New phytochemicals as potential human anti-aging compounds: reality, promise, and challenges

Aging is an inevitable process influenced by genetic, lifestyle, and environmental factors. Indirect evidence shows that several phytochemicals can have anti-aging capabilities, although direct evidence in this field is still limited. This report aims to provide a critical review on aspects related to the use of novel phytochemicals as anti-aging agents, to discuss the obstacles found when performing most anti-aging study protocols in humans, and to analyze future perspectives. In addition to the extensively studied resveratrol, epicatechin, quercetin, and curcumin, new phytochemicals have been reported to act as anti-aging agents, such as the amino acid L-theanine isolated from green tea, and the lignans arctigenin and matairesinol isolated from Arctium lappa seeds. Furthermore, this review discusses the application of several new extracts rich in phytochemicals with potential use in anti-aging therapies. Finally, this review also discusses the most important biomarkers to test anti-aging interventions, the necessity of conducting epidemiological studies and the need of clinical trials with adequate study protocols for humans.R.C.G. Correa thanks Coordena¸c~ao de Aperfei¸coamento do Pessoal do Ensino Superior (CAPES) and Funda¸c~ao Arauc aria for the financial support provided for her postgraduate studies in Federal Technological University of Paran a (contract 100/2014). R.M. Peralta (Project number 307944/2015-8), C.W.I. Haminiuk (Project number 303238/2013-5), and A. Bracht (Project number 302615/2011-3) are research grant recipients of Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento CientÍfico e Tecnologia (CNPq). The authors are also grateful to (FCT, Portugal) and FEDER-COMPETE/ QREN/EU for financial support through the research project PEst-OE/ AGR/UI0690/2014.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Merlot grape pomace hydroalcoholic extract improves the oxidative and inflammatory states of rats with adjuvant-induced arthritis

Grape pomace is an agro-industrial residue produced worldwide. The purpose of this study was to identify and quantify the main phenolics present in an hydroalcohlic extract of a Merlot grape pomace and to investigate its effect on the oxidative and inflammatory states of adjuvant-induced arthritic rats. Daily doses of 250 mg of the extract per kg body weight were administered during 23 days. Several oxidative stress indicators in arthritic rats were maintained at their normal or closely normal levels in the plasma, liver and brain by the treatment. Additionally, the grape pomace also showed significant anti-inflammatory effects. From the 25 phenolics identified in the grape pomace extract the most abundant ones were catechin and catechin derivatives, which are possibly the most important antioxidant agents. The results suggest a potential applicability of the Merlot grape pomace hydroalcoholic extract in the improvement of the oxidative and inflammatory states in arthritic patients.The authors which to thank Anacharis Babeto de Sá-Nakanishi, Jurandir Fernando Comar and Leomara Floriano Ribeiro for their expert technical assistance. This work was financially supported by grants from the Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq, Proc. 302615/2011-3 and Proc. 307944/2015-8) and Fundação Araucária (Proc. 215/2014). Andréia A. Soares and Rúbia C. G. Corrêa were post-doc fellowship recipients of the Coordenação do Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal do Ensino Superior (CAPES) and Fundação Araucária. The authors are also thankful to the Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT, Portugal) and FEDER under Program PT2020 for financial support to CIMO (UID/AGR/00690/2013) and L. Barros (SFRH/BPD/107855/2015) grant. To POCI-01-0145-FEDER-006984 (LA LSRE-LCM), funded by ERDF, through POCI-COMPETE2020 and FCT.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Stability and biological activity of Merlot (Vitis vinifera) grape pomace phytochemicals after simulated in vitro gastrointestinal digestion and colonic fermentation

Grape pomace is an abundant/accessible food industry by-product that contains a wide range of phenolic compounds, which have been related to several health benefits and bioactivities. The aim of this study was to mimic the gastrointestinal digestion and the colonic fermentation of Merlot grape pomace, in order to unravel possible phytochemical contents reductions and the processes associated with them, as a tentative to relate the phenolic compound profiles of the extracts with their biological properties. LC-DAD-ESI/MS suggested that the in vitro digestion process promoted drastic qualitative and quantitative reductions in the phenolic compounds profile of the Merlot grape pomace crude extract. Such alterations could be related to the decreases of some bioactivities of the extract, which seems to be the case of antioxidant and antibacterial properties, although not in a directly proportional manner. However, the simulated colonic fermentation seems to have a positive effect over the extract's antiproliferative potential.R.C.G. Correa thank Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento do Pessoal do Ensino Superior (CAPES) and Fundação Araucária for the financial support provided for her post-graduate studies in Federal University of Technology - Paraná (contract 100/2014). Authors C.G. Kato and V.G. Correa thank CAPES for the financial support provided for their post-graduate studies in the State University of Maringá. R.M. Peralta (Project number 307944/2015-8) and C.W.I. Haminiuk (project number 303238/2013-5 and 304978/2016-7) are research grant recipients of Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnologia (CNPq). The authors are also thankful to the Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT, Portugal) and FEDER under Program PT2020 for financial support to CIMO (UID/AGR/00690/2013), L. Barros (SFRH/BPD/107855/2015) and M.I. Dias (SFRH/BD/84485/2012) grants. To POCI-01-0145-FEDER-006984 (LA LSRE-LCM), funded by ERDF, through POCI-COMPETE2020 and FCT.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Potential anti-diabetic properties of Merlot grape pomace extract: an in vitro, in silico and in vivo study of α-amylase and α-glucosidase inhibition

A practical approach to control glycemia in diabetes is to use plant natural products that delay hydrolysis of complex sugars and promote the diminution of the release of glucosyl units into the blood plasma. Polyphenolics have been described as being effective in inhibiting amylases and α-glucosidases. Grape pomace is an important sub product of the wine industry, still rich in many compounds such as polyphenolics. In this context, the purpose of this study was to search for possible effects of a grape pomace extract on salivary and pancreatic α-amylases and α-glucosidase, as well as on intestinal glucose absorption. The Merlot grape pomace extract (MGPE) was prepared using a hydroalcoholic mixture (40% ethanol + 60% water). In vitro inhibition was quantified using potato starch (for amylases) and maltose (for α-glucosidase) as substrates. In vivo inhibition was evaluated by running starch and maltose tolerance tests in rats with or without administration of MGPE. Ranking of the extract compounds for its affinity to the α-amylases was accomplished by computer simulations using three different programs. Both α-amylases, pancreatic and salivary, were inhibited by the MGPE. No inhibition on α-glucosidase, however, was detected. The IC50 values were 90 ± 10 μg/mL and 143 ± 15 μg/mL for salivary and pancreatic amylases, respectively. Kinetically this inhibition showed a complex pattern, with multiple binding of the extract constituents to the enzymes. Furthermore, the in silico docking simulations indicated that several phenolic substances, e.g., peonidin-3-O-acetylglucoside, quercetin-3-O-glucuronide and isorhamnetin-3-O-glucoside, besides catechin, were the most likely polyphenols responsible for the α-amylase inhibition caused by MGPE. The hyperglycemic burst, an usual phenomenon that follows starch administration, was substantially inhibited by the MGPE. Our results suggest that the MGPE can be adequate for maintaining normal blood levels after food ingestion.The authors wish to thank to the Fundação Araucária (Brazil), Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES, Brazil), Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq, Brazil), Cesumar Institute of Science Technology and Innovation (ICETI, Brazil), and FEDER-Interreg España-Portugal for their financial help.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

The past decade findings related with nutritional composition, bioactive molecules and biotechnological applications of Passiflora spp. (passion fruit)

Background: For centuries, Passiflora species have been used in folk medicine, especially as sedatives and anxiolytics, and in recent decades have been exploited by the food, pharmaceutical and cosmetics industries. Currently, the concentrated juice manufacture is the most impacting activity involving Passiflora spp., since its market is expanding worldwide. Such a wide-scale passion fruit processing inevitably ends up generating huge amounts of wastes (i.e., seeds, rinds and bagasse), as it corresponds to more than a half of the fruit mass. Scope and Approach: The present review aims to summarize and evaluate the past decade findings related with nutritional composition, bioactive molecules and biotechnological applications of Passiflora spp., with special attention to the potentialities of its co-products. Key Findings and Conclusions: A series of emerging technologies firmed on non-thermal principals, along with encapsulation by nanoparticles methods, have been studied for the sustainable recovery of some target high added-value compounds from Passiflora spp. and their co-products, which include biologically active components such as polyphenols, terpenes, peptides, polysaccharides and dietary fibers. In addition, the passion fruit co-products are promising (and still underutilized) agents of bioconversion and bioremediation, besides low-cost functional ingredients for both cosmetic and food industry.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Estudo da estabilidade e atividade biológica de bagaço de uva (Merlot) após simulação da digestão gastrointestinal e fermentação colónica

A produção de vinho representa hoje em dia uma das maiores atividades agroindustriais a nível mundial. Como consequência gera uma enorme quantidade de subprodutos (bagaço e borras) que representam por vezes até 30% das uvas vinificadas, sendo a maioria completamente descartados sem tratamento adequado e/ou outras finalidades [1-4]. O bagaço de uva representa, por isso, um abundante e acessível subproduto industrial que contém uma grande variedade de compostos bioativos, nomeadamente fenólicos, que têm sido relacionados com benefícios para a saúde do consumidor [l]. O objetivo deste estudo foi mimetizar a digestão gastrointestinal e a fermentação colónica de bagaço de uva de Merlot, de forma a avaliar uma possível redução do conteúdo em fitoquímicos, correlacionando o perfil de compostos fenólicos com as suas atividades biológicas. Assim, foram caracterizados três extratos de bagaço (inicial, digerido e fermentado) relativamente ao seu conteúdo em compostos fenólicos antociânicos e não antociânicos por HPLC-DAD-ESI/MS. Além disso, foi também a valiado o seu potencial antioxidante, antibacteriano e citotóxico para células tumorais e não-tumorais. Os compostos fenólicos mais abundantes identificados nas três amostras estudadas foram um dímero de (epi)catequina tipo B, (+)-catequina e (-)-epicatequina. Foram identificados vinte compostos fenólicos não antociânicos na amostra inicial (66 mg/g de extrato), tendo sido significativamente reduzidos para 11 compostos após digestão invitro. Foram identificadas cinco antocianinas, no entanto, as quantidades diminuíram imenso após digestão e fermentação. Pelos resultados obtidos podemos concluir que o processo de digestão in vitro promoveu drásticas reduções qualitativas e quantitativas no perfil de compostos fenólicos no extrato micial de bagaço de uvas Merlot. Tais alterações podem estar relacionadas com a diminuição de algumas bioatividades do extrato, como é o caso das propriedades antioxidantes e antibacterianas, embora não de forma diretamente proporcional. No entanto, a fermentação colónica teve um efeito positivo sobre o potencial citoóxico do extrato em linhas celulares tumorais humanas. Há ainda um conhecimento muito escasso sobre a estabilidade dos compostos fenólicos de Bagaço de uva e propriedades bioativas durante a digestão gastrointestinal e fermentação colónica, no entanto, os resultados obtidos poderão ser de grande utilidade para o desenvolvimento de novos suplementos nutracêuticos e produtos alimentares funcionalizados.FCT e FEDER sob o programa PT2020 pelo apoio financeiro ao CIMO (UID/AGR/00690/2013) e contratos de L. Barros e R. Calhelha. FEDER-Interreg Espana-Portugal (0377 Iberphenol_6_E). V.G. Corrêa ao CAPES. R.M. Peralta (307944/2015-8) e A. Bracht(304090/20Ï6-6).info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio