Amount Of Bioactive Compounds Research Articles

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.

Phytochemical Examination of Oils Obtained from the Fruit of Mille Thistle (Silybum marianum L. Gaertner) by Supercritical Fluid Extraction

Supercritical fluid extraction (solvent: CO2 and propane) was used for mild recovery of fatty oil of mille thistle fruit (Silybum marianum L. Gaertner). Fatty acid compounds (palmic acid, oleic acid, linolic acid, linolenic acid, behenic acid), coloring content (expressed in pheophytin and carotene), tocopherol content and concentrations of some metals (Al, As, B, Ba, Ca, Cd,Co, Cr, Cu, Fe, Hg, K, Li, Mg, Mn, Mo, Na, Ni, Pb, S, Ti, V, Zn), boron and sulfur were determined from oils and compared with oil obtained by Soxhlet extraction. There is significant difference between supercritical oil and traditional oil in the quantity of bioactive compounds and elements. The ratio of bioactive components and elements of oils changed during the extraction. Supercritical oils have higher concentration of C18:1 oleic acid, C18:3 linolenic acid, C20:0 and C22:0 behenic acid than the oil gained by Soxhlet extraction. The oil obtained by supercritical fluid extraction at 80 bar and 25 °C with propane has the highest coloring content. Our paper is the first report to be published on element concentrations of mille thistle oils. Accumulation of some heavy metals can be observed in almost each oil sample.