Anthocyanins, phenols, and antioxidant activity in blackberry juice with plant extracts addition during heating

In this work the influence of addition of different plant extracts (olive leaf, green tea, pine bark PE 95%, pine bark PE 5:1, red wine PE 30%, red wine PE 4:1, and bioflavonoids) to blackberry juice during heating (at 30, 50, 70 and 90 °C) on the anthocyanin and phenol contents, polymeric colour, and antioxidant activity was investigated. Also, reaction rate constant, half-lives of degradation, and activation energy were calculated. Control sample was juice without addition of extracts. The highest anthocyanin content at 30 °C was in samples with the addition of olive leaf and green tea. At 90 °C the highest anthocyanin content was measured in samples with the addition of extract of red wine and bioflavonoides. Samples supplemented with the extracts had much higher antioxidant activity in comparison to the control sample. Results showed that at 90 °C the sample with green tea supplementation had the lowest reaction rate constant and the highest half-life. Activation energy ranged from 29 to 44 kJ mol−1

Potential use of Rosemary, Propolis and Thyme as Natural Food Preservatives

The use of preservatives in food stuffs and beverages is essential in order to prevent spoilage due to microbial growth or undesirable chemical changes. However, the use of synthetic additives has been associated with various health problems. Therefore, consumers have turned suspicious and obverted towards ingredients from natural sources. This tendency has driven food industry in further search and development of “natural preservatives”, to extend the shelf life of its products and maintain their safety. This report is focused on the current status of the natural derived preservatives and potential use of propolis, thyme and rosemary as sources for the development of effective preservatives

Physical properties of Chitosan films containing pomegranate peel extracts obtained by deep eutectic solvents

Pomegranate peel is a byproduct of pomegranate juice production, and is rich in polyphenol compounds. The objective of this study was to investigate the incorporation of pomegranate peel extract in chitosan films. Green deep eutectic solvents (DESs) were used as extraction solvents. Choline chloride (ChCl) and glycerol (Gly) were used as the hydrogen bond acceptor and hydrogen bond donor, respectively; the molar ratio of the DES ingredients, ChCl:Gly, was 1:11. The extraction process was optimized by deploying response surface methodology. Under the optimized conditions, the extraction yield in total polyphenols amounted to 272.98 mg of gallic acid equivalents per g of dry matter and, for total flavonoids, 20.12 mg of quercetin equivalents per g of dry matter, with a liquid to solid ratio of 47 mL g-1, time of 70 min, and 30% (v/v) water concentration in the DES. Afterwards, composite chitosan films were prepared by using five different formulations; the DES containing extract was incorporated as a plasticizer in the chitosan films. Specimens of every recipe were submitted to large deformation tensile testing in Texture Analyzer. Furthermore, water sorption behavior and color parameters of the films were determined. © 2021 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland

Insights on the impact of deep eutectic solvents on the composition of the extracts from lemon (Citrus limon L.) peels analyzed by a novel RP-LC–QTOF-MS/MS method

Extraction of polyphenolic compounds from lemon peels using deep eutectic solvents (DES) was investigated. A choline chloride-based DES paired with glycerol was used as the extraction solvent, alternative to conventional ones. Response surface methodology (RSM) was employed to optimize the extraction parameters, namely, the water concentration (CW), the liquid to solid ratio (RL/S) and the duration of the extraction (t) in terms of total phenol content and radical scavenging activity; the conditions that can be recommended as optimum for the recovery of the phenolic compounds were 55% (w/v), 13 mL g−1 and 36 min, respectively. The composition of the obtained extracts under optimum conditions was compared with extracts prepared in ethanol and water. A novel reversed phase ultra-pressure electrospray liquid chromatographic time-of-flight mass spectrometric method (RP-UPLC–ESI–QTOF-MS) was developed and validated for the determination of individual bioactive compounds in the extracts through target, suspect, and non-target screening. The developed RP-UPLC–ESI–QTOF-MS methodology was validated and presented adequately low limits of detection (LODs) and limits of quantification (LOQs) over the ranges 8.64 (quercetin)–30.4 μg L−1 (p-coumaric acid), and 25.9 (quercetin)–91.2 μg L−1 (p-coumaric acid), respectively. The RSD% of the within-day and between-day assays were lower than 3.2, and 9.8, respectively, demonstrating good method precision. Overall, 10 compounds were determined and quantified through target screening, as well as 4 suspect, and 9 non-target compounds were tentatively identified in the extracts by means of suspect and non-target screening, respectively. © 2022, The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature

A new controlled release system for propolis polyphenols and its biochemical activity for skin applications

Propolis is a resinous substance produced by bees that exhibits antimicrobial, immunostimulatory and antioxidant activity. Its use is common in functional foods, cosmetics and traditional medicine despite the fact that it demonstrates low extraction yields and inconsistency in non-toxic solvents. In this work, a new encapsulation and delivery system consisting of liposomes and cyclodextrins incorporating propolis polyphenols has been developed and characterized. The antioxidant, antimutagenic and antiaging properties of the system under normal and UVB-induced oxidative stress conditions were investigated in cultured skin cells and/or reconstituted skin model. Furthermore, the transcript accumulation for an array of genes involved in many skin-related processes was studied. The system exhibits significant polyphenol encapsulation efficiency, physicochemical stability as well as controlled release rate in appropriate conditions. The delivery system can retain the anti-mutagenic, anti-oxidative and anti-ageing effects of propolis polyphenols to levels similar and comparable to those of propolis methanolic extracts, making the system ideal for applications where non-toxic solvents are required and controlled release of the polyphenol content is desired. © 2021 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland

Diet Inflammatory Index and Dementia Incidence A Population-Based Study

Background and Objectives Aging is characterized by a functional shift of the immune system toward a proinflammatory phenotype. This derangement has been associated with cognitive decline and has been implicated in the pathogenesis of dementia. Diet can modulate systemic inflammation; thus, it may be a valuable tool to counteract the associated risk for cognitive impairment and dementia. The present study aimed to explore the associations between the inflammatory potential of diet, assessed with an easily applicable, population-based, biomarker-validated diet inflammatory index (DII), and the risk for dementia in community-dwelling older adults. Methods Individuals from the Hellenic Longitudinal Investigation of Aging and Diet (HELIAD) were included in the present cohort study. Participants were recruited through random population sampling and were followed up for a mean of 3.05 (standard deviation 0.85) years. Dementia diagnosis was based on standard clinical criteria. Those with baseline dementia or missing cognitive follow-up data were excluded from the analyses. The inflammatory potential of diet was assessed through a DII score that considers literature-derived associations of 45 food parameters with levels of proinflammatory and anti-inflammatory cytokines in the blood; higher values indicated a more proinflammatory diet. Consumption frequencies were derived from a detailed food frequency questionnaire and were standardized to representative dietary intake normative data from 11 different countries. Analysis of dementia incidence as a function of baseline DII scores was performed by Cox proportional hazards models. Results Analyses included 1,059 individuals (mean age 73.1 years, 40.3% male, mean education 8.2 years), 62 of whom developed incident dementia. Each additional unit of DII score was associated with a 21% increase in the risk for dementia incidence (hazard ratio 1.21 [95% confidence interval 1.03–1.42]; p = 0.023). Compared to participants in the lowest DII score tertile, participants in the highest one (maximal proinflammatory diet potential) were 3 (95% confidence interval 1.2–7.3; p = 0.014) times more likely to develop incident dementia. The test for trend was also significant, indicating a potential dose-response relationship (p = 0.014). Discussion In the present study, higher DII scores (indicating greater proinflammatory diet potential) were associated with an increased risk for incident dementia. These findings might avail the development of primary dementia preventive strategies through tailored and precise dietary interventions. © The Author(s), 2021

Dietary Inflammatory Index score and prodromal Parkinson's disease incidence: The HELIAD study

The aim of the present study was to investigate the association of the inflammatory potential of diet with prodromal Parkinson's disease (pPD) probability and incidence among community-dwelling older individuals without clinical features of parkinsonism at baseline. The sample consisted of 1,030 participants 65 years old or older, drawn from a population-based cohort study of older adults in Greece (Hellenic Longitudinal Investigation of Aging and Diet - HELIAD). We calculated pPD probability, according to International Parkinson and Movement Disorder Society research criteria. Dietary Inflammatory Index (DII) was used to measure the dietary inflammatory potential, with higher index score reflecting a more pro-inflammatory diet. Associations of baseline DII with pPD probability cross-sectionally, and with possible/probable pPD incidence (pPD probability ≥30%) during the follow-up period, were examined via general linear models and generalized estimating equations, respectively. Cross-sectionally, one unit increase of DII score [DII (min, max) = -5.83, 6.01] was associated with 4.9% increased pPD probability [β=0.049, 95%CI (0.025-0.090), p<0.001]. Prospectively, 62 participants developed pPD during 3.1±0.9 (mean±SD) years of follow-up. One unit increase in DII was associated with 20.3% increased risk for developing pPD [RR=1.203, 95%CI (1.070–1.351), p=0.002]. Participants in the highest tertile of DII score were 2.6 times more likely to develop pPD [β=2.594, 95%CI (1.332–5.050), p=0.005], compared to those in the lowest tertile. More pro-inflammatory diet was related with higher pPD probability and pPD incidence (pPD probability ≥30%) in a community-dwelling older adult population. Further studies are needed to confirm these findings. © 2022 Elsevier Inc