1,721,065 research outputs found
Optimizing polyphenol bioaccessibility: the impact of freeze-drying on chlorogenic acid stability in vitelotte potatoes
No full textChlorogenic acids (CGAs) are widely recognized for their antioxidant and metabolic-modulating properties; however, their stability during digestion largely depends on the food matrix and processing conditions. In this study, a freeze-dried matrix of Solanum tuberosum L. cv. Vitelotte was utilized to assess the impact of lyophilization on CGA retention and controlled release. A standardized in vitro digestion model was combined with multi-analytical techniques (HPLC-UV-DAD, UHPLC-HRMS, UV-Vis spectroscopy) to evaluate the fate of CGAs during gastrointestinal transit. The results demonstrate that lyophilization significantly enhances CGA stability by minimizing oxidative degradation and modulating their bioaccessibility through interactions with potato starch. Compared to fresh matrices, freeze-drying preserved the structural integrity of three major caffeoylquinic acid isomers, which remained chemically stable up to the intestinal phase. The protective effect of starch–polyphenol interactions likely contributed to a more controlled bioaccessibility, preventing abrupt losses in phenolic content. Unlike CGAs, anthocyanins exhibited lower bioaccessibility, confirming their pH-dependent instability. These findings underscore the importance of sample preparation methods in polyphenol bioaccessibility studies and highlight the potential of lyophilization as a strategy to optimize the nutritional value of CGA-rich functional foods
Harnessing plant extracts for green nanoparticle synthesis: Toward a sustainable future
No full textNanotechnology is revolutionizing diverse scientific fields, yet conventional nanoparticle (NP) synthesis remains energy-intensive and environmentally hazardous. This has fuelled a shift toward sustainable, biogenic approaches, with plant-mediated NP synthesis emerging as a promising alternative. Leveraging the rich diversity of plant-derived phytochemicals, such as flavonoids, polyphenols, and alkaloids, this method offers a sustainable, cost-effective and eco-friendly route to nanoparticle production. However, despite its potential, key challenges remain: the incomplete characterization of plant extracts hampers reproducibility, control over NP morphology, and large-scale implementation. While many studies report successful NP synthesis, a precise understanding of the specialized metabolites involved is still lacking. Bridging this knowledge gap is crucial for optimizing NP properties and expanding their biomedical, catalytic, and industrial applications. This review critically examines the role of specialized plant metabolites in NP synthesis, detailing analytical techniques, such as LC-MS, FTIR, and NMR, for their characterization. Scalability remains a key challenge in plant-mediated nanoparticle synthesis, with reproducibility often limited by non-standardized extraction methods. Strategies such as protocol harmonization, the integration of advanced analytical tools, and the application of artificial intelligence (AI) can significantly enhance consistency and predictability. Recent publication trends show growing interest in green synthesis, particularly in applications across healthcare, food nanotechnology, and smart packaging. Addressing current limitations and deepening the understanding of plant-derived metabolites could shift the field from empirical trials to a standardized, scalable, and industrially viable green technology, supporting the development of sustainable materials
Plant-Derived Polyphenols: A Chemopreventive and Chemoprotectant Worth-Exploring Resource in Toxicology
No full textCancer is a devastating disease affecting millions of people worldwide. Scientific research validly counteracts the onset of cancer and its resistances with a multiplicity of treatments. Healthy lifestyles and avoidance of exposure to potential carcinogens are highly recommended cancer preventive measures. Antioxidant and anti-inflammatory plant-derived polyphenols, peculiarly rich in plant dietary products, are thoroughly investigated as capable of hindering carcinogenesis in its various stages. Furthermore, a growing toxicological research, mostly based on cell and animal models, is identifying polyphenols or their formulations, properly obtained from plant sources, as promising anticancer agents with chemotherapeutic and chemopreventive effectiveness. Thus, polyphenols could also be employed as protectant agents, useful in overcoming the failures of the most common anticancer treatments. This chapter provides an update of the current scientific knowledge of plant polyphenols and all their anticancer-linked properties that make them a resource in toxicology worth exploring
From the Collisionally Induced Dissociation to the Enzyme-Mediated Reactions: The Electron Flux Within the Lignan Furanic Ring
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Fig. 2 in Sesquiterpene lactones from Sonchus palustris L. (Asteraceae, Cichorieae)
No full textFig. 2. UHPLC traces recorded for acetone and methanol extracts from roots of Sonchus palustris (experimental parameters are indicated in section 4.5.), respectively. Compound numbers correspond to compounds 1–10 in Fig. 1 and 11 and 12 in the text, respectively.Published as part of Shulha, Oleksandr, Çiçek, Serhat Sezai, Piccolella, Simona, Rárová, Lucie, Strnad, Miroslav, Sönnichsen, Frank, Pacifico, Severina & Zidorn, Christian, 2020, Sesquiterpene lactones from Sonchus palustris L. (Asteraceae, Cichorieae), pp. 1-9 in Phytochemistry (112196) 170 on page 3, DOI: 10.1016/j.phytochem.2019.112196, http://zenodo.org/record/829259
Sol-gel synthesis and characterization of SiO2/PCL hybrid materials containing quercetin as new materials for antioxidant implants
No full textThe development of biomaterials with intrinsic antioxidant properties could represent a valuable strategy for preventing pen-implant disease onset. In this context quercetin, a naturally occurring flavonoid, has been entrapped, at different weight percentages in a silica/poly(epsilon-caprolactone)-based hybrid material by a sol-gel route. FT-IR and UV spectroscopic techniques were employed in order to characterize the hybrids. FT-IR analysis indicated changes in stretching frequencies of the quercetin dienonic moiety, suggesting that a flavonol oxidized derivative was formed during the sol-gel process. The establishment of hydrogen-bonded interactions between quercetin and silica and polymer matrices, was strongly affected by the amount of polymer. Poly(epsilon-caprolactone) did not interact with quercetin when it was loaded at high doses (50 wt.%). The morphology of the synthesized materials was observed by using SEM. The obtained images proved that the materials are hybrid nanocomposites. Their bioactivity was shown by the formation of a hydroxyapatite layer on samples' surface soaked in a fluid simulating the composition of the human plasma. The antiradical properties of the investigated systems were evaluated by DPPH and ABTS methods and their cytotoxicity by the MU assay. Data obtained revealed that the synthesized materials are biocompatible and that the hybrid system, with 6 wt.% of PCL and 15 wt.% of quercetin, produced the strongest antiradical efficacy. (C) 2015 Published by Elsevier B.V
Entrapping quercetin in silica/polyethylene glycol hybrid materials: Chemical characterization and biocompatibility
No full textSol-gel synthesis was exploited to entrap quercetin, a natural occurring antioxidant polyphenol, in silica-based hybrid materials, which differed in their polyethylene glycol (PEG) content (6, 12, 24 and 50 wt%). The materials obtained, whose nano-composite nature was ascertained by Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), were chemically characterized by Fourier Transform InfraRed (FT-IR) and UV-Vis spectroscopies. The results prove that a reaction between the polymer and the drug occurred. Bioactivity tests showed their ability to induce hydroxyapatite nucleation on the sample surfaces. The direct contact method was applied to screen the cytotoxicity of the synthetized materials towards fibroblast NIH 3T3 cells, commonly used for in vitro biocompatibility studies, and three nervous system cell lines (neuroblastoma SH-SY5Y, glioma U251, and pheochromocytoma PC12 cell lines), adopted as models in oxidative stress related studies. Using the MTT (3-[4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl]-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide) assay NIH 3T3 proliferation was assessed and the morphology was not compromised by direct exposure to the materials. Analogously, PC-12, and U-251 cell lines were not affected by new materials. SH-SY5Y appeared to be the most sensitive cell line with cytotoxic effects of 20-35%
Wild aromatic plants bioactivity: a function of their (poly)phenol seasonality? A case study from Mediterranean area
No full textWild medicinal and aromatic plants are in the market as herbal raw or processed and packaged materials, playing, even today, a strategic role in the production of plant-based products. Indeed, their content in active ingredients, mainly specialized secondary metabolites, is not constant; it undergoes significant seasonal variations, as abiotic stress heavily affects secondary metabolism network. The present review deals with the seasonality influence on the polyphenolic composition on antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties of medicinal and aromatic plants. To this aim, firstly the factors influencing the content of active ingredients in a plant drug will be discussed, and, in particular, the increased occurrence of phenols as a response to abiotic stress. In the last part of the review a brief reference will be made to four meaningful case studies, which involve wild medicinal aromatic herbs, native to the Mediterranean area: Calamintha nepeta L. Savi, Foeniculum vulgare Mill., Ruta graveolens L. and Thymus longicaulis C. Presl. These species, grown in the same geographical area and collected at the same harvesting time, showed a great variability in phenol constituents throughout the year. The comparison among data acquired clearly evidences that the seasonal variation in polyphenols’ occurrence and amount leads to a more/less pronounced antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activity of the hydroalcoholic extract therefrom. It is worth of note that the presence of the same metabolite, but in different phytochemical complexes, could result in different biological activities
The Mechanism of 2-Furaldehyde Formation from D-Xylose Dehydration in the Gas Phase. A Tandem Mass Spectrometric Study
Full text linkThe mechanism of reactions occurring in solution can be investigated also in the gas phase by suited mass spectrometric techniques, which allow to highlight fundamental mechanistic features independent of the influence of the medium and to clarifying controversial hypotheses proposed in solution studies. In this work, we report a gas-phase study performed by electrospray triple stage quadrupole mass spectrometry (ESI-TSQ/MS) on the dehydration of d-xylose, leading mainly to the formation of 2-furaldehyde (2-FA). It is generally known in carbohydrate chemistry that the thermal acid catalyzed dehydration of pentoses leads to the formation of 2-FA, but several aspects on the solution-phase mechanism are controversial. Here, gaseous reactant ions corresponding to protonated xylose molecules obtained from ESI of a solution containing d-xylose and ammonium acetate as protonating reagent were allowed to undergo collisionally activated decomposition (CAD) into the triple stage quadrupole analyzer. The product ion mass spectra of protonated xylose are characterized by the presence of ionic intermediates arising from xylose dehydration, which were structurally characterized by their fragmentation patterns. As expected, the xylose triple dehydration leads to the formation of the ion at m/z 97, corresponding to protonated 2-FA. On the basis of mass spectrometric evidences, we demonstrated that in the gas phase, the formation of 2-FA involves protonation at the OH group bound to the C1 atom of the sugar, the first ionic intermediate being characterized by a cyclic structure. Finally, energy resolved product ion mass spectra allowed to obtain information on the energetic features of the d-xylose→2-FA conversion. © 2013 American Society for Mass Spectrometry
Exploring New Fruit- and Vegetable-Derived Rennet for Cheese Making
No full textFeatured Application Development of new vegetable-derived rennet for cheese making.Abstract Cheese production is an ancient practice to preserve a perishable food, such as milk, for a long time. The first step of cheese processing involves the addition of rennet, which contains the enzymes necessary for the hydrolysis and coagulation of the caseins present in milk. Typically, animal-derived rennet, such as calf rennet containing chymosin, are used as source of enzymes for cheese processing. Alternatively, microbial chymosin or recombinant chymosin is used. However, recently, plant-derived rennet such as the ones derived from thistle and bitter orange flowers and from artichoke (Cynara cardunculus var. scolymus) have also been demonstrated to be valid sources of enzymes for cheese processing. Therefore, herein, different plant and fruit extracts were tested and compared for their ability to coagulate milk caseins. In particular, beyond artichoke and cardoon (Cynara cardunculus) extracts, those from pineapple (Ananas comosus (L.) Merr.), papaya (Carica papaya L.), common fig (Ficus carica L.) milky sap, and oyster mushroom (Pleurotus ostreatus (Jacq. ex Fr.) P. Kumm.) were investigated for their proteolytic, esterase, and milk-clotting activities. The extracts were then exploited as vegetable and fruit rennet for the experimental production of cheeses, which were examined, after 30 days of maturation, for their moisture, fat, protein, and free fatty acid (FFA) content. Interestingly, the artichoke, cardoon, and thistle mushroom extracts showed high proteolytic activity compared to calf rennet, while the level of esterase activity appeared to be similar for all the extracts. The papaya extract showed the lowest proteolytic and esterase activity. Although the pH, moisture, fat, and protein contents were very similar to those of cheese made with calf rennet, the medium- and long-chain FFAs broadly differed among produced cheeses, with variations in the lipid quality indices
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