Honey, a Gift from Nature to Health and Beauty: A Review

Benefits of honey are contributed by the composition of its elements such as glucose, fructose, glucose oxidase, vitamins and phenolic compounds. For health, honey can be used to treat wounds due to the antibacterial activity conferred by the hydrogen peroxide produced by glucose oxidase in honey. Anti-inflammatory, anti-oxidant, deodorizing and tissue regeneration activities in honey also help in the wound healing process. It can also be an alternative sweetener for diabetic patients to ensure compliance to a healthy diet. Moreover, honey exerts several effects such as lowering low density lipids and increasing high density lipids, thus reducing risk of atherosclerosis. In terms of beauty, honey can be used on skin and hair. It moisturizes skin through its natural humectant properties contributed by high contents of fructose and glucose. Honey treats acne on the skin due to its antibacterial activity, anti-inflammatory action and tissue repair. The hair can benefit from honey in such a way that the hair has abundance, and becomes easier to comb. However, there have not been as many studies regarding the use of honey in skin in comparison to its use for health. Therefore, future studies on honey could research its use, action and benefits in both cosmetics and dermatology

The impact of processing on the phenolic acids, free betaine and choline in Triticum spp. L. whole grains and milling by-products

Wheat (Triticum spp. L.) is an important source of nutrients and bioactive compounds with recognized beneficial effects. Wheat undergoes several processes with the final aim of separating the endosperm from the outer layers, usually discarded. In this study, free and bound phenolic acids (PAs) profile, betaine and choline contents were quantified in six different wheat species (durum and bread wheat, turanicum wheat, einkorn, emmer and spelt), the corresponding milling by-products (bran, middlings, aleurone and I, II and III steps of debranning) and flour/semolina, using UHPLC-MS/MS methods. The bound form of phenolics was the component present in higher concentration (80% of the total, in average) and ferulic acid was the most abundant compounds, representing between 67 and 73 % of total PAs. Among the species, bread wheat grain totalized the highest content of total PAs (1209.31 ± 7.3 µg g−1 d.w.). Betaine and choline are abundantly present in wheat species. In general, the highest content of bioactive compounds was found in bran (3 times higher than whole grains), emphasizing the good nutritional profile of these by-products. The milling process leads to a severe reduction of phenolic acids and methyl-donors in the end-products