1,721,247 research outputs found
Role of dietary antioxidants against oxidative stress
No full textIl primo obiettivo del presente studio è consistito nella valutazione e nel confronto della qualità nutrizionale (NQ) di otto distinti genotipi di fragola, di cui cinque varietà commerciali e tre selezioni avanzate del programma di incrocio condotto presso l’Università Politecnica delle Marche. Tutti i genotipi sono stati valutati nei tre anni per i parametri standard di NQ, attraverso la determinazione della capacità antiossidante totale e di radical-scavenging e la valutazione del contenuto totale di polifenoli, flavonoidi e antociani. L'identificazione e la quantificazione degli antociani sono state effettuate mediante HPLC-DAD-ESI/MS. Sono state evidenziate significative differenze inter-genotipiche tra gli otto cloni, confermando il ruolo preponderante del patrimonio genetico nell’influenzare la NQ. Tra le varietà di fragola esaminate, la cultivar Alba si è confermata la più interessante, mostrando un contenuto alto e bilanciato di micronutrienti e composti fenolici.
Il secondo obiettivo di questo progetto è consistito nella valutazione degli effetti di un consumo protratto di fragole della cultivar Alba in ratti giovani e anziani, sottoposti a stress ossidativo indotto dalla Doxorubicina.
Sono stati valutati i possibili effetti sui principali marcatori dello status antiossidante su plasma, fegato, linfociti ed epatociti. A seguito del consumo protratto di fragole, è stato osservato un significativo aumento della capacità antiossidante plasmatica, dei livelli di glutatione e degli enzimi antiossidanti, così come una diminuzione dei ROS intracellulari e dei markers di ossidazione lipidica e proteica. La supplementazione con fragole ha determinato anche una riduzione dei ROS nei mitocondri di fegato, migliorando la loro funzionalità.
I risultati ottenuti nel presente lavoro confermano il potenziale beneficio della fragola in vivo contro lo stress ossidativo, anche in condizioni fisiologiche caratterizzate da un elevato livello di stress ossidativo, come l’invecchiamento
Dieta mediterranea: uno sguardo sul ruolo di alcuni alimenti“antichi” a limitato intake
No full textLa dieta mediterranea si caratterizza anche per la presenza di
alimenti tipici che, sebbene assunti in quantità molto limitate
nell’arco delle 24 ore o strettamente legati a fenomeni di stagionalità, rivestono un ruolo di particolare importanza per la salute.
Tra questi, l’olio, la fragola e il miele, alimenti “antichi” ricchi di
composti naturali bioattivi, meritano una particolare attenzione
The use of plant-derived bioactive compounds to target cancer stem cells and modulate tumor microenvironment
No full textIn the last decades cancer has been considered as an epigenetic dysfunction, given the profound role of diet and lifestyle in cancer prevention and the determination of cancer risk. A plethora of recent publications have addressed the specific role of several environmental factors, such as nutritional habits, behavior, stress and toxins in the regulation of the physiological and cancer epigenome. In particular, plant-derived bioactive nutrients have been seen to positively affect normal cell growth, proliferation and differentiation and also to revert cancer related epigenetic dysfunctions, reducing tumorigenesis, preventing metastasis and/or increasing chemo and radiotherapy efficacy. Moreover, virtually all cancer types are characterized by the presence of cancer stem cell (CSC) subpopulations, residing in specific hypoxic and acidic microenvironments, or niches, and these cells are currently considered responsible for tumor resistance to therapy and tumor relapse. Modern anti-cancer strategies should be designed to selectively target CSCs and modulate the hypoxic and acidic tumor microenvironment, and, to this end, natural bioactive components seem to play a role. This review aims to discuss the effects elicited by plant-derived bioactive nutrients in the regulation of CSC self-renewal, cancer metabolism and tumor microenvironment
La dieta mediterranea, patrimonio immateriale dell’umanità
No full textUna corretta alimentazione, associata all’adozione di un regime alimentare bilanciato, si riflette su un buono stato di salute dell’individuo che la adotta. Una dieta ricca
di frutta, verdura e cereali fornisce una varietà di composti bioattivi che svolgono un ruolo fondamentale nella prevenzione di malattie cardiovascolari, neurodegenerative
e tumorali.
La dieta mediterranea rappresenta un esempio di modello nutrizionale corretto ed è tipica dei paesi che si affacciano sul bacino del Mar Mediterraneo. Tra le caratteristiche
proprie di questo regime alimentare troviamo l’elevato consumo di frutta, verdura e cereali, con un adeguato apporto di legumi, carni bianche e rosse, pesce, uova e prodotti caseari.
Gli effetti benefici del modello mediterraneo si esplicano qualora al corretto regime alimentare venga affiancata una serie di attività ricreative, culturali e fisiche legate indissolubilmente alle tradizioni dei paesi di quest’area.
La piramide alimentare rappresenta la forma grafica e intuitiva tramite la quale la dieta mediterranea viene schematizzata e diffusa. Fornisce tutti gli elementi per poter seguire
un’alimentazione equilibrata: indica infatti non solo le tipologie di alimenti da assumere, ma anche la frequenza con cui dovrebbero essere consumati. Nella sua ultima versione, tiene conto anche degli elementi culturali e dello stile di vita necessari per godere appieno dei benefici forniti dal regime alimentare mediterraneo
Vegetarian diets during pregnancy: effects on the mother's health. A systematic review
No full textWhile interest in vegetarian nutrition has been steadily increasing, some aspects have not yet been consistently investigated. One topic requiring evidence-based confirmation is the adoption of a vegetarian diet during pregnancy and lactation. Maternal diet is not only correlated with the fetus's and infant's health, but appears relevant for that of the mother as well. Not only is an adequate delivery of nutrients to the fetus and infant mandatory, but the increased physiological needs of the maternal body require an adequate supply of nutrients and can represent harmful stress events that may lead to well-defined pathological conditions. In this review, we aim to systematically investigate state-of-the-art of vegetarian diets during pregnancy and lactation, focusing on maternal nutritional status and pregnancy outcomes. Data are scarce, often inconsistent and not homogeneous for many of the topics we considered, mainly because only a few studies have been performed in developed countries, whereas other studies have derived from developing countries, where vegetarianism can be a proxy indicator of malnutrition. For this reason, we did not find sufficient data to provide evidence-based information and recommendations. To date, the available literature does not clearly support a negative impact on the mother's health and pregnancy outcomes, but, analogously with the findings in the vegetarian adult population, an improvement in the quality of studies might facilitate finding more information on the possible positive impact of well-planned vegetarian diets during pregnancy and lactation. More epidemiological and interventional studies are warranted, in order to address the question as to whether vegetarian nutrition represents an advantage for the mother or poses nutritional issues that need further attention
Honey as a Source of Dietary Antioxidants: Structures, Bioavailability and Evidence of Protective Effects Against Human Chronic Diseases
No full textIn the long human tradition honey has been used not only as a nutrient but also as a medicine. Its composition is rather variable and depends on the floral source and on external factors, such as seasonal, environmental conditions and processing. In this review, specific attention is focused on absorption, metabolism, and beneficial biological activities of honey compounds in human. Honey is a supersaturated solution of sugars, mainly composed of fructose (38%) and glucose (31%), containing also minerals, proteins, free amino acids, enzymes, vitamins and polyphenols. Among polyphenols, flavonoids are the most abundant and are closely related to its biological functions. Honey positively affects risk factors for cardiovascular diseases by inhibiting inflammation, improving endothelial function, as well as the plasma lipid profile, and increasing low-density lipoprotein resistance to oxidation. Honey also displays an important antitumoral capacity, where polyphenols again are considered responsible for its complementary and overlapping mechanisms of chemopreventive activity in multistage carcinogenesis, by inhibiting mutagenesis or inducing apoptosis. Moreover, honey positively modulates the glycemic response by reducing blood glucose, serum fructosamine or glycosylated hemoglobin concentrations and exerts antibacterial properties caused by its consistent amount of hydrogen peroxide and non-peroxide factors as flavonoids, methylglyoxal and defensin-1 peptide. In conclusion, the evidence of the biological actions of honey can be ascribed to its polyphenolic contents which, in turn, are usually associated to its antioxidant and anti-inflammatory actions, as well as to its cardiovascular, antiproliferative and antimicrobial benefits
Insights into the cellular, molecular, and epigenetic targets of gamma-aminobutyric acid against diabetes: a comprehensive review on its mechanisms
No full text: Diabetes is a metabolic disease due to impaired or defective insulin secretion and is considered one of the most serious chronic diseases worldwide. Gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) is a naturally occurring non-protein amino acid commonly present in a wide range of foods. A number of studies documented that GABA has good anti-diabetic potential. This review summarized the available dietary sources of GABA as well as animal and human studies on the anti-diabetic properties of GABA, while also discussing the underlying mechanisms. GABA may modulate diabetes through various pathways such as inhibiting the activities of α-amylase and α-glucosidase, promoting β-cell proliferation, stimulating insulin secretion from β-cells, inhibiting glucagon secretion from α-cells, improving insulin resistance and glucose tolerance, and increasing antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activities. However, further mechanistic studies on animals and human are needed to confirm the therapeutic effects of GABA against diabetes
Quality, nutritional quality and nutraceutical value as a new task for strawberry breeding
No full textQuality, nutritional quality and nutraceutical value as a new task for strawberry breeding
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