Nutritional Importance of Carotenoids and Their Effect on Liver Health: A Review

©2019. This manuscript version is made available under the CC-BY 4.0 license http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by /4.0/ This document is the Published, version of a Published Work that appeared in final form in Antioxidants. To access the final edited and published work see https://doi.org/10.3390/antiox8070229The consumption of carotenoids has beneficial e ects on health, reducing the risk of certain forms of cancer, cardiovascular diseases, and macular degeneration, among others. The mechanism of action of carotenoids has not been clearly identified; however, it has been associated with the antioxidant capacity of carotenoids, which acts against reactive oxygen species and inactivating free radicals, although it has also been shown that carotenoids modulate gene expression. Dietary carotenoids are absorbed and accumulated in the liver and other organs, where they exert their beneficial e ects. In recent years, it has been described that the intake of carotenoids can significantly reduce the risk of su ering from liver diseases, such as non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). This disease is characterized by an imbalance in lipid metabolism producing the accumulation of fat in the hepatocyte, leading to lipoperoxidation, followed by oxidative stress and inflammation. In the first phases, the main treatment of NAFLD is to change the lifestyle, including dietary habits. In this sense, carotenoids have been shown to have a hepatoprotective e ect due to their ability to reduce oxidative stress and regulate the lipid metabolism of hepatocytes by modulating certain genes. The objective of this review was to provide a description of the e ects of dietary carotenoids from fruits and vegetables on liver health

Improvement of the Flavanol Profile and the Antioxidant Capacity of Chocolate Using a Phenolic Rich Cocoa Powder

© 2020. The authors. This document is made available under the CC-BY-NC-ND 4.0 license http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc /4.0/ This document is the accepted version of a published work that appeared in final form in Foods.Chocolate is made from cocoa, which is rich in (poly)phenols that have a high antioxidant capacity and are associated with the prevention of chronic diseases. In this study, a new production process was evaluated in order to obtain a dark chocolate enriched in (poly)phenols using a cocoa powder with an improved flavanol profile. The antioxidant capacity (Oxygen Radical Absorbance Capacity (ORAC) assay) and the flavanol profile (HPLC-DAD and HPLC-FL) was determined. The analysis of the enriched chocolate showed that the total flavan-3-ols (monomers) content was 4 mg/g representing a 3-fold higher than that quantified in the conventional one. Total levels of dimers (procyanidin B1 and B2) were 2.4-fold higher in the enriched chocolate than in the conventional, with a total content of 6 mg/g. The total flavanol content (flavan-3-ols and procyanidins) in the enriched chocolate was increased by 39% compared to the conventional one which led to a 56% increase in the antioxidant capacity. The new flavanol-enriched dark chocolate is expected to provide greater beneficial e ect to consumers. Moreover, the amount of flavonols provided by a single dose (ca. 200 mg per 10 g) would allow the use of a health claim on cardiovascular function, a fact of interest for the cocoa industry

Estimación de la ingesta y necesidades de enriquecimiento de folatos y ácido fólico en alimentos

El término "folato" se utiliza de forma genérica para denominar las distintas formas químicas derivadas del ácido fólico, una de las vitaminas del grupo B (concretamente la vitamina B9). Son esenciales en el metabolismo al actuar como cofactores en las reacciones de transferencia de un carbono. No obstante, solamente las plantas y los microorganismos son capaces de sintetizarlos de novo, de tal forma que tanto los animales como el hombre necesitan ingerirlos a través de los alimentos de la dieta. Se encuentra ampliamente extendido en la naturaleza, presentándose en mayor cantidad en las verduras de hoja ancha, en hígado y en cereales. Aún así, en la actualidad es una de las deficiencias nutricionales más comunes en todo el mundo, y tiene graves consecuencias sobre la salud humana. Existe evidencia de que incluso en países desarrollados la ingesta de folatos es generalmente baja, e incluso en algunos casos por debajo de los niveles óptimos. Por ello, las autoridades competentes de numerosos países están tomando medidas a este respecto, de tal forma que se está realizando la fortificación de numerosos alimentos considerados de consumo diario, tales como leche o cereales, ya sea de forma obligatoria (Estados Unidos, Canadá o Chile) o voluntaria (la mayoría de los países de Europa)

Seasonal Variation of Health-Promoting Bioactives in Broccoli and Methyl-Jasmonate Pre-Harvest Treatments to Enhance Their Contents

Broccoli is a source of bioactive compounds that provide an important nutritional value. The content of these compounds can vary depending on agronomic and environmental conditions, as well as on elicitation. In this study, three crop trials were carried out to evaluate the effects of the cultivation season, the application of different dosages of methyl-jasmonate (MeJA) on the overall quality and on the total content of bioactive compounds of ‘Parthenon’ broccoli cultivated under the field conditions of southeastern Spain. Color parameters, chlorophyll content, total phenolic compounds, total flavonoids and antioxidant activity were measured to evaluate the overall quality. Moreover, individual carotenoids, phenolic compounds and glucosinolates were evaluated by high performance liquid chromatography with diode array detection (HPLC-DAD) and high performance liquid chromatography equipped with diode array detector coupled to mass spectrometer using electro spray ionization (HPLC-DAD-ESI/MSn). The content of total carotenoids, phenolic compounds and glucosinolates were higher in autumn compared with spring, showing increases of 2.8-fold, 2-fold and 1.2-fold, respectively. Moreover, a double application of MeJA increased the contents of total carotenoids, phenolic compounds and glucosinolates by 22%, 32% and 39%, respectively, relative to the untreated samples. Considering our results, the controlled and timely application of 250 µM MeJA to the aerial parts of the plants four days before harvest, on two consecutive days, seems to be a valid agronomic strategy to improve the health-promoting capacity of Parthenon broccoli, without compromising its overall quality