Cell systems to investigate the impact of polyphenols on cardiovascular health

Polyphenols are a diverse group of micronutrients from plant origin that may serve as antioxidants and that contribute to human health in general. More specifically, many research groups have investigated their protective effect against cardiovascular diseases in several animal studies and human trials. Yet, because of the excessive processing of the polyphenol structure by human cells and the residing intestinal microbial community, which results in a large variability between the test subjects, the exact mechanisms of their protective effects are still under investigation. To this end, simplified cell culture systems have been used to decrease the inter-individual variability in mechanistic studies. In this review, we will discuss the different cell culture models that have been used so far for polyphenol research in the context of cardiovascular diseases. We will also review the current trends in cell culture research, including co-culture methodologies. Finally, we will discuss the potential of these advanced models to screen for cardiovascular effects of the large pool of bioactive polyphenols present in foods and their metabolites

Co-ingestion of black carrot and strawberry : effects on anthocyanin stability, bioaccessibility and uptake

Although the fate of anthocyanins along digestion has been a matter of research over the last decade, their bioaccessibility so far has been mainly assessed for single administered fruits or vegetables, which is far from the real scenario where they are co-ingested in a meal. Accordingly, the aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of simultaneous intake of fruit and vegetable on in vitro stability, bioaccessibility and uptake of anthocyanins. Black carrot and strawberry were used as food sources of anthocyanins. Anthocyanin identification and quantification were performed using HPLC-Qtof/HPLC-UV. Single matrices and mixtures thereof, were submitted to a standardized in vitro digestion procedure. Anthocyanin uptake was evaluated through an intestinal Caco-2 cell model. Our results showed an increased intestinal stability for specific anthocyanins as a consequence of co-digestion. The presence of the strawberry food matrix positively affected the bioaccessibility of the carrot associated cyanidin-based anthocyanins, whereas no reciprocal effect was observed for pelargonidin-based derivatives in the presence of the black carrot food matrix. Anthocyanin transport was maintained after co-administration. Overall, co-ingestion of black carrot and strawberry did not negatively affect the stability, bioaccessibility or uptake of cyanidin-based anthocyanins, although the effect on pelargonidin-based anthocyanins depended on the type of pelargonidin derivative

Effects of honey addition on antioxidative properties of different herbal teas

Tea and herbal infusions are among the major contributors of phenolic compounds, specifically flavonoids, in our daily diet. Honey is another antioxidant-rich food that is widely used as a natural sweetener. In this work, the effects of honey addition on antioxidant properties of different herbal teas were investigated. For this purpose, 2 different types of honey (flower and pine honey) were added into 9 different herbal teas (melissa, green tea, rosehip, sage, echinacea, fennel, linden, daisy, and ginger) at 4 different temperatures (55°C, 65°C, 75°C, and 85°C), and the changes in the content of total pheolics, total flavonoids, and total antioxidant capacity were determined. The total phenolic content and the total antioxidant capacity of the honey-added-tea samples were found to be increased (up to 57% for both), especially with pine honey and at higher temperatures of honey addition. The findings of this study supported the use of honey as a natural sweetener in tea in order to be able to benefit from the health-enhancing antioxidative properties of these two promising food products

Resveratrol improves TNF-α-induced endothelial dysfunction in a coculture model of a Caco-2 with an endothelial cell line

A

Implementation of relevant fourth industrial revolution innovations across the supply chain of fruits and vegetables: a short update on Traceability 4.0

Food Traceability 4.0 refers to the application of fourth industrial revolution (or Industry 4.0) technologies to ensure food authenticity, safety, and high food quality. Growing interest in food traceability has led to the development of a wide range of chemical, biomolecular, isotopic, chromatographic, and spectroscopic methods with varied performance and success rates. This review will give an update on the application of Traceability 4.0 in the fruits and vegetables sector, focusing on relevant Industry 4.0 enablers, especially Artificial Intelligence, the Internet of Things, blockchain, and Big Data. The results show that the Traceability 4.0 has significant potential to improve quality and safety of many fruits and vegetables, enhance transparency, reduce the costs of food recalls, and decrease waste and loss. However, due to their high implementation costs and lack of adaptability to industrial environments, most of these advanced technologies have not yet gone beyond the laboratory scale. Therefore, further research is anticipated to overcome current limitations for large-scale applications

Polyphenol content in figs (Ficus carica L.) : effect of sun-drying

In order to investigate the effect of sun-drying on the health-related constituents as well as bioaccessibility of figs; total phenolics, flavonoids, proanthocyanidins, anthocyanins, antioxidant capacity and major phenolic compounds were determined for two commercial figs (Sarilop and Bursa siyahi) with different color (yellow and purple). In addition, release of phytochemical was studied by simulating of in vitro gastrointestinal digestion. In both varieties, rutin and cyanidin-3-rutinoside were confirmed as the major flavonol and anthocyanin, respectively. For both varieties, analyses of total phenolics, anthocyanins and antioxidant activity revealed lower levels after sun-drying. On the other hand, 75 and 71% higher total flavonoid and proanthocyanidin contents were observed for yellow figs

Investigating the in vitro bioaccessibility of polyphenols in fresh and sun-dried figs (Ficus carica L.)

In this study, in order to evaluate the in vitro bioaccessibility of fresh and sun-dried figs, total antioxidant capacity (TAC), total proanthocyanidin content (TPA) and the major phenolic compounds were determined at different phases of simulated gastrointestinal (GI) tract digestion for Sarilop and Bursa siyahi fig varieties. Four major phenolic compounds (chlorogenic acid, rutin, cyanidin-3-glucoside (C3G) and cyanidin-3-rutinoside (C3R)) were investigated for GI tract digestion. The results of in vitro GI tract digestion revealed that the dialysed fraction (IN) represented 9–26% and 1–22% of the initial TAC of the whole-fresh yellow and purple figs, respectively. Moreover, in case of 2,2-azinobis(3-ethylbenzothiazoline)-6-sulphonic acid (ABTS), TPA and chlorogenic acid contents, drying caused an increase in the IN fraction of yellow figs (38, 140, 50%, respectively). The bioaccessibility of C3G and C3R were quite low for fresh figs (0–5% of the initial values), whereas for dried figs, anthocyanins were not detected at all in the IN fraction