Northern Sea Cucumber (Cucumaria frondosa): A Potential Candidate for Functional Food, Nutraceutical, and Pharmaceutical Sector

Sea cucumber (Cucumaria frondosa) is the most abundant and widely distributed species in the cold waters of North Atlantic Ocean. C. frondosa contains a wide range of bioactive compounds, mainly collagen, cerebrosides, glycosaminoglycan, chondroitin sulfate, saponins, phenols, and mucopolysaccharides, which demonstrate unique biological and pharmacological properties. In particular, the body wall of this marine invertebrate is the major edible part and contains most of the active constituents, mainly polysaccharides and collagen, which exhibit numerous biological activities, including anticancer, anti-hypertensive, anti-angiogenic, anti-inflammatory, antidiabetic, anti-coagulation, antimicrobial, antioxidation, and anti- osteoclastogenic properties. In particular, triterpene glycosides (frondoside A and other) are the most researched group of compounds due to their potential anticancer activity. This review summarizes the latest information on C. frondosa, mainly geographical distribution, landings specific to Canadian coastlines, processing, commercial products, trade market, bioactive compounds, and potential health benefits in the context of functional foods and nutraceuticals

Zinc-Chelating Mechanism of Sea Cucumber (Stichopus japonicus)-Derived Synthetic Peptides

In this study, three synthetic zinc-chelating peptides (ZCPs) derived from sea cucumber hydrolysates with limited or none of the common metal-chelating amino-acid residues were analyzed by flame atomic absorption spectroscopy, circular dichroism spectroscopy, size exclusion chromatography, zeta-potential, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, Raman spectroscopy and nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy. The amount of zinc bound to the ZCPs reached maximum values with ZCP:zinc at 1:1, and it was not further increased by additional zinc presence. The secondary structures of ZCPs were slightly altered, whereas no formation of multimers was observed. Furthermore, zinc increased the zeta-potential value by neutralizing the negatively charged residues. Only free carboxyl in C-terminus of ZCPs was identified as the primary binding site of zinc. These results provide the theoretical foundation to understand the mechanism of zinc chelation by peptides

Antioxidant activity, total phenolics and flavonoids contents: should we ban in vitro screening methods?

As many studies are exploring the association between ingestion of bioactive compounds and decreased risk of non-communicable diseases, the scientific community continues to show considerable interest in these compounds. In addition, as many non-nutrients with putative health benefits are reducing agents, hydrogen donors, singlet oxygen quenchers or metal chelators, measurement of antioxidant activity using in vitro assays has become very popular over recent decades. Measuring concentrations of total phenolics, flavonoids, and other compound (sub)classes using UV/Vis spectrophotometry offers a rapid chemical index, but chromatographic techniques are necessary to establish structure-activity. For bioactive purposes, in vivo models are required or, at the very least, methods that employ distinct mechanisms of action (i.e., single electron transfer, transition metal chelating ability, and hydrogen atom transfer). In this regard, better understanding and application of in vitro screening methods should help design of future research studies on ‘bioactive compounds’

Nutraceuticals and Healthful Products from Aquatic Resources

Marine, fresh water and cultured fish, shellfish and other aquatic species provide a rich source of food as well as by-products that could be used for production of a wide range of health promoting compounds. These bioactives include omega-3 fatty acids, proteins and biopeptides, carotenoids and carotenoproteins, enzymes, chitinous materials and glucosamine as well as minerals, among others. The bioactives present in seafoods and aquatic resources are effective in rendering beneficial health effects and reducing the risk of a number of chronic diseases. Thus, such bioactives may serve as important value-added nutraceuticals, natural health products and functional food ingredients that can be used for health promotion and disease risk reduction

Tocopherols and Tocotrienols in Common and Emerging Dietary Sources: Occurrence, Applications, and Health Benefits

Edible oils are the major natural dietary sources of tocopherols and tocotrienols, collectively known as tocols. Plant foods with low lipid content usually have negligible quantities of tocols. However, seeds and other plant food processing by-products may serve as alternative sources of edible oils with considerable contents of tocopherols and tocotrienols. Tocopherols are among the most important lipid-soluble antioxidants in food as well as in human and animal tissues. Tocopherols are found in lipid-rich regions of cells (e.g., mitochondrial membranes), fat depots, and lipoproteins such as low-density lipoprotein cholesterol. Their health benefits may also be explained by regulation of gene expression, signal transduction, and modulation of cell functions. Potential health benefits of tocols include prevention of certain types of cancer, heart disease, and other chronic ailments. Although deficiencies of tocopherol are uncommon, a continuous intake from common and novel dietary sources of tocopherols and tocotrienols is advantageous. Thus, this contribution will focus on the relevant literature on common and emerging edible oils as a source of tocols. Potential application and health effects as well as the impact of new cultivars as sources of edible oils and their processing discards are presented. Future trends and drawbacks are also briefly covered

Bioactivities of Phenolics by Focusing on Suppression of Chronic Diseases: A Review

Phenolics, which are secondary metabolites of plants, exhibit remarkable bioactivities. In this contribution, we have focused on their protective effect against chronic diseases rather than their antioxidant activities, which have been widely discussed in the literature. A large body of epidemiological studies has proven the bioactivities of phenolics in both standard compounds and natural extracts: namely, anticancer, anti-inflammatory, and antibacterial activities as well as reducing diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and neurodegenerative disease. Phenolics also display anti-analgesic, anti-allergic, and anti-Alzheimer’s properties. Thus, this review provides crucial information for better understanding the bioactivities of phenolics in foods and fills a gap in the existing collective and overall knowledge in the field

Insoluble-Bound Phenolics in Food

This contribution provides a review of the topic of insoluble-bound phenolics, especially their localization, synthesis, transfer and formation in plant cells, as well as their metabolism in the human digestive system and corresponding bioactivities. In addition, their release from the food matrix during food processing and extraction methods are discussed. The synthesis of phenolics takes place mainly at the endoplasmic reticulum and they are then transferred to each organ through transport proteins such as the ATP-binding cassette (ABC) and multidrug and toxic compound extrusion (MATE) transporter at the organ’s compartment membrane or via transport vesicles such as cytoplasmic and Golgi vesicles, leading to the formation of soluble and insoluble-bound phenolics at the vacuole and cell wall matrix, respectively. This part has not been adequately discussed in the food science literature, especially regarding the synthesis site and their transfer at the cellular level, thus this contribution provides valuable information to the involved scientists. The bound phenolics cannot be absorbed at the small intestine as the soluble phenolics do (5%–10%), thus passing into the large intestine and undergoing fermentation by a number of microorganisms, partially released from cell wall matrix of foods. Bound phenolics such as phenolic acids and flavonoids display strong bioactivities such as anticancer, anti-inflammation and cardiovascular disease ameliorating effects. They can be extracted by several methods such as acid, alkali and enzymatic hydrolysis to quantify their contents in foods. In addition, they can also be released from the cell wall matrix during food processing procedures such as fermentation, germination, roasting, extrusion cooking and boiling. This review provides critical information for better understanding the insoluble-bound phenolics in food and fills an existing gap in the literature

Comparison of nutrient composition of gonads and coelomic fluid of green sea urchin Strongylocentrotus droebachiensis

The compositional characteristics of sea urchin gonads and coeloniic lluid from Stnmgylocemnitus droehuchiensis harvested in the coasts of Newfoundland and thereafter reared in an aquaculture facility and fed on a Laminaria diet for a 3-week period, were assessed. Evaluations were performed on the basis of proximate composition, lipid class distribution, fatty acid composition, total and free amino acid composition, and contents of nucleic acids and carotenoids. Noticeable changes existed between proximate composition of sea urchin gonads and coelomic fluid. Moisture content was 74.7 + 0.04 and 96.5 ± 0.03% in gonads and coelomic fluid, respectively. Gonads contained very high levels of lipids, proteins, and carbohydrates; whereas, these were present at very low levels in the coelomic fluid. Major nonpolar lipid classes were triacylglycerols (TAG), free fatty acids (FFA). and sterols (ST) while dommant polar lipid classes were phosphatidylcholine (PC), phosphatidylethanolamine (PE). sphingomyelin/ lysophosphatidylcholine (SM/LPC). and phosphatidylserine / phosphatidylinositol (PS/PlI in both the gonads and the coelomic fluid. Major saturated fatty acids (SPA) were 14;0 and 16:0; whereas. 20:ln-15 was the main monounsaturated fatty acid (MUFA) present. Furthermore, 20:5n-3 (eicosapentaenoic acid, EPA) was the dominant polyunsaturated fatty acid (PUFA) in the gonads and the coelomic fluid. The total amino acid (TAA) and free amino acid (FAA) profiles were dominated by glycine. The total FAA content was much higher in the gonads than in the coelomic fluid. In addition, the total carotenoid content of sea urchin gonads was approximately 6.4 times greater than that of coelomic fluid. Hence, most of the carotenoids were concentrated in the gonadal tissue. Echininone and fucoxanthin were the dominant carotenoids in the gonads and the coelomic fluid, respectively. The content of deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) and ribonucleic acid (RNA) was much higher in the gonad than in the coelomic fluid, thus indicating greater biomass and protein synthetic activity in the former tissue. The present study demonstrates that sea urchin gonads have much in common with sea urchin coelomic fluid on a qualitative basis. However, there were marked quantital;ve differences between the two tissues

Antinutrients and phytochemicals in food/ Editor: Fereidoon Shahidi

vii, 334 hal.: ill., tab.; 21 cm

Importance of Insoluble-Bound Phenolics to the Antioxidant Potential Is Dictated by Source Material

Insoluble-bound phenolics (IBPs) are extensively found in the cell wall and distributed in various tissues/organs of plants, mainly cereals, legumes, and pulses. In particular, IBPs are mainly distributed in the protective tissues, such as seed coat, pericarp, and hull, and are also available in nutritional tissues, including germ, epicotyl, hypocotyl radicle, and endosperm, among others. IBPs account for 20–60% of the total phenolics in food matrices and can exceed 70% in leaves, flowers, peels, pulps, seeds, and other counterparts of fruits and vegetables, and up to 99% in cereal brans. These phenolics are mostly covalently bound to various macromolecules such as hemicellulose, cellulose, structural protein, arabinoxylan, and pectin, which can be extracted by acid, alkali, or enzymatic hydrolysis along with various thermal and non-thermal treatments. IBPs obtained from various sources exhibited a wide range of biological activities, including antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, antihypertensive, anticancer, anti-obesity, and anti-diabetic properties. In this contribution, the chemistry, distribution, biological activities, metabolism, and extraction methods of IBPs, and how they are affected by various treatments, are summarized. In particular, the effect of thermal and non-thermal processing on the release of IBPs and their antioxidant potential is discussed