Special Issue "Advances in Nutraceutical Research"

Guest Editor
Prof. Dr. A. Venketeshwer Rao
Faculty of Medicine, University of Toronto, FitzGerald Building, Room 142, 150 College Street, Toronto Ontario, M5S 3E2, Canada
Website: http://www.utoronto.ca/nutrisci/faculty/Rao/
E-Mail: v.rao@utoronto.ca

Dear Colleagues,

Nutraceutical was a term coined by the Foundation for Innovation in Medicine in 1989 to describe substances that could be used as foods or as part of foods, having health benefits including the prevention and treatment of diseases. It has now progressed from being a mere concept representing an area within biomedical research, to a multibillion dollar industry with a very bright future ahead. The range of products within nutraceuticals is broad and diverse including individual nutrients and biologically active phytochemicals, supplements, "functional" foods, and herbal products. However, there are several issues that still need to be addressed including future research directions, clinical evidence in support of the health claims, regulatory aspects, and product identity and standardization. Additionally, a clear understanding of the mechanisms of action of the nutraceuticals is essential in advancing their use in a safe and efficacious way. International Journal of Molecular Sciences is now dedicating a special issue "Advances in Nutraceutical Research' with the aim of publishing peer reviewed and up-to-date original research and review articles in this important area of nutrition and public health.  Target audiences of this special issue will include a full spectrum of stake holders representing research scientists, government agencies involved in developing regulatory guide lines, industrial scientists and management personnel, health professionals and consumer groups. In an effort to meet our goal, we invite submission of manuscripts that will be peer reviewed and published as part of the special issue. Through this initiative we hope to keep our readers up-to-date in all fields relating to nutraceuticals and advance our knowledge in this important area.

Prof. Dr. A. Venketeshwer Rao
Guest Editor

Submission

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• nutraceuticals
• functional foods
• functional ingredients
• dietary supplements
• health and nutritional supplements
• biologically active phyto and zoo-chemicals
• medicinal and health foods

Type of Paper: Article
Title: Development of an Innovative Nutraceutical Fermented Beverage from Herbal Mate (Ilex paraguariensis A.St.-Hil.) Extract
Authors: Isabela Ferrari Pereira Lima ¹, Juliano De Dea Lindner ¹, Vanete Thomaz Soccol1 ², José Luiz Parada ², Ashok Pandey ³ and Carlos Ricardo Soccol ¹
Affiliations: ¹ Bioprocess Engineering and Biotechnology Division, Chemical Engineering Department, Federal University of Paraná, 81531-991, Curitiba, PR, Brazil; E-Mail: soccol@ufpr.br (C.R.S.)
² Post Graduation Program, Positivo University, 81280-330, Curitiba, PR, Brazil
³ National Institute for Interdisciplinary Science and Technology, Biotechnology Division, CSIR, Trivandrum-695 019, India
Abstract: Herbal Mate (Ilex paraguariensis A.St.-Hil., Aquifoliaceae) leaves are typically used for their stimulant, antioxidant, antimicrobial, and diuretic activity, presenting as principal components polyphenolic compounds. The aim of this work was to develop an innovative, non-dairy, nutraceutical, probiotic, fermented beverage using herbal Mate extract as an organic ingredient which would also be hypocholesterolemic and hepatoprotective. Among different strains used, Lactobacillus acidophilus was selected as the best for fermentation. The addition of honey positively affected the development of L. acidophilus and the formulated beverage maintained microbial stability during shelf life. Key ingredients in the extract included xanthines, polyphenols and other antioxidants with potential health benefits for the consumer. Caffeine levels and antioxidant activity were also studied. Acceptable levels of caffeine and large antioxidant capacity were observed for the formulation when compared to other antioxidant beverages. An advantage of this product is the compliance to organic claims, while providing caffeine, other phyto-stimulants and antioxidant compounds without the addition of synthetic components or preservatives in the formulation. Sensorial analysis demonstrated that the beverage had good consumer acceptance in comparison to two other similar commercial Mate beverages not fermented. Therefore, this beverage could be used as a new, non-dairy vehicle for probiotic consumption, especially by the vegetarians and lactose intolerant consumers. It is expected that such a product will have good market potential in an era of nutraceutical foods.

Type of Paper: Article
Title: Beta-Glucans Improve Growth and Viability of Probiotic Microorganisms
Authors: Pasquale Russo ¹, Vittorio Capozzi ¹, Luigi Cattivelli ³, Giuseppe Spano ¹ and Daniela Fiocco ²
Affiliations:¹ Department of Food Science, University of Foggia, via Napoli 25, 71122 Foggia, Italy; E-Mail: g.spano@unifg.it (G.S.)
² Department of Biomedical Science, University of Foggia, via L. Pinto, 71122 Foggia, Italy
³ CRA Research Centre, Via S. Protaso, 302, 2901, Fiorenzuola d’Arda (PC), Italy
Abstract: Probiotics, prebiotics and synbiotics are today the most frequent components used for the elaboration of functional food. Currently, most of the commercialized probiotics are limited to a few strains of the genera Bifidobacteria, Lactobacillus and Streptococcus, most of which produce exopolysaccharides (EPS). This fact suggests that the beneficial properties of these microorganisms for human health may be related to the biological activities of these prebiotic biopolymers. In this work, we investigate if (1,3)-β-D-glucan from non-dairy bacteria origin can play a role on survival of probiotic strains of Lactobacillus plantarum and its adhesion to intestinal surfaces. This study will allow us to evaluate the formation of non-digestible oligosaccharides with prebiotic activity and its application in the food industry.
Keywords: probiotics; beta-glucans; prebiotics

Title: HPLC-BCD as a Tool in the Identification of Bio-Actives in Plant Extracts
Authors: C.J. Malherbe ¹, D. De Beer ¹ and E. Joubert ^1,2
Affiliations: ¹ Post-Harvest and Wine Technology Division, Agricultural Research Council, Infruitec-Nietvoorbij, Private Bag X5026, Stellenbosch, 7599, South Africa; E-Mails: MalherbeCh@arc.agric.za (C.J.M.); joubertL@arc.agric.za (E.J.)
² Department. of Food Science, Stellenbosch University, Private Bag X1, Matieland, Stellenbosch, 7602, South Africa
Abstract: Biochemical detection (BCD) methods are commonly used to screen plant extracts for specific biological activities in micro-plate assays. Traditionally, bio-actives in the extracts were identified through testing of the most active extracts followed by time-consuming bio-assay guided fractionation until active compounds could be isolated. However, not only are isolation procedures often tedious, but they could also lead to artefact formation. On-line coupling of BCD-assays to high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) are gaining ground as techniques to overcome problems associated with pre-isolation by measuring the effects of compounds directly after separation. So far several HPLC-BCD antioxidant and enzyme based assays, applied to whole plant extracts, have been published. In this review we will summarize the published HPLC-BCD methods and illustrate some of the techniques by examples from our own research.

Type: Article
Title: Procyanidin from Wild Grape (Vitis amurensis) Regulates ARE-Mediated Enzymes Expression via Nrf2 Coupled with MAPKs Pathway in HepG2 Cells
Authors: Min-Ji Bak and Woo-Sik Jeong
Affiliation: Department of Food & Life sciences, College of Biomedical Science & Engeneering, Inje University, Gimhae 621-749, Republic of Korea
Abstract: Procyanidins, polymers of flavan-3-ol units, have been reported to exhibit many beneficial health effects as cancer chemopreventive compounds. In this study, we investigated the chemopreventive properties of procyanidins from wild grape seeds to induce expression of NAD(P)H:quinone oxidoreductase1(NQO1) and heme oxygenase-1(HO-1), the reporter activity mediated by antioxidant response element (ARE), and the protein level of transcription factor nuclear factor E2-related factor (Nrf2) in HepG2 cells. V. amurensis seeds extract was fractionated with a series of organic solvents, and finally separated into six fractions, F1~F6. Their procyanidin characteristics and contents were confirmed by vanillin assay, BuOH-HCl test, and depolymerization with phloroglucinol followed by LC/MS analysis. The F5 has the highest procyanidin content among all the fractions. Also, F5 strongly induced the ARE-reporter gene activity as well as Nrf2 expression. The up-regulation of Nrf2 expression by F5 corresponded with the induction of the phase Ⅱ detoxification enzyme, NQO1. We next examined the MAPK and PI3K/Akt pathway, and found that F5 significantly increased the phosphorylation levels of MAPKs and Akt. Procyanidin-induced Nrf2 expression was partly attenuated by PI3K inhibitor LY294002, and almost completely by p38 inhibitor SB202190, but not by JNK inhibitor SP600125 or MEK1/2 inhibitor U0126. Overall, procyanidins from wild grape seeds could be a potential natural chemopreventive source through induction of Nrf2-ARE signaling via both p38 and PI3K/Akt pathway.

Type: Article
Title: Antioxidant and Hepatoprotective Effects of the Red Ginseng Essential Oil in H₂O₂-Treated HepG2 Cells and CCl₄-Treated Mice
Authors: Min-Ji Bak ¹, Mira Jun ² and Woo-Sik Jeong ¹
Affilication: ¹ Department of Food & Life Sciences, College of Biomedical Science & Engineering, Inje University, Gimhae, Korea
² Department of Food Science & Nutrition, Dong-A University, Busan, Korea
Abstract: Korean red ginseng has long been shown to have a multi-functional bioactivity including anti-inflammatory, anti-carcinogenic, anti-oxidant and anti-stress effects. These activities of red ginseng, however, have been mostly studied with its water-soluble fractions whereas there has been little information on the bioactivity of its oil. We investigated the antioxidant mechanisms of red ginseng essential oil (REO) in cells as well as in animal model. REO was prepared by a supercritical CO₂ extraction of waste product generated after hot water extraction of red ginseng. REO induced both the activity and expressions of antioxidant enzymes such as superoxide disumutase, catalase and glutathione peroxidase in H₂O₂-treated HepG2 cells. Inhibitory effects on the phosphorylation of upstream mitogen-activated protein kinases such as c-Jun N-terminatl kinase, extracellular signal-regulated kinase, and p38 were also observed after treatment with REO. In mice, the CCl₄-mediated reduction of the antioxidant enzyme expressions in liver was restored in REO-administered groups compared to control group. Furthermore, hepatic lipid peroxidation level was remarkably lower in REO-administered groups. In addition, increased serum levels of AST and ALT by CCl₄ treatment were diminished after REO administration. Overall, REO seems to have the ability to protect liver from oxidative stress through activation and induction of antioxidant enzymes.