Antioxidant activity of lemongrass essential oil and its constituents

Plants and their ingredients (essential oil, flavonoids, etc.) are considered to be functional food if specific health benefits are attained by their consumption. These benefits include mostly preventive and protective but sometimes curative properties against one or more diseases, usually the so-called civilization diseases (different types of cancer, cardiovascular and neurodegenerative diseases) [1]. The essential oil (EO) obtained from Cymbopogon citratus (DC.) Stapf. (Poaceae) is a perfect functional food ingredient. Its characteristic, pleasant and refreshing odor goes hand in hand with its antiinflammatory, diuretic and sedative activities, due to which the plant was used in folk medicine for the treatment of nervous and gastrointestinal illnesses [2].                The aim of this work was an assessment of the antioxidant activity of lemongrass essential oil and its constituents. EO was hydrodistilled from the leaves and also the stems of C. citratus grown in Poland, while its chemical composition was analyzed by GC-MS. Both essential oils had a very similar chemical composition, with the exception of the presence of a sesquiterpene alcohol, elemol, in the stems oil, as well as a different antioxidant activity, which was higher for the EO obtained from the stems. The next stage of our research work was the isolation of the major components by the use of high-performance counter-current chromatography (HPCCC). The isolated compounds, neral, geranial, and elemol, as well as citronellol and citronellal, were subjected to antioxidant activity testing by TLC-bioautography using DPPH as the detection reagent, as well as by the CUPRAC method. However, the performed studies did not confirm the antioxidant activity of the major components alone present in the lemongrass essential oil. In total, neral, geranial, and elemol constituted 84.2% of all components present in the EO from C. citratus stems but they were not responsible for the observed antioxidant effect. It can be concluded that the antioxidant activity of lemongrass oil is the result of a synergistic effect of all ingredients present in this EO

Volatile compounds from different species of Lycopodium with anti-tuberculosis activity

Different species belonging to the genus Lycopodium L. (Lycopodiaceae) were used in folk medicine due to their antibacterial, healing effects on wounds, and properties used in the treatment of mental diseases, like amnesia, schizophrenia and different types of dementia.                Extracts containing volatiles obtained from different Lycopodium species: L. clavatum, L. annotinum, and Huperzia serrata (syn. Lycopodium serratum Thunb.), were tested against Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Dichloromethane and petroleum ether extracts of the mentioned species collected in different geographical sites (in Poland and Ukraine) have shown interesting activities.                Minimal Inhibitory Concentrations (MIC) values for the extracts were determined by a 96-well microplate method with alamarBlue (Invitrogen). The inoculum of the reference strain of Mycobacterium tuberculosis H37Ra in Middlebrook 7H9 broth (Difco) was 5 x 105 cfu/mL per well, according to CLSI standards. Serial twofold dilutions of the extracts ranged from 8 to 256 µg/mL. As the internal control of the method, serial twofold dilutions of four first-line antibiotics dedicated to tuberculosis treatment: isoniazid (INH), rifampicin (RMP), ethambutol (EMB), and streptomycin (SM) were used [1,2]

The impact of functional food on the prevention and treatment of respiratory diseases

Globally, diseases of the lung are one of the main causes of death, and conventional therapies are often ineffective in dealing with this serious medical and sociological problem. Since ancient times, medicinal plants have been used in the treatment of respiratory tract diseases. Such plants show antitussive, muscle relaxing, bronchi dilation or cillary movement effects. Their usefulness has been confirmed by modern and current research. A medicinal plant that is also a functional food can open new areas in the prevention and treatment of respiratory tract diseases. In this review, information about the influence of functional food on preventing and treating asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disorder (COPD) and high-altitude sickness are presented

Impact of Plant Origin on Eurasian Propolis on Phenolic Profile and Classical Antioxidant Activity

Propolis is a bee product with known medical properties, including antioxidant activity. The scope of the study is profiling 19 different Eurasian propolis samples (mostly from Russia and Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Poland, Ukraine, and Slovakia). Profiles of propolises were investigated by ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography–diode array detector–mass spectrometry (UPLC-DAD-MS). Classical antioxidant properties, which are based on electron donation mechanism, were assessed by DPPH, ferric reducing antioxidant power (FRAP), and oxygen radical absorbance capacity (ORAC) assays. Total phenolic and flavonoid contents were also evaluated by colorimetric tests. Most of the samples exhibited significant content of polyphenols (from 30.28 to 145.24 mg GAE/g of propolis) and flavonoids (from 10.45 to 82.71 mg GAE/g of propolis). Most of the propolis samples exhibited potent antiradical (DPPH test—from 8.83 to 64.47 mg GAE/g of propolis) and reducing activity (FRAP test—from 0.08 to 1.17 mmol Fe2+/g of propolis). Based on the occurrence of marker compounds, propolis samples were classified as poplar, aspen–birch, aspen–poplar, and aspen–birch–poplar type. Main markers present in propolis of poplar (e.g., chrysin, pinocembrin, galangin, and 3-O-acetyl-pinobanksin), birch (ermanin and acacetin) and aspen (2-acetyl-1,3-di-p-coumaroylglycerol) origin were used. DPPH, FRAP, and ORAC tests results were correlated with flavonoids, total polyphenols, or the polyphenols other than flavonoids content. In term of activity, poplar propolis type was variable, while aspen–birch–poplar type usually exhibited high DPPH and FRAP activity

Influence of Production Parameters on the Content of Polyphenolic Compounds in Extruded Porridge Enriched with Chokeberry Fruit (Aronia melanocarpa (Michx.) Elliott)

Chokeberry fruit (Aronia melanocarpa (Michx.) Elliott) is known for its antioxidant properties and generally beneficial impact on human health. The aim of the research was to produce innovative corn porridge with a different content of chokeberry fruit percentage-wise and to test it to determine the content of polyphenolic compounds, including flavonoids and individual free phenolic acids, and determine the antioxidant properties of analysed extracts. One of the objectives was also to identify the optimum porridge production parameters, including, among other things, the rotational speed of the extruder screw during the extrusion process