most valued spice worldwide [1]. The production of a single kg of this spice originates about 63 kg of floral bioresidues without any known utilization. These bio-residues have been reported as having high phenolic content with bioactive properties [2] and, therefore, the study of their anthocyanin composition is worthwhile. Accordingly, saffron petals were extracted with acidified (trifluoracetic acid) methanol and further purified with Cl8 SepPak® Vac 3 cc cartridges (Phenomenex), followed by filtration (0.22-f!m disposable LC filter disk) . Samples were analyzed in a Hewlett-Packard 1100 HPLC (Agilent Technologies) with a quaternary pump and a diode array detector (DAD) coupled to an HP Chem Station data-processing. Double detection was carried out by DAD, using 520 nm as the preferred wavelength, and MS detection, performed in an API 3200 Qtrap (Applied Biosystems) equipped with an ESI source and a triple quadrupole-ion trap mass analyzer (Analyst 5.1 software). The anthocyanin profiles presented three main peaks identified as glycosylated derivatives of delphinidin and petunidin di- 0-glucosides, and cyanidin 0-rutinoside, based on their chromatographic, UV and mass spectral characteristics. As far as we know the presence of this later is reported for the first time in Crocus spp. Delphinidin di-0-glucoside (Fig. lA) was the major anthocyanin in saffron petals. According to the detected amounts, floral bio-residues of C. sativus might be considered as a valuable natural source of anthocyanins with potential industrial applications

Uma nova era para Quercus spp.: sustentabilidade de recursos naturais subvalorizados

The genus Quercus spp. belongs to the family Fagaceae, being widespread throughout the Northern Hemisphere. Quercus fruits (acorns) play an important role on the rural economy for animal feeding. However, their nutri!onal value and high phytochemical contents have raised the interest of many researchers looking for underu!lized foods to integrate the human diet. Previous studies highlighted acorns as a rich natural source of essen!al nutrients and individual phytochemicals with an!oxidant, an! tumoral and cardioprotec!ve proper!es. Other reports inclusively described their use in folk medicine for the treatment of atherosclerosis, diabetes and Alzheimer’s disease. At the industrial level, some Quercus spp. fruits are already used as edible oil and flour, but a wide diversity of other specialty products could be developed. Accordingly, the comprehensive characteriza!on of these fruits may lead to an increase in their added value for further applica!ons in several industries, such as food, pharmaceu!cal, or cosme!cs, genera!ng addi!onal profits and, essen!ally, improving social, economic and environmental sustainability.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Protective activity of coffee silverskin extracts: evaluation on erythrocyte oxidative-induced hemolysis

Natural antioxidants from industry by-products have been receiving increasing attention, having in view the sustainability of the processes. Coffee silverskin, a pellicule that covers the raw coffee bean, is a by-product of coffee roasting since it is detached during this procedure. Human erythrocytes are particularly useful in the evaluation of the antioxidant properties of bioactive compounds, since they are susceptible to endogenous oxidative damage due to their specific role as oxygen carriers. The aim of this work was to evaluate the capacity of natural antioxidants of coffee silverskin to protect erythrocytes from oxidative injury induced by the water soluble radical initiator 2,2-azobis (2 amidinopropane)dihydrochloride (AAPH) and by H2O2. The results showed that coffee silverskin extracts protected erythrocytes in a significant way from oxidative-AAPH and oxidative-H2O2 induced hemolysis. As far as we know, there are no investigations, which evaluate the protective activity of coffee silverskin extracts on human erythrocytes hemolysis.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio