Amount Of Bioactive Compounds Research Articles

Development of an instant coffee enriched with chlorogenic acids.

The objective of this study was to present possible formulations for an instant coffee product enriched with chlorogenic acids for the Brazilian market. Formulations were prepared with different concentrations of freeze dried extracts of green Coffea canephora beans (G) added to freeze dried extracts of roasted Coffea arabica (A) and Coffea canephora (C). Medium (M) and dark (D) roasting degrees instant coffee were produced (AM, AD, CM and CD) to obtain four formulations with green extract addition (AMG, ADG, CMG and CDG). Chlorogenic acids were determined by HPLC, with average contents of 7.2%. Roasted extracts and formulations were evaluated for 5-CQA and caffeine contents (by HPLC), browned compounds (absorbance 420nm), and antioxidant activity (ABTS and Folin). Coffee brews of the four formulations were also assessed in a lab-scale test by 42 consumers for acceptance of the color, aroma, flavor and body, overall acceptance and purchase intent, using a 10cm hybrid scale. The formulations obtained acceptance scores of 6.6 and 7.7 for all attributes, thus they were equally acceptable. Greater purchase intent was observed for ADG, CDG and CMG (6.9) in comparison to AMG (6.1). The formulations had, on average, 2.5 times more 5-CQA than the average obtained from conventional commercial instant coffees. In addition to being more economically viable, the formulations developed with C. canephora (CDG and CMG) showed greater antioxidant potential (32.5g of Trolox/100g and 13.8g of gallic acid equivalent/100g) due to a balance in the amount of bioactive compounds.

Suitability of different potato cultivars for processing

Five potato cultivars viz. ‘Lady Rosette’, ‘FC-3’, ‘Super’, ‘Kufri Khyati’ and ‘Kufri Pushkar’ were evaluated to find out their suitability for processing into fresh fried potato chips and dehydrated products such as dehydrated potato slices and flour. Significant differences in physico-chemical and phytochemical parameters were observed among the cultivars. ‘FC-3’ and ‘Lady Rosette’ contained the highest amount of dry matter content (22.0%, 21.4%) and lowest amount of reducing sugars (0.08%, 0.06%), respectively and produced chips of acceptable color and higher yield. While cultivars ‘Super’, ‘Kufri Khyati’ and ‘Kufri Pushkar’ were found inferior for processing due to poor quality traits. However, Super’ and ‘Kufri Khyati’ were considered best for direct consumption since they contained the highest amount of bioactive compounds including ascorbic acid, total phenolics and total antioxidant activity. Based on sensory characteristics, ‘Lady Rosette’ and ‘FC-3’ were best for processing into fresh fried potato chips and dehydrated slices. All the cultivars produced good quality potato flour but recovery of flour was maximum in ‘FC-3’ (19.40%), followed by ‘Lady Rosette’ (19.0%), while the recovery of flour from other cultivars varied between 14.80% to 15.0%.

Canolol, tocopherols, plastochromanol‐8, and phytosterols content in residual oil extracted from rapeseed expeller cake obtained from roasted seed

Due to the high canolol content rapeseed oil is increasingly often pressed from seeds subjected to the roasting process. However, there is a lack of data on the contents of canolol in residual oil produced from cake, a by‐product of cold pressing. The aim of this study was to investigate the contents of bioactive substances contained in expeller cake generated in cold pressing of rapeseed oil from seeds roasted at a temperature of 140, 160, and 180°C for 5, 10, and 15 min. Contents of tocopherols, plastochromanol‐8, and canolol were analyzed using the NP‐HPLC‐FL method, while contents of phytosterols – by GC‐FID. Based on the recorded data it may be concluded that 180°C is the best temperature for seed roasting, since at that temperature the greatest amount of canolol is formed and most of it passes to oil in the course of cold pressing. Contents of tocopherols in the tested oils ranged from 88.48 to 90.51 mg/100 g. A lower tocopherol content was recorded in residual oil of the press cakes in comparison to cold‐pressed oil, particularly in the case of samples roasted at a temperature of 160 and 180°C. Content of PC‐8 was higher in residual oil by over 4 mg/100 g in comparison to cold‐pressed oil. Also the total content of phytosterols in oils produced by solvent extraction from cake was higher than in cold‐pressed oil. Contents of phytosterols ranged from 4141.9 to 4826.1 μg/g oil.Practical application: Rapeseeds increasingly often are subjected to roasting prior to the cold pressing process. During roasting canolol is formed, which as a product of decarboxylation of sinapic acid, more efficiently penetrates to oil in comparison to sinapic acid. However, there is no data concerning the amounts of canolol remained in press cake. This study investigated the effect of temperature of rapeseed roasting on the content of bioactive compounds (tocopherols, PC‐8, phytosterols, and canolol) in residual oil from press cake. Results recorded in this study facilitate selection of roasting parameters so that the lowest possible amounts of bioactive compounds are retained in cake and they rather pass to cold‐pressed oil, enriching it and indirectly contributing to an enhancement of its oxidative stability. On the other hand, these results show that the expeller cake (from roasted seeds) as a by‐product can be further treated as a good source of bioactive compounds including canolol. They can also be used as a practical supplement to animal feed.This study investigates the effect of rapeseed roasting at a temperature of 140, 160, and 180°C for 5, 10, and 15 min on the content of residual oil and its composition in terms of such bioactive substances as tocopherols, PC‐8, phytosterols, and canolol. It is seen that residual oil extracted from rapeseed cake subjected to roasting has lower contents of tocopherols (particularly in the case of samples roasted at 160 and 180°C). PC‐8 is more effectively extracted with an organic solvent, since its content in residual oil was by 4 mg/100 g higher than in cold‐pressed oil. Also the content of phytosterols is higher in residual oil than in cold‐pressed oil. Contents of phytosterols ranges from 4141.9 to 4826.1 mg/g oil. Based on the recorded data it may be concluded that 180°C is the best temperature for seed roasting, since at that temperature the greatest amount of canolol is formed and most of it passes to oil in the course of cold pressing.

Gas assisted mechanical expression (GAME) as a promising technology for oil and phenolic compound recovery from tiger nuts

Abstract The aim of this work was to investigate the potential of gas assisted mechanical expression (GAME) process as an innovative technology for oil extraction and polyphenol recovery from tiger nuts. GAME process was first studied by varying the supercritical carbon dioxide (SC-CO2) and the mechanical expression (ME) pressures (10–30 MPa), then was compared to separate processes applied alone, using either SC-CO2 or ME. The results showed that the better conditions for GAME were found using 20 MPa for SC-CO2 and 30 MPa for ME. Under these conditions, 50% of oil was released from tiger nuts after 10 min extraction, compared to only 10% and 20% when using SC-CO2 and ME separately at 20 and 30 MPa pressures, respectively. In addition to the faster extraction of oil using GAME process, the obtained results showed that this oil contains higher amount of polyphenols than that obtained using either SC-CO2 or ME. These molecules were extracted and identified using ultra performance liquid chromatography–high resolution mass spectrometry (UPLC–HRMS). Polyphenol profiles showed that GAME process led to the maximum polyphenol's recovery with 57 compounds, followed by SC-CO2 with 48 compounds, and ME process with only 27 compounds, concurring with the trends observed for total phenolic compounds. Although non-significant differences were observed in oil recovery after applying GAME or SC-CO2 alone, scanning electron microscopy (SEM) images revealed that GAME had a higher impact on cell structure, which can facilitate the release of important valuable compounds. All of these results pave the way towards the industrialization of GAME process as an innovative and alternative technology for enhanced oil extraction, thus replacing the conventional processes. Industrial relevance The increasing need in application of more efficient extraction processes in full correspondence with green extraction concept has led to deeper interest in new non-conventional methods that can reduce the extraction time, process temperature and consumption of toxic solvents (i.e. hexane). For instance, gas assisted mechanical expression (GAME) technology may constitute a useful tool for food industry as it allows to improve oil recovery and the amount of bioactive compounds (polyphenols) from tiger nuts, compared to supercritical fluid extraction and conventional methodologies (mechanical expression and hexane extraction) thus avoiding the use of toxic solvents.

Bioactive compounds and antioxidant potential fruit of Ximenia americana L.

The caatinga ecoregion in northeast Brazil presents a wide variety in plant species. However, the potential of these species as a source of energy, carbohydrates, vitamins, minerals and bioactive properties beneficial to health is still unknown. Among these species we can find the wild plum (Ximenia americana). Due to its various phytotherapeutic properties and absence of studies on the chemical composition of the fruit this article aimed to evaluate the bioactive compounds and antioxidant potential of the X. americana in different stages of maturation. The fruits of X. americana showed considerable amounts of bioactive compounds, as well as antioxidant activity and antioxidant enzymes. The fruits at green maturity stage showed higher content of yellow flavonoids (22.07mg/100g), anthocyanins (1.92mg/100g), polyphenols (3051.62mg/100g), starch (4.22%), antioxidant activity (489.40g fruit/g DPPH and 198.77μmol Trolox/g) and activity of antioxidant enzymes; the antioxidant activity allocated to the fruit was shown to be related to the contents of extractable polyphenols, yellow flavonoids, total anthocyanins and antioxidant enzymes.

Agronomic, nutraceutical and molecular variability of feijoa (Acca sellowiana (O. Berg) Burret) germplasm

During three years of investigations (2011–2013), 12 feijoa (Acca sellowiana (O. Berg) Burret) cultivars fruits were characterised in terms of genetic, physico-chemical, nutraceutical and sensory properties. The physical-chemical, nutritional and sensory features were also correlated with a sequence-related amplified polymorphism (SRAP) analysis to assess the existence of a possible genetic relationships among the 12 cultivars and quality traits. SRAP analysis revealed genetic diversity among the 12 feijoa cultivars, this finding have been confirmed by the pomological, nutraceutical and sensory traits. A high antioxidant activity and a considerable amount of bioactive compounds, especially phenols, flavonoids and ascorbic acid, were detected. A higher level of phenols was detected in Triumph (251±25.9mg GAE/100g FW) and Smith (226.6±9.53mg GAE/100g FW), the latter of which was also richer in ascorbic acid (42.9±0.63mg AA 100g−1FW) and flavonoids (40±0.88mg CTE 100g−1 FW) compared to the remaining cultivars. Cluster analyses and principal component analysis made it possible to establish similarities among the cultivars depending on their quality and sensorial characteristics.The Mantel's correlation coefficient of SRAP marker and morphological-qualitative-sensorial traits was 0.495 reflecting that the SRAP marker-based clustering of feijoa cultivars showed similarity to the dendrogram topologies of the morphological-qualitative-sensorial trait-based clustering, although there were some differences in the positioning of some feijoa cultivars in the clusters. This study indicated that the combination of both SRAP marker and morphological trait analysis is more informative for a refined identification and characterisation of plant varieties.

Effects of 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid combined to 6-Benzylaminopurine on callus induction, total phenolic and ascorbic acid production, and antioxidant activities in leaf tissue cultures of Crataegus azarolus L. var. aronia

The present research work describes the effects of 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid (2,4-d)/Benzylaminopurine (BAP) ratio on callus induction, total phenolic and ascorbic acid production, and antioxidant activities in leaf-derived calli of Crataegus azarolus (hawthorn). The supplementation of 1.0 mg/L 2,4-d and 1.0 mg/L BAP to MS medium was found to be the most efficient for callus induction (as percentage and fresh weigh). The results of biochemical analysis showed that the highest total phenolic contents were obtained in callus cultured on MS medium supplemented with 2.0 mg/L 2,4-d and 1.0 mg/L BAP (52 ± 0.56 mg GAE/g DM) and were significantly lower than those of intact leaves (76 ± 1.72 mg GAE/g DM). However, the highest ascorbic acid contents were found in callus cultured on MS medium supplemented with 1.0 mg/L 2,4-d and 0.5 mg/L BAP (0.96 ± 0.13 mg AAE/g DM) and these amounts were statistically similar to those found in leaf tissues (0.74 ± 0.07 mg AAE/g DM). Antioxidant activities of callus extracts were determined using two TEAC assays and results showed that extract of callus cultured on MS medium supplemented with 2.0 mg/L 2,4-d and 1.0 mg/L BAP have the greatest antiradical activities against DPPH (124 ± 2.92 mg TE/g DM) and ABTS (0.19 ± 0.02 mg TE/g DM) compared to the leaves of field-grown plant. Thus, the use of high level of 2,4-d over BAP can be suitable to enhance the quality more than the quantity of bioactive compounds in leaf callus culture of hawthorn.

Total Phenolic Compounds and Antioxidant Activity of Organic Vegetables Consumed in Brazil

Organic olericulture differs from conventional agriculture due to the absence of pesticide, synthetic fertilizers, genetically modified organisms, some food additives and ionizing radiation, producing vegetables with a different chemical composition and with different amounts of bioactive compounds. The objective of this study was to quantify, in organic vegetables consumed in Brazil, the amount of total phenolic compounds using Folin-Ciocalteu reagent and the antioxidant activity through DPPH method. Among the analyzed vegetables, the effectiveness in the antioxidant capacity was obtained in decreasing order, by the broccoli (69.35), kale (63.20), cabbage (35.72) and carrot (20.39), expressed in % of DPPH consumption after 30 minutes of reaction. The amount of total phenolic compounds (mg GAE/ml of fluid extract-FE) present in the kale (0.606), broccoli (0.511), cabbage (0.214) and carrots (0.124) demonstrates a positive correlation between phenolic amounts and the antioxidant activity of the vegetables analyzed.

Comparison of conventional and ultrasound-assisted methods for extraction of nutraceutical compounds from Dendrobium candidum

The present study was conducted with the objective of developing efficient method of extraction of nutraceutical compounds from protocorms of Dendrobium candidum for the food industry. Conventional heat reflux method was compared with ultrasonic-assisted method for extraction of polysaccharides, polyphenolics and flavonoids. Methanol, ethanol, acetone, acetonitrile and water were used as solvents for heat reflux extraction. Parameters tested for the optimization were methanol concentration (20, 40, 60, 80 and 100%) and duration of treatment (30 min, 1, 2, 4, 6 h). The treatment of samples with 80% methanol for 2-h period proved to be most suitable procedure for extraction of bioactive compounds. Heat reflux method was found superior to ultrasonic-assisted method since it yields higher amounts of bioactive compounds (463.0 mg g−1 DW polysaccharides, 10.75 mg g−1 DW polyphenolics and 5.30 mg g−1 DW flavonoids) and extracts obtained from heat reflux method also showed optimal antioxidant activity.

Bioactive Compound Contents in Germinated Unpolished Purple Glutinous Rice from Kum Doi Saket and Kum Phayao Varieties

This research studied the bioactive compounds in unpolished purple glutinous rice and germinated unpolished purple rice produced from two rice varieties: Kum Doi Saket and Kum Phayao. Unpolished purple glutinous rice grains were produced by grain dehusking without polishing. The quality of their physical, chemical and bioactive compounds was analyzed. Kum Doi Saket unpolished purple glutinous rice had a statistically significant (p<0.05) higher amount of almost all compositions than Kum Phayao, except ash and reducing sugar content. Germinated unpolished purple rice was produced by soaking in water at 40°C for 3 hrs, and then incubating at 35°C. The GABA content at 40 hrs of germination had the maximum amount in both varieties and tended to decrease after this time. Thus, 40 hrs of germination time was the optimum period for germinated rice from both rice varieties. When compared before and after the 40-hr germination period, gamma-oryzanol increased, but total anthocyanins and antioxidant activity decreased slightly. Comparing the two varieties of germinated unpolished purple glutinous rice grains, Kum Doi Saket had a statistically significant (p<0.05) higher amount of bioactive compounds and antioxidant activity than Kum Phayao. Germinated unpolished purple glutinous rice provided from Kum Doi Saket had 16.31±0.34 mg/100g of GABA, 30.48±1.61mg/100g of gamma-oryzanol, 70.10±0.45 mg/100g of total anthocy- anins and 83.10±0.95% of antioxidant activity. This study has shown that the glutinous purple rice variety Kum Doi Saket had the highest potential for future development as a health food.

INFLUENCE OF POSTHARVEST STORAGE TEMPERATURE ON FIRMNESS AND BIOACTIVE COMPOUNDS OF JAPANESE PLUMS (PRUNUS SALICINA LINDL.)

The aim of this work was to evaluate the effect of storage temperature on flesh firmness and bioactive compounds of six Japanese plum cultivars (two red, one yellow and three dark-purple). Flesh firmness, total phenolics, anthocyanin pigments, total carotenoid content and the total antioxidant activity were evaluated in all fruits at harvest and after storage at 0 or 5°C plus shelf-life. Fruits harvested at commercial maturity were stored at least 42 days at 0 or 5°C and this period increased depending on the storage potential of each cultivar. After storage, fruit was kept for 3-6 days at 20°C, according to the cultivar. Storage at 0°C maintained flesh firmness of all the studied plum cultivars in values “ready to buy”, except ‘Crimson Globe’ and ‘Golden Globe’, which were not suitable for prolonged postharvest storage. In contrast, all cultivars exhibited excessive pulp firmness loss during storage at 5°C. With regard to the bioactive compounds evolution during storage, total phenolics and carotenoid content correlated with cultivar. However, a significant improvement in total anthocyanins of red and dark-purple plum cultivars was observed in fruit stored at 5°C. Total antioxidant capacity was also significantly higher in fruit stored under these conditions. In conclusion, the cultivars ‘Black Diamond’, ‘Fortune’, ‘Larry Ann’ and ‘Angeleno’ had commercial firmness values at the end of the long cool storage at 0°C. Moreover, they reached functional values higher than those recorded in fruits at the harvest time. On the other hand, the long postharvest storage at 5°C reduced pulp firmness of the fruits and had a negative influence on their fresh consumption; however, the amount of bioactive compounds found in the fruit stored under these conditions (5°C) was significantly higher. For this reason, these fruit could be suitable to elaborate manufactured products with high functional value.

Comparison of bioactive components in pressurized and pasteurized longan juices fortified with encapsulated Lactobacillus casei 01

In this study, longan juice was subjected to a high pressure of 500 MPa for 30 min and compared with a juice pasteurized at 90°C/2 min. Probiotic Lactobacillus casei 01 was fortified into both juices and the shelf life of these products was studied. Their bioactive components such as ascorbic acid, gallic acid and ellagic acid were analyzed by High Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC). Total phenolic compounds and 2,2-Diphenyl-1-picrythydrazyl radical-scavenging activity were determined by colorimetric and spectrophotometric methods. It was found that the pressurized longan juice retained higher amounts of bioactive compounds than the pasteurized juice. In terms of storage stability, bioactive compounds in both processed juices decreased according to the increase in storage time. The survivability of probiotic L. casei 01 in both processed juices declined from 9 to 6 log CFU/mL after 4 weeks of storage.

Antioxidative and antitumor properties of in vitro-cultivated broccoli (Brassica oleracea var. italica)

Context: Broccoli [Brassica oleracea L. var. italica Plenck. (Brassicaceae)] contains substantial quantities of bioactive compounds, which are good free radical scavengers and thus might have strong antitumor properties. Enhancing production of plant secondary metabolites could be obtained with phytohormones that have significant effects on the metabolism of secondary metabolites. In that manner, in vitro culture presents good model for manipulation with plant tissues in order to affect secondary metabolite production and thus enhance bioactive properties of plants.Objective: Estimation of the antioxidative and antitumor properties of broccoli cultivated in different in vitro conditions.Materials and methods: In vitro germinated and cultivated broccoli seedlings, as well as spontaneously developed calli, were subjected to Soxhlet extraction. Antioxidative activity of the herbal extracts was determined using 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH•) radical method. Antitumor properties of the extracts were determined using crown-gall tumor inhibition (potato disc) assay.Results: Three, 10, 20, and 30 days old broccoli seedlings, cultivated in vitro on three different Murashige–Skoog media, two types of callus, and seedlings from sterile filter paper were used for extraction. In total, 15 aqueous extracts were tested for antioxidative and antitumor potential. Three day-old seedlings showed the highest antioxidative activity. Eleven out of 15 aqueous extracts demonstrated above 50% of crown-gall tumor inhibition in comparison with the control. Tumor inhibition was in association with types and concentrations of phytohormones presented in growing media.Discussion and conclusions: It is demonstrated that phytohormones in plant-growing media could affect the bioactive properties of broccoli either through increasing or decreasing their antioxidative and antitumor potential.

Effects of Cooking on the Bioactivity of Lotus Roots and White Onions

Bioactive compounds and antioxidant potentials were determined in fresh lotus roots and subjected to boiling for different periods of time (10, 20, 40, and 60 min). The obtained results were compared with the same indices in fresh and boiled white onions. It was found that fresh vegetables contained higher quantities of bioactive compounds than those boiled for 10 min, and these indices were significantly higher in fresh white onions than in fresh lotus roots (P < 0.05). Polyphenols (mg GAE/g) were 3.65 ± 0.2a and 10.48 ± 0.5b; flavanols (μg CE/g) −44.13 ± 2.8a and 91.94 ± 4.3b; flavonoids (mg CE/g) −0.54 ± 0.02a and 1.04 ± 0.03b; anthocyanins (mg CE/kg) −20.61 ± 1.2a and 28.34 ± 1.3b; and tannins (mgCE/g) −0.58 ± 0.02a and 1.69 ± 0.03b of lotus roots and white onions, respectively. The highest antioxidant potential was registered in fresh lotus roots and fresh white onions (10.1 ± 0.70a and 15.0 ± 0.8b; 8.1 ± 0.4a and 23.05 ± 1.1b; 18.7 ± 0.9a and 26.9 ± 1.3b μM TE/g for FRAP, DPPH, and CUPRAC, respectively (P < 0.05) and 26.9 ± 1.5a and 24.14 ± 1.1a μM TE/g for ABTS (P > 0.05). The influence on tumor cell lines Calu-6 (% of cell viability) of fresh lotus roots (75.61 ± 2.03) and boiling boiled for 10 min (76.54 ± 3.14) was significantly higher (P < 0.05) than for fresh white onions (94.18 ± 3.67) and 10 min (97.02 ± 4.16) white onion. By comparison, the tumor cell lines SNU-601 (% of cell viability) showed similar data for both fresh and boiled vegetables in the range of 86.45 ± 4.07 to 87.28 ± 2.42. In conclusion, the boiling led to a decrease of bioactivity; however, lotus demonstrated higher thermostability than white onions. Three-dimensional fluorescence can be used as an additional index for evaluation of properties. Fresh and boiled (for 10 min) lotus roots and white onions could be considered as a functional food with high antioxidative and antiproliferative activities.

Seasonal Effects on Bioactive Compounds and Antioxidant Capacity of Six Economically Important Brassica Vegetables

Research on natural and bioactive compounds is increasingly focused on their effects on human health, but there are unexpectedly few studies evaluating the relationship between climate and natural antioxidants. The aim of this study was analyze the biological role of six different Brassica vegetables (Brassica oleracea L. and Brassica rapa L.) as a natural source of antioxidant compounds. The antioxidant activity may be assigned to high levels of L-ascorbic acid, total phenolics and total flavonoids of each sample. The climate seasons affected directly the concentration of bioactive components and the antioxidant activity. Broccoli inflorescences and Portuguese kale showed high antioxidant activity in Spring-Summer whilst turnip leaves did so in Summer-Winter. The Brassica vegetables can provide considerable amounts of bioactive compounds and thus may constitute an important natural source of dietary antioxidants.

Effect of Processing on Antioxidants and Their Activity in Dietary Fiber Powder from Cabbage Outer Leaves

It is well known that Brassica vegetables (e.g., cabbage) contain significant amounts of bioactive compounds with high antioxidant activities. Outer leaves of white cabbage (Brassica oleracea L. var. capitata), a typical by-product from a cabbage processing plant, have the potential of being transformed into dietary fiber powder with high levels of antioxidants. However, losses of health-beneficial bioactive compounds in cabbage leaves may occur during processing and should first be identified. This work was aimed at studying the effects of various processing steps, that is, sample preparation, which included sample slicing and blanching using either hot water or steam, as well as hot air drying, on the evolutions of various phytochemicals in cabbage outer leaves. The dominant antioxidants, that is, phenolics (measured in terms of the total phenolic content, TPC), vitamin C, β-carotene, α-tocopherol, and their total antioxidant activity (TAA), were assessed both during sample preparation and drying. The results showed that slicing prior to blanching led to higher losses of antioxidants during either hot water or steam blanching. Water blanching led to lower retention of water-soluble antioxidants; namely, TPC and vitamin C. No significant changes in the contents of β-carotene and α-tocopherol were observed after blanching. The results further illustrated that all antioxidants degraded significantly during drying. This resulted in approximately 50% retention in β-carotene and less than 40% retention in TPC, vitamin C, and α-tocopherol. The final powdery products exhibited a TAA, as assessed by 2,2-diphenyl-2-picryl-hydrazyl (DPPH) and β-carotene bleaching assays, of approximately 70%.

Marine drugs from sponge-microbe association--a review.

The subject of this review is the biodiversity of marine sponges and associated microbes which have been reported to produce therapeutically important compounds, along with the contextual information on their geographic distribution. Class Demospongiae and the orders Halichondrida, Poecilosclerida and Dictyoceratida are the richest sources of these compounds. Among the microbial associates, members of the bacterial phylum Actinobacteria and fungal division Ascomycota have been identified to be the dominant producers of therapeutics. Though the number of bacterial associates outnumber the fungal associates, the documented potential of fungi to produce clinically active compounds is currently more important than that of bacteria. Interestingly, production of a few identical compounds by entirely different host-microbial associations has been detected in both terrestrial and marine environments. In the Demospongiae, microbial association is highly specific and so to the production of compounds. Besides, persistent production of bioactive compounds has also been encountered in highly specific host-symbiont associations. Though spatial and temporal variations are known to have a marked effect on the quality and quantity of bioactive compounds, only a few studies have covered these dimensions. The need to augment production of these compounds through tissue culture and mariculture has also been stressed. The reviewed database of these compounds is available at www.niobioinformatics.in/drug.php.

On the Generation of Bioactive Trigonelline Degradation Products upon Coffee Roasting and their Bioappearance after Coffee Consumption

Besides caffeine, the betaine N-methyl nicotinic acid, also known as trigonelline, is commonly reported as the second most abundant alkaloid in raw coffee beans. Upon roasting of coffee beans, trigonelline is partially decomposed to give volatile pyridines as well as non-volatile compounds such as N-methylpyridinium ions, nicotinic acid, and methyl nicotinate. As N-methylpyridinium ions were recently found to exhibit phase I/II biotransformation enzyme modulating activity in vitro as well as in vivo (SOMOZA et al. 2003), and nicotinic acid, methyl nicotinate, together with nicotinamide, exhibit vitamin B3 activity (Experts Group 2002), there is growing interest in the amounts of these bioactive compounds in roasted coffee, coffee beverages, as well as in their bioappearance after coffee consumption. To meet this demand, straightforward stable isotope dilution analyses (SIDA) were developed for the quantitative determination of trigonelline, nicotinic acid, nicotinamide, methyl nicotinate, as well as N-methylpyridinium ions by means of LC-MS/MS (MRM). Application of the SIDA on coffee samples as well as human urine and plasma samples collected before and after coffee consumption gave first insights into the influence of the roasting degree on the amounts of the individual bioactive compounds in coffee samples as well as their human bioappearance after coffee consumption.

Variation of total hypericin, phenolic and flavonoid compounds in Hypericum triquetrifolium during its phenological cycle

The genus Hypericum (Hypericaceae) contains a variety of structurally diverse natural products which possess a wide array of biological properties. The present study examined quantitative variations in total hypericin, phenols, and flavonoids in Hypericum triquetrifolium Turra. in relation to phenological development. Plant material was harvested at different phenological stages (vegetative, full flowering, and mature fruiting stages). The amounts of bioactive compounds in whole shoots were assayed. The highest total hypericin, phenolic, and flavonoid contents were observed at the full flowering stage.

Some essential phytochemicals and the antioxidant potential in fresh and dried persimmon

Fresh persimmon contains high quantities of bioactive compounds, but is only available in the autumn and winter months. The aim of this investigation was to compare fresh and dried persimmon in order to determine whether the latter could be a substitute for fresh fruit. It was found that the contents of dietary fibers and trace elements in fresh and equivalent quantities of dried fruits were comparable. The content of total polyphenols in fresh persimmon was higher than in dried fruit, but not significantly (P>0.05). Also the antioxidant potential in fresh persimmon as determined by all three used tests was higher than in dried fruit, but not significantly (P>0.05). The methanol extracts of fresh and dried persimmon using the β-carotene–linoleate model system have shown 91% and 88% of antioxidant activity at 50 µl, respectively. Radical scavenging activity with the 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) method has shown 88% and 84% for the same extracts and the nitric oxide test showed similar results. The best correlation was found between polyphenols, β-carotene, DPPH and nitric oxide values (R2 ranges between 0.9535 and 0.9934). In conclusion, both fresh and dried persimmon possess high contents of bioactive compounds and have a high antioxidant potential. When fresh fruits are not available, proper dried persimmon can be successfully used.