Abstract
Chia seeds (Salviae hispanicae semen) are obtained from Salvia hispanica L. This raw material is distinguished by its rich chemical composition and valuable nutritional properties. It is currently referred to as “health food”. The purpose of the present work was to perform a literature review on S. hispanica and chia seeds, focusing on their chemical composition, biological properties, dietary importance, and medicinal uses. The valuable biological properties of chia seeds are related to their rich chemical composition, with particularly high content of polyunsaturated fatty acids, essential amino acids, polyphenols, as well as vitamins and bioelements. The available scientific literature indicates the cardioprotective, hypotensive, antidiabetic, and antiatherosclerotic effects of this raw material. In addition, studies based on in vitro assays and animal and human models have proven that chia seeds are characterized by neuroprotective, hepatoprotective, anti-inflammatory, and antioxidant properties. These properties indicate a valuable role of chia in the prevention of civilization diseases. Chia seeds are increasingly popular in functional food and cosmetic and pharmaceutical industries. That is attributed not only to their desirable chemical composition and biological activity but also to their high availability. Nevertheless, S. hispanica is also the object of specific biotechnological studies aimed at elaboration of micropropagation protocols of this plant species.
Highlights
Publisher’s Note: MDPI stays neutralSalvia hispanica L. is a herbaceous plant from the genus Salvia and Lamiaceae family (Labiatae)
Researchers from the University of Campinas (Campinas, São Paulo, Brazil) assessed the impact of consumed chia seeds on the metabolic rates of selected carbohydrates. They found that rats fed with a high-fat, fructose-rich diet, in which soybean oil was replaced by chia seed oil, or a high-fat, high-fructose diet containing 13.3% of chia seeds showed greater tolerance to both high glucose and high insulin levels compared to rats fed with a standard high-fat, high-fructose diet
The results showed that daily intake of 25 g of chia seeds for 7 weeks resulted in an increase in the blood levels of ALA and eicosapentaenoic acid in the studied women
Summary
Salvia hispanica L. is a herbaceous plant from the genus Salvia (sage) and Lamiaceae family (Labiatae). The current European Pharmacopoeia (10th edition) [10] contains monographs of raw materials obtained from different Salvia spp., namely, S. officinalis (medical sage), S. lavandulifolia (lavender sage), S. triloba (Greek sage), S. miltiorrhiza (red root sage or red sage), and S. sclarea (clary sage). The raw material obtained from this species is seed (Salviae hispanicae semen) (Figure 1). The paper presents information on the botanical characteristics and occurrence of S. hispanica It describes in detail the latest scientific research on the biological activities of chia seeds in the context of their use in the treatment and prevention of civilization diseases. Compared to raw materials from other plant species, chia seeds are the richest source of ALA. The high content of PUFA (80%) in chia seeds makes them susceptible to oxidation processes, which decreases the nutritional value of the seeds [39]
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