Applications Of Polyphenols Research Articles

Therapeutic Implications of Dietary Polyphenols-Loaded Nanoemulsions in Cancer Therapy.

Cancer is one of the major causes of death worldwide, even the second foremost cause related to non-communicable diseases. Cancer cells typically possess several cellular and biological processes including, persistence, propagation, differentiation, cellular death, and expression of cellular-type specific functions. The molecular picture of carcinogenesis and progression is unwinding, and it appears to be a tangled combination of processes occurring within and between cancer cells and their surrounding tissue matrix. Polyphenols are plant secondary metabolites abundant in fruits, vegetables, cereals, and other natural plant sources. Natural polyphenols have implicated potential anticancer activity by various mechanisms involved in their antitumor action, including modulation of signaling pathways majorly related to cellular proliferation, differentiation, relocation, angiogenesis, metastatic processes, and cell death. The applications of polyphenols have been limited due to the hydrophobic nature and lower oral bioavailability that could be possibly overcome through encapsulating them into nanocarrier-mediated delivery systems, leading to improved anticancer activity. Nanoemulsions (NEs) possess diverse feasible properties, including greater surface area, modifiable surficial charge, higher half-life, site-specific targeting, and formulation imaging capability necessary to create a practical therapeutic impact, and have drawn increased attention in cancer therapy research. This review has summarized and discussed the basic concepts, classification, delivery approaches, and anticancer mechanism of various polyphenols and polyphenols-encapsulated nanoemulsions with improved cancer therapy.

Application of Polyphenols and Flavonoids in Oncological Therapy.

The use of naturally derived drugs in anti-cancer therapies has grown exponentially in recent years. Among natural compounds, polyphenols have shown potential therapeutic applications in treatment due to their protective functions in plants, their use as food additives, and their excellent antioxidant properties, resulting in beneficial effects on human health. Building more efficient cancer therapies with fewer side effects on human health can be achieved by combining natural compounds with conventional drugs, which are typically more aggressive than natural chemicals with polyphenols. This article reviews a wide variety of studies where polyphenolic compounds can play a key role as anticancer drugs, alone or in combination with other drugs. Moreover, the future directions of applications of various polyphenols in cancer therapy are shown.

Antibacterial activities of polyphenols against foodborne pathogens and their application as antibacterial agents.

Polyphenols are secondary metabolites produced in higher plants. They are known to possess various functional properties in the human body. Polyphenols also exhibit antibacterial activities against foodborne pathogens. Their antibacterial mechanism is based on inhibiting bacterial biofilm formation or inactivating enzymes. Food-derived polyphenols with such antibacterial activity are natural preservatives and can be used as an alternative to synthetic preservatives that can cause side effects, such as allergies, asthma, skin irritation, and cancer. Studies have reported that polyphenols have positive effects, such as decreasing harmful bacteria and increasing beneficial bacteria in the human gut microbiota. Polyphenols can also be used as natural antibacterial agents in food packaging system in the form of emitting sachets, absorbent pads, and edible coatings. We summarized the antibacterial activities, mechanisms and applications of polyphenols as antibacterial agents against foodborne bacteria.

The Fruits of Ripe Old Age: Potential Role for Polyphenols in the Modulation of Disorders of Energy Regulation in Aging

The process of aging is accompanied by many disorders of energy regulation. Frailty, an important pathologic syndrome in the elderly, has multiple causes, but it is characterized by sarcopenia (loss of muscle mass), or alternatively dynapenia (loss of muscle strength). There is a related and concomitant increase in fat mass, sometimes referred to as sarcopenic-obesity. Research on the applications of polyphenols to treat energy regulatory disorders of aging is only in its early stages. There are many barriers that need to be overcome before polyphenols are practically applied. Polyphenols are rapidly metabolized in the small intestine, and their bioavailability is quite limited, although their metabolites might also be active.