The potential of Manitoba chokecherry as a source of high natural antioxidants

Consumption of fruits and vegetables is shown to be beneficial for protecting health and preventing some chronic diseases such as cancer, cardiovascular disease, and stroke. The positive health effects have been mainly due to the contributions of their natural antioxidant capacity. Chokecherry (Prunus virginiana), a unique fruit, is a member of the Rose family and native to North America. Here we demonstrate that chokecherry fruit with strong antioxidant capacity is available in Manitoba, and that its potent antioxidant potential can be developed for health benefits in value-added applications.These findings are useful for developing novel value-added antioxidant products from chokecherry because of its phytochemical profile associated with health protection and prevention of disease. The results provide evidence essential for breeding novel cultivars of fruit plants with strong natural antioxidants

Bioactivity of flaxseed lignans

The lignans derived from flaxseed possess a number of pharmacological properties, both in vitro and in vivo. The ability of these lignans to reduce oxidative stress likely contributes to many of these biological properties. However, it is likely that flaxseed-derived lignans also provide pharmacological activity as a result of their interactions with specific receptors and enzymes within these biological systems. In order to better understand the therapeutic role that flaxseed and flaxseed lignans may play, further studies into the mechanisms of action is warranted. A better understanding of the pharmacology of flaxseed lignans will ultimately lead to appropriate recommendations for their therapeutic use, either as stand-alone therapies or as adjuvants with other pharmaceutical or natural products

Bioactivity of flaxseed lignans

The lignans derived from flaxseed possess a number of pharmacological properties, both in vitro and in vivo. The ability of these lignans to reduce oxidative stress likely contributes to many of these biological properties. However, it is likely that flaxseedderived lignans also provide pharmacological activity as a result of their interactions with specific receptors and enzymes within these biological systems. In order to better understand the therapeutic role that flaxseed and flaxseed lignans may play, further studies into the mechanisms of action is warranted. A better understanding of the pharmacology of flaxseed lignans will ultimately lead to appropriate recommendations for their therapeutic use, either as stand-alone therapies or as adjuvants with other pharmaceutical or natural products

Phenolics content and antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activities of legume fractions

Two faba bean (Vicia faba L.) subspecies major and minor and lentil seeds grown in Algeria were separated into cotyledons and hulls. These fractions, togethe

AAPH-mediated antioxidant reactions of secoisolariciresinol and SDG

Secoisolariciresinol (SECO 1) is the major lignan found in flaxseed (Linum usitatissimum L.) and is present in a polymer that contains secoisolariciresinol diglucoside (SDG 2). SECO, SDG and the polymer are known to have a number of health benefits, including reduction of serum cholesterol levels, delay in the onset of type II diabetes and decreased formation of breast, prostate and colon cancers. The health benefits of SECO and SDG may be partially attributed to their antioxidant properties. To better understand their antioxidant properties, SECO and SDG were oxidized using 2,2′-azobis(2-amidinopropane), an in vitro model of radical scavenging. The major lignan radical-scavenging oxidation products and their formation over time were determined. SDG was converted to four major products (11-14), which were the result of a phenoxyl radical intermediate. One of these products (13), a dimer of SDG, decomposed under the reaction conditions to form two of the other major products, 12 and 14. SECO was converted to five major products (6-10), two of which (6 and 7) were also the result of a phenoxyl radical intermediate. The remaining products (8, 9 and 10) were the result of an unexpected alkoxyl radical intermediate. The phenol oxidation products were stable under the reaction conditions, whereas two of the alcohol oxidation products (8 and 9) decomposed. In general, only one phenol group on the lignans was oxidized, suggesting that the number of phenols per molecule may not predict radical scavenging antioxidant ability of lignans. Finally, SECO is a superior antioxidant to SDG, and it may be that the additional alcohol oxidation pat

Antioxidant capacity of flaxseed lignans in two model systems

The flaxseed lignans secoisolariciresinol (SECO) and its diglucoside secoisolariciresinol diglucoside (SDG) are reported to have a number of health benefits associated with their consumption that have in part been attributed to their antioxidant properties. In this study the relative antioxidant capacity of the flaxseed lignans vs. BHT was determined in two model systems. First, an antioxidant stoichiometric value was determined for SECO and SDG in a liposomal system as a mimic of lipid peroxidation. Stoichiometric values for SECO (1.5) and SDG (1.2) vs. BHT (2.0) were measured from the lag time for the formation of conjugated dienes; all values were significantly different (P 0.01). There was also no significant difference between SECO or SDG and BHT, suggesting flaxseed lignans may be good alternatives to minimize rancidity in oil-based food products. Copyrigh

Phenolic profile and antioxidant activity from non-toxic Mexican Jatropha curcas L. shell methanolic extracts

Jatropha curcas seed shells are the by-product obtained during oil extraction process. Recently, its chemical composition has gained attention since its potential applications. The aim of this study was to identify phenolic compounds profile from a non-toxic J. curcas shell from Mexico, besides, evaluate J. curcas shell methanolic extract (JcSME) antioxidant activity. Free, conjugate and bound phenolics were fractionated and quantified (606.7, 193.32 and 909.59 μg/g shell, respectively) and 13 individual phenolic compounds were detected by HPLC. The radical-scavenging activity of JcSME was similar to Trolox and ascorbic acid by DPPH assay whi