Integration of functional and traditional food in emerging markets. Regulatory and substantive aspects of yerba mate and quinoa

Given the rising cost of healthcare, the increase in life expectancy and the wish for a better quality of life, the request for foods and beverages producing a beneficial effect on health has increased worldwide. “Functional food” is a new concept and may play a key role in diseases’ prevention and management. Although its meaning is currently under definition, its role in global health improvement is growing constantly. This article aims at giving a description of existing legislation on functional food in South America, identifying future directions for health and marketing policies. Furthermore, authors provide a literature revision on two products widely consumed in Latin American countries: Yerba Mate and Quinoa. Thanks to their beneficial health effects in terms of disease prevention and promotion of well-being, they may be considered as functional foods with a potential key role in health care

Phytochemical study of a species with ethnopharmacological interest. Sideritis romana L.

The phytochemical analysis of Sideritis romana L., a species largely used as a traditional remedy, led to the isolation and the identification of several acetylated flavonoid glycosides with apigenin, luteolin, hypolaetin and isoscutellarein backbone. Among these, an apigenin derivative (2) was recognized for the first time in Sideritis as well as in the Lamiaceae family. The iridoidic pattern of this species showed the presence of harpagide, currently considered the main taxonomical maker in this genus, together with 6-deoxyharpagide which is a rare compound since it was previously recognized in a limited number of species of Lamiaceae. Other identified iridoids were ajugoside and bartsioside, the latter recognized for the first time in the species as well as in the family. Acetylated flavonoid glycosides and iridoid glucosides are considered of chemotaxonomic relevance in several genera comprised in the Lamioideae subfamily and the occurrence of both of these classes of compounds in S. romana was discussed. The co-presence of the acetylated apigenin derivative and of 6-deoxyharpagide could be used as a marker at a specific level seen their relative rarity in Lamiaceae. Regarding the traditional uses of this species, the isolated compounds may give a rationale from a chemical standpoint

Professor Philippe Rasoanaivo Unveiling the ethnopharmacological potential of the flora of Madagascar: in memory of Philippe Rasoanaivo

Professor Philippe Rasoanaivo, University of Antananarivo, Madagascar, died on Wednesday, 13 July 2016 from a heart attack, at the age of 70. Professor Rasoanaivo was well known as one of the most distinguished African phytochemists, as also recognised by several international prizes. He won the 2015 Olusegun Obasanjo Prize for using traditional medicine to improve the efficacy of existing drugs for brain disorders and also treating sexual dysfunction among men. He had just been awarded the Prize at the last General Assembly meeting in Kasane, Botswana, in June 2016. Professor Rasoanaivo authored several books and more than 150 international research articles, including some recently published in Natural Product Research. Professor Rasoanaivo developed a unique mixture of scientific knowledge dedicated to the utilisation of endemic plants for ethnobotanical, economic, medicinal and social uses. He wanted to learn everything that was necessary to understand and study the extraordinary flora of his country, obtaining this information to help its people. Throughout his life, countless examples of his remarkableness can easily be found. He was an excellent botanist and, living in a country well known for an exceptional endemic flora, he was able to find and collect many species, and show the world their importance. He was a great ethnopharmacologist, learning the popular uses of plants from the people of his country, and using this information to start a scientific validation of their efficacy. He was a modern researcher: in times of fragmented research, he was able to perform the full range of research on natural products, from chemistry to applied pharmacology. He was successful and organised director of the Institut Malgache de Recherches Appliquées, promoting the cultivation of crops of economic importance. In this obituary, we have provided a synthesis of his important scientific achievements and human qualities, since we had the privilege of working with him and he was able to teach us what modern ethnopharmacology is

Plasma antioxidants from chocolate

There is some speculation that dietary flavonoids from chocolate, in particular (-)epicatechin, may promote cardiovascular health as a result of direct antioxidant effects or through antithrombotic mechanisms. Here we show that consumption of plain, dark chocolate results in an increase in both the total antioxidant capacity and the (-)epicatechin content of blood plasma, but that these effects are markedly reduced when the chocolate is consumed with milk or if milk is incorporated as milk chocolate. Our findings indicate that milk may interfere with the absorption of antioxidants from chocolate in vivo and may therefore negate the potential health benefits that can be derived from eating moderate amounts of dark chocolate

Secondary metabolites with ecologic and medicinal implications in Anthemis cretica subsp. petraea from Majella National Park

Anthemis cretica subsp. petraea (Ten.) Greuter is a plant belonging to the Asteraceae family and endemic of central Italy. In this paper, the first analysisof the ethanolic fraction of samples collected in the Majella National Park is reported. Seven compounds were isolated and identified namely parthenolide (1), 9α-acetoxyparthenolide (2), tamarixetin (3), 7-hydroxycoumarin (4), 4'-hydroxyacetophenone (5), leucanthemitol (conduritol F) (6),and proto-quercitol (7). Isolation of the compounds was achieved by means ofcolumn chromatography (CC), while their identification was achieved through spectroscopic and spectrometric techniques. The presence of these compounds is of great relevance. Compounds 1 and 2 are chemosystematic markers of the family, thus confirming the correct botanical classification of the species. Conversely, compounds 3, 5,and 7 were identified for the first time in the species and, instead, confirm the tendency of endemic entities to develop characteristic metabolite patterns in respect to cosmopolite species. Moreover, the presence of compounds 6 and 7 has ecologic implications and may be linked to this taxon’s adaption to dry environments. The production of these osmolytes may, in fact, represent the reason why this species is able to survive in extreme conditions of aridity. Lastly, from a medicinal standpoint, the isolated compounds are endowed with interesting biological activities and may justify, on a molecular base, the widespread traditional uses of the Anthemis species, as well as a basis for the use ofthe subspecies petraea

Characterization of Non-LTR Retrotransposable TRAS Elements in the Aphids Acyrthosiphon pisum and Myzus persicae (Aphididae, Hemiptera)

A non-LTR TRAS retrotransposon (identified as TRASAp1) has been amplified in the pea aphid Acyrthosiphon pisum and its presence has been assessed also in the peach potato aphid Myzus persicae. This TRAS element possesses 2 overlapping ORFs (a gag-ORF1 and a pol-ORF2 containing the reverse transcriptase and the endonuclease domains) that show a similarity ranging from 40% to 48% to proteins coded by other TRAS elements identified in insects (including the beetle Tribolium castaneum and the moth Bombyx mori). The study of the TRAS chromosomal insertion sites, performed by standard fluorescent in situ hybridization (FISH) and fiber FISH, showed that TRAS elements were located in a subtelomeric position, just before the telomeric (TTAGG)n repeats. In both the aphid species, TRAS elements were present at all termini of autosomes, but the 2 X chromosome telomeres show a clear-cut structural difference. Indeed, cromomycin A3 staining, together with FISH using a TRAS probe, revealed that TRAS signals only occur at the telomere opposite to the NOR-bearing one. Lastly, the analysis of the distribution of TRAS retrotransposons in a M. persicae strain possessing spontaneous fragmentations of the X chromosomes assessed that TRAS elements were not involved in the healing of de novo telomeres

Pedicularis L. Genus. Systematics, botany, phytochemistry, chemotaxonomy, ethnopharmacology, and other

In this review, the relevance of the plant species belonging to the Pedicularis L. genus has been considered from different points of view. Particular emphasis was given to phytochemistry and ethnopharmacology, since several classes of natural compounds have been reported within this genus and many of its species are well known to be employed in the traditional medicines of many Asian countries. Some important conclusions on the chemotaxonomic and chemosystematic aspects of the genus have also been provided for the first time. Actually, this work represents the first total comprehensive review on this genus

Passing quantum correlations to qubits using any two-mode state

We draw an explicit connection between the statistical properties of an entangled two-mode continuous variable (CV) resource and the amount of entanglement that can be dynamically transferred to a pair of non-interacting two-level systems. More specifically, we rigorously reformulate entanglement transfer process by making use of covariance matrix formalism. When the resource state is Gaussian, our method makes the approach to the transfer of quantum correlations much more flexible than in previously considered schemes and allows the straightforward inclusion of the effects of noise affecting the CV system. Moreover, the proposed method reveals that the use of de-Gaussified two-mode states is almost never advantageous for transferring entanglement with respect to the full Gaussian picture, despite the entanglement in the non-Gaussian resource can be much larger than in its Gaussian counterpart. We can thus conclude that the entanglement-transfer map overthrows the "ordering" relations valid at the level of CV resource states.Comment: 10 pages, 6 figures, RevTeX4, Accepted for publication in Physical Review

Inhibition of human LDL lipid peroxidation by phenol-rich beverages and their impact on plasma total antioxidant capacity in humans

Mounting evidence shows that phenol-rich beverages exert strong antioxidant activity. However, in vivo evidence has produced conflicting results. In the present study, we studied the impact of the ingestion of 300 mL of black and green tea, alcohol-free red wine, alcohol-free white wine, or water on plasma total antioxidant capacity in five healthy volunteers. Red wine has the highest content of phenolics (3.63 ± 0.48 g QE/L), followed by green tea (2.82 ± 0.07 g QE/L), black tea (1.37 ± 0.15 g QE/L), and white wine (0.31 ± 0.01 g QE/L). Plasma total antioxidant capacity values of subjects who drank green tea rose at 30 min (P < 0.05). After black tea and red wine ingestion, the peaks were at 50 min (P < 0.05 and P < 0.01, respectively). No changes were observed in the control and white wine groups. Red wine and green tea were the most efficient in protecting low density lipoprotein from oxidation driven by peroxyl and ferril radicals, respectively. Phenol-rich beverages are a natural source of antioxidants; however, the phenolic content alone cannot be considered an index of their in vivo antioxidant activity.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/B6T8P-420SK92-B/1/657ecacc07210bc6cfa30dc5753d761