Natural Clerodendrum-derived tick repellent: learning from Nepali culture

Ticks attaching to ear canals of humans and animals are the cause of otoacariasis, common in rural areas of Nepal. The plant Clerodendrum viscosum is used in multiple indigenous systems of medicine by ethnic communities in the Indo-Nepali-Malaysian region. Visiting the Chitwan National Park, we learned that in indigenous medicine, flower extract of C. viscosum is utilized to treat digestive disorders and extracts from leaves as tick repellent to prevent ticks from invading or to remove them from the ear canal. The objective of our study was to provide support to indigenous medicine by characterizing the in vivo effect of leave extracts on ticks under laboratory conditions and its phytochemical composition. We collected plant parts of C. viscosum (leaves and flowers) and mango (Mangifera indica) leaves at the Chitwan National Park, previously associated with repellent activity to characterize their effect on Ixodes ricinus ticks by in vivo bioassays. A Q-ToF high-resolution analysis (HPLC-ESI-QToF) was conducted to elucidate phenolic compounds with potential repellent activity. Clerodendrum viscosum and M. indica leaf extracts had the highest tick repellent efficacy (%E = 80–100%) with significant differences when compared to C. viscosum flowers extracts (%E = 20–60%) and phosphate-buffered saline. Phytochemicals with tick repellent function as caffeic acid, fumaric acid and p-coumaric acid glucoside were identified in C. viscosum leaf extracts by HPLC-ESI-QToF, but not in non-repellent flower extracts. These results support the Nepali indigenous medicine application of C. viscosum leaf extracts to repel ticks. Additional research is needed for the development of natural and green repellent formulations to reduce the risks associated with ticks resistant to acaricides.Open Access funding provided thanks to the CRUE-CSIC agreement with Springer Nature.Peer reviewe

Food waste recovery for health sustainability. Coffee case

Resumen del trabajo presentado a la 5th International ISEKI_Food Conference: "The food system approach: new challenges for education, research and industry", celebrada en Stuttgart (Alemania) del 3 al 5 de julio de 2018.Very recently, the term "sustainable health" was coined as "a healthy and active ageing avoiding the risk of diseases". The goal may be accomplished by delivering high quality care and improved public health without exhausting natural resources or causing severe ecological damage. Bioactive compounds with health promoting properties can be obtained by food waste recovery. The present research aimed to validate coffee by-products (husk, parchment and silverskin) as health-promoting food ingredients by recycling the complete by-product avoiding the generation of new wastes. Aqueous extracts from coffee by-products were obtained according to WO2013004873A1. Pesticides, mycotoxins, acrylamide, microorganisms and acute toxicity experiment following OECD Test Guidelines 425 were performed for assessing food safety of extracts, solid residues and raw materials. Chemical characterization of the novel ingredients was carried out by raman and infrared spectroscopy and analysis of total phenolic compounds, chlorogenic acid, caffeine and dietary fiber. Antioxidant properties of the novel ingredients were tested by ABTS and intracellular ROS formation in HepG2. Aqueous extracts from coffee by-products showed high phenolic content (15.58 - 68.21 mg chlorogenic acid (CGA) eq./g) and antioxidant capacity (80.6 - 202.16 mg CGA eq./g). Robusta silverskin extract presented the highest content of CGA (21.3 mg/g) and parchment extract the highest values for caffeine (58.18 mg/g). The extracts were not cytotoxic at the concentrations tested (0.1 - 1 mg/ml) and reduced physiological reactive oxygen species in HepG2 cells. Insoluble fractions contained high values of total dietary fiber (husk, 71.9 %; parchment, 91.56 %; Arabica and Robusta silverskin, 67.69 % and 69.33 %). No lesions were found on examination of selected isolated vital organs from testing animals. In conclusion, husk and silverskin are proposed as sources of two food ingredients: aqueous extracts enriched in phytochemicals and antioxidant dietary fiber; while parchment as a single source of antioxidant dietary fiber. Coffee by-products can be converted into health-promoting food ingredients for a sustainable health allowing a whole food waste recovery.This work was funded by the SUSCOFFEE Project (AGL2014-57239-R).Peer Reviewe

Validation of coffee by-products as novel food ingredients

This research aimed to validate coffee husk, parchment and silverskin as new health-promoting food ingredients. Characterization of the novel ingredients was carried out by Raman and infrared spectroscopy and analysis of total phenolic compounds, chlorogenic acid, caffeine and dietary fiber. Antioxidant properties of the novel ingredients were tested by ABTS and intracellular ROS formation in HepG2 cells. Pesticides, mycotoxins, acrylamide and acute toxicity experiments following OECD Test Guidelines 425 were performed to assess the food safety of extracts, solid residues and raw materials. Husk and silverskin are proposed as a source of two food ingredients: aqueous extracts enriched in phytochemicals and antioxidant dietary fiber while parchment is proposed as a natural source of antioxidant dietary fiber. No lesions were found in selected isolated vital organs from treated animals. Coffee by-products can be converted into safe food ingredients allowing a whole food waste recovery. Analyses of contaminants are essential for achieving this goal.The SUSCOFFEE Project (AGL2014-57239-R): “Sustainable coffee production and consumption: Valorization of coffee waste into food ingredients” funded this work. A. Iriondo-DeHond is a fellow of the FPI predoctoral program of MINECO (BES-2015-072191).Peer reviewe

Bioaccesibility, metabolism, and excretion of lipids composing spent coffee grounds

This article belongs to the Special Issue Dietary Lipids and Human Health.The bioaccessibility, metabolism, and excretion of lipids composing spent coffee grounds (SCGs) were investigated. An analysis of mycotoxins and an acute toxicity study in rats were performed for safety evaluation. Total fat, fatty acids, and diterpenes (cafestol and kahweol) were determined in SCGs and their digests obtained in vitro. A pilot repeated intake study was carried out in Wistar rats using a dose of 1 g SCGs/kg b.w. for 28 days. Fat metabolism was evaluated by analysis of total fat, cholesterol, and histology in liver. The dietary fiber effect of SCGs was measured radiographically. The absence of mycotoxins and toxicity was reported in SCGs. A total of 77% of unsaturated fatty acids and low amounts of kahweol (7.09 µg/g) and cafestol (414.39 µg/g) were bioaccessible after in vitro digestion. A significantly lower (p < 0.1) accumulation of lipids in the liver and a higher excretion of these in feces was found in rats treated with SCGs for 28 days. No lipid droplets or liver damage were observed by histology. SCGs acutely accelerated intestinal motility in rats. SCGs might be considered a sustainable, safe, and healthy food ingredient with potential for preventing hepatic steatosis due to their effect as dietary fiber with a high fat-holding capacity.This research was funded by the SUSCOFFEE (AGL2014-57239-R) Project.Peer reviewe