In the last few decades, the attention towards the ethnomedicinal plants has been significantly increased, these plants are underutilized and considered as the mines of various bioactive components. They are generally utilized by local communities for various purposes including culinary, medicinal, wood, animal fodder etc. They are highly nutritious in nature despite have the potential to grow under adverse climatic and soil conditions, these plants also help in achieving the food security by controlling the over-exploitation of the staple food crops. One among these underutilized plants include Cordia dichotoma G. Forst, belongs to Boraginaceae family, commonly known as Lasora in many parts of the India. It mainly grows in tropical and sub-tropical regions including northern parts of India. Cordia has been traditionally utilized as pickle, vegetable, natural gum, decoctions etc. Cordia species has been identified with various bioactive components including Lignans, Terpenoids, Saponins, Carotenoids, Quinones, Phenolics, Alkaloids, Coumarins, Steroids, Flavonoids, Fatty acids, Porphyrins and many Essential oils. Various pharmacological activities including analgesic, anti-helmentic, anti- inflammatory, diuretic, aphrodisiac, anti-microbial etc were reported in cordia. Despite all the functional attributes, it is still underutilized but has the potential to be considered as future food. Therefore, a systematic research is required to manifest cordia as a nutritional alternative in both food and non-food sector in order to promote food security and sustainability.

The rheological properties of Gluten-Free (GF) batter are an important factor to consider for designing GF bread recipes, which is critical when they are baked by ohmic heating. This research demonstrated that batter properties are not only significantly modified by the starch:water ratio, but also greatly by the starch source and structure, which influenced its physical properties (e.g., water holding capacity, swelling power, solubility, starch damage, and pasting properties). This study aimed to investigate the role of GF starch (and flour) from different sources (tuber and cereal), as well as the rheological behavior of GF batter and the final bread quality after baking with ohmic heating. The attempt was to thoroughly understand the interaction between the rheological properties and ohmic baking and to define a suitable viscosity range for this processing approach. All batters consistently exhibited shear-thinning and dominant viscous behavior. Between viscosity and ohmic-heated bread properties, a non-linear relationship was observed. These breads were generally higher in volume and softer in texture as opposed to conventional baked bread. Two categories of required water content or viscosity ranges were defined for estimating final ohmic-heated GF bread properties: low water content with a viscosity range of 47.12 – 56.20 Pa·s for B-type starches and medium water content with a low to medium viscosity range of 2.29 – 15.86 Pa·s for A-type starches. This fact showed that viscosity played a critical role in determining GF bread structure and crumb properties. This finding could be useful for further research to design GF batter viscosities for tailored bread quality.

Pulsed light (PL) is a novel technology based on heating a xenon lamp with a high-voltage current to generate a broadband light emission with an important UV component. This high-voltage does not require extreme electricity consumption because it is produced thanks to the use of capacitors that store electricity from the main during relatively long times and are discharged to the lamp in very short times. The kinetics of polyphenol oxidase (PPO) inactivation by this technology was measured and some associated structural changes were investigated by fluorometry and spectrophotometry in order to gain insight into the inactivation mechanism. To this, residual activity, tryptophan fluorescence, KI fluorescence quenching and turbidity were measured. The inactivation followed the Weibull model. The decrease in tryptophan fluorescence and the increase in Stern-Volmer constant with the progress of the PL treatment indicate the unfolding of the enzyme; a constant turbidity indicates no aggregation. The Trp fluorescence phase-diagram shows no evidence of intermediates. Therefore, these results support the idea that PL inactivates PPO by modifying its tertiary structure in an all-or-none process.

Introduction: Cardiovascular diseases (CVD) continues to be the major cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide, despite socioeconomic status. Plant bioactive compounds are studied as complementary therapies in CVD. Among natural products, Nigella sativa and its bioactive compounds or derived products proved their efficacy against multiple cardiovascular risk factors through its antioxidant capacity, antihypertensive, hypolipidemic, or anti-atherosclerotic effects. Therefore, this study aimed to evaluate the Nigella sativa oil (N. sativa oil) effect using an in vivo model of induced myocardial infarction with isoproterenol in rats.

Materials and methods: N. sativa oil was characterized for its bioactive compounds using Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), Liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (HPLC-MS), and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) analysis. Thirty rats were divided into three groups as follows: the control group (saline solution), the isoproterenol group (45 mg/kg), and N. sativa oil group (isoproterenol – 45 mg/kg and N.sativa oil 0.4 mL/100g). The myocardial infarction was induced on the 14th day of the experiment. Electrocardiography was performed at the beginning and after one day from infarct induction. Serum analysis was evaluated using biochemical evaluation like alanine aminotransferase (ALT), aspartate aminotransferase (AST) and myocardial fraction of creatine kinase (CK-Mb). The inflammatory status was evaluated by measuring tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α), interleukin-6 (IL-6), and interleukin-1β (IL-1β) inflammatory cytokines.

Results: N. sativa oil was rich in flavonoids, thymol derivatives α-thujene, p-cymene, α-pinene, and thymoquinone. Administration of N. sativa oil had a significant effect in reducing ventricular conduction while preventing isoproterenol cardiotoxic effects in the ventricular myocardium. Also, N. sativa oil administration significantly decreased the levels of pro-inflammatory cytokines when compared to the isoproterenol group. The levels of CK-Mb were as well significantly reduced.

Conclusion: The anti-inflammatory and cardioprotective effects of N.sativa oil in the isoproterenol-induced experimental myocardial infarction indicate its potential use in human diets with promising applicability in the control of several associated CVD risk factors.

The Covid-19 pandemic leads to several changes that affected not only emotional and psychological well being but also eating behavior. Herein, we sought to evaluate if depicting pandemic-related sanitary measures in a food consumption video would impact food appraisal, decreasing food attractiveness and the desire to eat. Participants performed, in two different days, an online protocol in which foods presented in a video, and following, in pictures, should be evaluated regarding visual aspect, expected smell and taste and desire to eat. The videos presented each day differed only regarding the presence/absence of sanitary elements adopted during the pandemic, composing the Covid/Non-Covid conditions. In both conditions sweet and high calorie foods were better evaluated when compared to salty and low calorie ones, being the sweet food evaluation higher in Non-Covid condition when compared to in Covid-condition. Only in Non-Covid condition the reported desire to eat was higher immediately after the video, and in both conditions it was higher at the end of the task when compared to baseline. Correlation analysis suggests that depression and anxiety symptoms may reduce smell appreciation of foods presented in the pandemic scenario. We conclude that food perception is affected by the presence of the sanitary measures adopted during the pandemic by reducing the desire to eat and food hedonic appreciation and further, that depression and anxiety symptoms may be related to higher negative impact of the pandemic in eating behavior.

Nitrites are widely used as curing agents in the production of cooked meat derivatives. The characteristic pink-red color, texture and flavor of cured meat are provided by nitrite, and it also has antimicrobial and antioxidant properties [1]. However, nitrites and their metabolic compounds are linked to potential adverse health effects, being classified as "probably carcinogenic to humans" under conditions favoring the endogenous nitrosation by the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) [2]. The curing process is usually carried out by adding synthetic nitrite to meat, but the addition of vegetables which are a natural source of nitrite is a currently alternative. These products are labeled as “made without nitrite”, which can confuse the consumer. The aim of this study was to detect and quantify nitrite from the two different origins in cooked ham using headspace-gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (HS-GC-MS). Cooked hams at different concentrations of synthetic nitrite (from 0.5 to 150 µg g^-1) and hams prepared from polyphenols extracts (at 1 and 2%) were analyzed. The analytical procedure consisted on the determination of nitrous oxide as a targeted compound, formed after two reduction steps: from nitrite to nitric oxide and then to nitrous oxide under acidic conditions. An aliquot of the headspace was injected into the GC-MS after the incubation of the sample at 30 ºC during 45 minutes. As a result, a good correlation was obtained between nitrous oxide detected and nitrite added to meat, and good values of limits of detection and quantification (2.7 and 9 µg g^-1, respectively) were achieved. Furthermore, samples of commercial cooked ham were analyzed and studies about intermediate precision and repeatability were carried out demonstrating the applicability and reproducibility of the proposed method. Therefore, the HS-GC-MS method is presented as an efficient approach to ensure the quality and safety of these products.

[1] Sindelar, J. J., & Milkowski, A. L. (2011). “Sodium nitrite in processed meat and poultry meats: a review of curing and examining the risk/benefit of its use”. AMSA, 3, 1-14.
[2] Grosse, Y., Baan, R., Straif, K., Secretan, B., Ghissassi, F. E., & Cogliano, V. (2006). “Carcinogenicity of nitrate, nitrite, and cyanobacterial peptide toxins”. Lancet Oncol., 7(8), 628-629.

Acknowledgements: The authors acknowledge the financial support of the Comunidad Autónoma de la Región de Murcia (CARM, Fundación Séneca, Project 19888/GERM/15), the Spanish MICINN (PGC2018-098363-B-100), and PROSUR.

Polyphenols are ubiquitously present in plants as a large family of secondary metabolites. Depending on their structures, they can be classified in phenolic acids, flavonoids, stilbenes, lignans and tannins. Polyphenols display several healthy attributes, such as antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, antimicrobial and antineoplastic properties, so that they are commonly included as basic ingredients in several pharmaceutical and nutraceutical products.

In this research, the total content of polyphenols and the antioxidant capacity of various food samples and nutraceuticals have been estimated, including cranberry, raspberry, artichoke, grapevine, green tea, coffee, turmeric and other medicinal plant extracts. Samples have been analyzed by using different methods, such as high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) and two antioxidant assays —ferric reducing antioxidant power (FRAP) and Folin-Ciocalteau (FC)—.

A preliminary data exploration by PCA has revealed that HPLC fingerprints are suitable chemical descriptors to classify the analyzed samples according to their nature and origin. Besides, chromatographic fingerprints have been correlated with antioxidant data using partial least squares (PLS). Regression models have shown a good prediction capacity to estimate the antioxidant activity from chromatographic data, with determination coefficients (R2) of 0.971 and 0.983 for FRAP and FC assays, respectively.

Introduction: Metabolites of polyphenols recently vested interest because of their actual bioavailability in vivo. In fact, they reach tissue concentrations that are likely responsible for the beneficial effects attributed to ingested polyphenols. The aim of our study was to evaluate the mechanisms of action of different classes of phase I/II metabolites of polyphenols coming from different plant foods against intestinal inflammation and epithelial barrier damage. Metabolites were tested in intestinal cell cultures to assess their efficacy against LPS-induced altered membrane permeability related to disruption and/or relocation of tight junction (TJ) proteins, as well as to the induction of iNOS expression associated to MAPKs and NF-ĸB pathways.

Material and methods: Human colon adenocarcinoma cells (Caco-2), differentiated as normal enterocytes, were treated with LPS (1 µg/mL) following pretreatment with the metabolites at concentration of 1 µM, which can be easily achieved in vivo. Caco-2 monolayers permeability was monitored with time, measuring the transepithelial electrical resistance (TEER). The modulation of MAPKs JNK, p38 and ERK1/2, and TJ zonulin (ZO-1) and occludin modification, were assessed by western blotting and immunofluorescence assays. Moreover, intestinal nitric oxide release consequently to iNOS expression, and modulation of Akt/IĸBα/NF-ĸB pathway were also tested.

Results: Pretreatment with the tested metabolites decreased permeability and preserved TJ integrity. Moreover, LPS-induced MAPKs phosphorylation was significantly reduced. It was also observed that metabolites inhibited iNOS expression and counteracted IĸBα degradation, through a modulatory action involving MAPKs and Akt pathways.

Conclusion: The outcome of this work indicates that metabolites are able to counteract LPS-induced alteration of epithelial permeability mainly through the modulation of MAPKs dependent intracellular signaling, thus they may significantly contribute to preserve the integrity of intestinal mucosa against inflammation related disorders.

People are using plants with health-boosting properties, such as oregano species, in their daily diet. Nowadays these plants, characterized as potential functional foods, are being extensively scientifically analyzed. Bearing that in mind and the fact that neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s are affecting millions of people worldwide, this study was defined to assess the antineurodegenerative, antineuroinflammatory, and neuroprotective potential of Origanum majorana (marjoram) and O. vulgare (oregano) from Serbia. The plant material was obtained from the Institute for Medicinal Plant Research “Dr. Josif Pančić”, Serbia, and the ethanolic extracts were prepared using classic maceration protocol. The acetylcholinesterase (AChE) and tyrosinase (TYR) inhibition were used to examine the antineurodegenerative activity. Microglial (BV2) cells stimulated with LPS were used to evaluate the antineuroinflammatory activity in MTT, NBT, and Griess assays, while neuronal (SH-SY5Y) cells were used to determine the neuroprotective activity of the extracts in MTT and Griess assays. The results suggest that oregano extracts are slightly better at inhibiting AChE and TYR (68% vs. 61% at 0.1 mg/mL) than marjoram extracts (53% vs. 59% at 0.1 mg/mL), making them more active than the positive controls (galantamine 41% vs. kojic acid 25% at 0.1 mg/mL). Furthermore, these extracts normalized LPS-stimulated BV2 cells' viability while also reducing their production of inflammatory mediators, reactive oxygen species, and nitric oxide, to the level of untreated cells. Additionally, supernatants of LPS-stimulated BV2 cells that were previously treated with these extracts normalized the viability of neurons compared to the control neurons (treated with supernatants of LPS-stimulated BV2 that were not previously treated with the extracts). Both extracts exhibited noticeable antineurodegenerative antineuroinflammatory and neuroprotective activities representing powerful sources of phytochemicals with promising overall neuroprotective activity, which could be further examined for potential dietary supplement manufacturing.

It has been long recognized that fruits are healthy diet compounds since they are excellent sources of health beneficial bioactive components (polyphenols, minerals, vitamins, organic acids, etc.). The diversification of the consumer’s taste calls for an expansion of food options and novel ingredients. The excessive refined sugar intake in the last years demands for the incorporation of sugar alternatives in popular dessert recipes, and high calorie obesogenic foods in general. Puddings are a well-known food choice introduced in the human diet at a very early age because of its easy and high digestion.

Four formulations with two types of starch (corn and rice) were selected as object of analysis. Nectarines were incorporated as a purée, and lyophilized powder. The nectarine variety “Gergana”, used for the preparations, is a local variety with proven beneficial properties. The study aimed at analyzing the physical (moisture, ash, color, water-holding capacity, water activity, density and syneresis), rheological (firmness, gumminess, cohesiveness, springiness, and chewiness), nutritional, and sensory characteristics of the nectarine-enriched puddings.

The outcomes obtained from this study provided significant information about the possible application of the formulations in the children’s daily menus. All four formulations had distinct peachy aroma. The formulations prepared with nectarine purée resulted in a better sensory perception about their texture, and better water holding capacity. The formulations prepared with lyophilized fruit had similar CIELAB color values. The same trend was observed in the nectarine purée formulations. At this point, the formulation prepared with lyophilized fruit and rice starch has the most promising results. Sufficient evidence leads to further exploration of the perspective of fruit-enriched puddings in order to improve their technological and health-promoting properties.