Browsing by Author "Perez-Vazquez, Ana"
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- Bioactive Compounds of Verbascum sinuatum L.: Health Benefits and Potential as New Ingredients for Industrial ApplicationsPublication . Donn, Pauline; Barciela, Paula; Perez-Vazquez, Ana; Cassani, Lucia; Simal-Gandara, Jesus; Prieto Lage, Miguel A.Verbascum sinuatum (V. sinuatum) is a plant belonging to the Scrophulariaceae family that has been used as an ingredient in traditional medicine infusions for the treatment of many diseases. The aerial part of this plant is a source of bioactive compounds, especially polyphenols and iridoids. Moreover, antioxidant activity studies have shown that V. sinuatum phenolic and flavonoid composition is higher than those in other plants of the same genus. V. sinuatum bioactive compound composition could vary according to the harvesting location, growing conditions of the plants, sample preparation methods, type and concentration of the extraction solvent, and the extraction methods. The obtention of these compounds can be achieved by different extraction techniques, most commonly, maceration, heat assisted extraction, and infusion. Nevertheless, since conventional extraction techniques have several drawbacks such as long times of extraction or use of large amounts of solvents, the use of green extraction techniques is suggested, without affecting the efficiency of the extraction. Moreover, V. sinuatum bioactive compounds have several biological activities, such as antioxidant, anticancer, cardiovascular, antimicrobial, antidiabetic, and neuroprotective activities, that may be increased by encapsulation. Since the bioactive compounds extracted from V. sinuatum present good potential as functional food ingredients and in the development of drugs or cosmetics, this review gives an approach of the possible incorporation of these compounds in the food and pharmacological industries.
- Citrus Seed Waste and Circular Bioeconomy: Insights on Nutritional Profile, Health Benefits, and Application as Food IngredientPublication . Seyyedi-Mansour, Sepidar; Carpena, María; Donn, Pauline; Barciela, Paula; Perez-Vazquez, Ana; Echave Álvarez, Javier; Pereira, Antia Gonzalez; Prieto Lage, Miguel A.Citrus fruits are widely grown, processed, and distributed in more than 140 countries, with annual global production exceeding 124.3 million metric tons. This substantial consumption generates significant organic waste, accounting for approximately 50–60% of the total fruit mass, primarily in the form of peel, pulp, and seeds. Often discarded or reused as animal feed, these wastes contribute to significant environmental pollution and economic losses. Therefore, the valorization of these by-products represents an important opportunity to mitigate these challenges and improve the sustainability of the Citrus-related industry. This review highlights Citrus seed waste concerning its invaluable bioactive compounds, including fatty acids, phenolic compounds, limonoids, dietary fibers, vitamins, and carotenoids. Chemical compositions of Citrus seed biowaste differ depending on a variety of factors, such as Citrus variety, fruit maturity, environmental conditions, waste storage conditions, and extraction methods. The extraction and purification of phytochemicals from Citrus seed biowaste are one of the major procedures for valorizing waste. The two types of effective extraction methods are traditional (conventional extraction) and innovative (green extraction). Furthermore, Citrus seeds have been demonstrated to exhibit several biological activities and health-promoting properties including antioxidative, anti-inflammatory, and anti-cancer activities. Therefore, these wastes are safe and beneficial compounds used in the production of functional foods, nutraceuticals, pharmaceuticals, and cosmetics. A conclusion can be reached by emphasizing the abundance of bioactive compounds in Citrus seed wastes, which makes them an excellent opportunity for increased environmental and economic utilization.
- Edible fruits and berries as a source of functional polyphenols: current scene and future perspectivesPublication . Wan, Chunpeng; Langyan, Sapna; Echeverría, Javier; Devkota, Hari Prasad; Tewari, Devesh; Moosavi, Mohammad Amin; Ezzat, Shahira Mohammed; Perez-Vazquez, Ana; Fraga-Corral, Maria; Cravotto, Giancarlo; Prieto Lage, Miguel A.; Belwal, Tarun; Li, MingxiIn recent years, there is a growing interest in nutraceutical-rich functional foods for promoting human health. Wild fruits and berries are excellent sources of phytochemicals even though the most deeply studied are the polyphenolic compounds, among them, the major ones such as flavonoids, anthocyanins, or tannins. This review aimed to comprehensively analyze the currently available literature on wild edible fruits and berries, since these fruits are characterized for their high content of polyphenolic compounds. Moreover, both intrinsic (ripening and genetic variability) and extrinsic (environmental conditions: habitat, light, temperature) factors where considered since they affect the polyphenolic content in these fruits. Besides, the therapeutic potential of berries for treating human diseases was assessed through the revision of in vivo and in vitro assays and clinical studies, having in mind that most of these effects are exerted due to their antioxidant capacity. Furthermore, recent challenges and future trends on the research and utilization of wild fruits and berries were addressed to complete the overview of this sustainable source of natural ingredients. Finally, ScienceDirect, Scopus, and Google Scholar were the databases used for the compilation of the information present in this review, selecting the more recent studies and comparing from a critical point of view, the information found. Thus, this review compiled information of berries regarding their polyphenolic content and the variations this suffer depending on different variables; the potential use of the berries for a therapeutic application; and the trends and challenges that the use of berries faces after the research done.
- Metabolite Profiling of Macroalgae: Biosynthesis and Beneficial Biological Properties of Active CompoundsPublication . Carpena, María; Pereira, Cláudia S.G.P.; Silva, Aurora; Barciela, Paula; Jorge, Ana Olívia Serra; Perez-Vazquez, Ana; Pereira, Antia Gonzalez; Barreira, João C.M.; Oliveira, Beatriz; Prieto Lage, Miguel A.Macroalgae are known as abundant sources of phytochemicals, which offer a plethora of beneficial biological properties. Besides being the most notable classes of compounds found in macroalgae, phlorotannins, bromophenols, and terpenoids comprise some of the most relevant for their biological properties. Phlorotannins, mainly prevalent in brown algae and structurally characterized as complex polyphenolic compounds derived from phloroglucinol units, possess robust antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, antitumor, and cytotoxic activities, modulated by factors such as the degree of polymerization and environmental conditions. Bromophenols, halogenated compounds found in algae and other marine organisms, exhibit significant antioxidant and antiviral properties. Their diverse structures and bromination patterns contribute to their potential as therapeutic and chemical defense agents. Pigments (chemically described as primary terpenoids) play a critical role in light absorption and energy transfer in macroalgae and are divided into three main groups: (i) carotenoids, which are primarily found in brown algae and provide photoprotective and antioxidant benefits; (ii) chlorophylls, known for facilitating the conversion of light into biological energy; and (iii) phycobilins, which are mostly found in red algae and play important roles in light absorption and energy transfer, besides providing remarkable health benefits. Finally, secondary terpenoids, which are particularly abundant in red algae (e.g., the Rhodomelaceae family) are central to cellular interactions and exhibit significant antioxidant, antimicrobial, antidiabetic, and anti-inflammatory properties. This study represents a detailed analysis of the biosynthesis, structural diversity, and biological activities of these macroalgae metabolites, emphasizing their potential biological properties.
- Nutraceuticals and oxidative stressPublication . Donn, Pauline; Seyyedi-Mansour, Sepidar; Perez-Vazquez, Ana; Barciela, Paula; Fraga-Corral, Maria; Chamorro, Franklin; Cassani, Lucia; Simal-Gandara, Jesus; Prieto Lage, Miguel A.Several studies have found a link between oxidative stress and a variety of noncommunicable diseases including diabetes, obesity, aging, Down syndrome, cancers, cardiovascular, and neurodegenerative diseases. All these pathologies are aided by oxidative stress, which is caused by the excessive production of free radicals or insufficient elimination of free radicals. To avoid, reduce, or eliminate this imbalance favoring prooxidants in organs and cells, one of the healthier and promising approaches is to use antioxidant compounds like nutraceuticals, which can scavenge the excessive free radicals and restore the balance. Nutraceuticals are dietary compounds that include dietary fibers, prebiotics, probiotics, polyunsaturated fatty acids, vitamins, minerals, polyphenols, and spices. Some of them have antioxidant activity, which can react with the free electron available in the outer layer of free radicals to make the unstable compounds more stable while avoiding free radicals’ proliferation and the induced damage to the different metabolisms that occur in the human body because of oxidative stress. Thus, each nutraceutical class performs specific functions in managing the onset of oxidative stress. Therefore, the purpose of this chapter is to sort out the mechanisms by which different classes of nutraceuticals can have beneficial effects on oxidative stress and related pathologies via their biological properties. However, it also observes that the efficacy of nutraceutical compounds can only be guaranteed if they can maintain their properties during production, preservation, consumption, digestion, and use by the various targeted active sites. Thus, it shows that the concepts of bioavailability and bio-accessibility are key factors for the effectiveness of nutraceuticals on oxidative stress when consumed by humans.
- Phytochemical diversity and biological activities of Hypericum japonicum and Hypericum sampsonii: potential for natural product-based food applicationsPublication . Barciela, Paula; Rodrigues, Daniele B.; Perez-Vazquez, Ana; Silveira, Tayse F. F. da; Pires, Tânia C.S.P.; Mandim, Filipa; Carpena, Maria; Pereira, Carla; Ferreira, Isabel C.F.R.; Barros, Lillian; Prieto, Miguel A.This study characterizes two species of the genus Hypericum to envisage their applicability as effective and versatile functional foods, dietary supplements, and food preservatives. A wide phenolic composition was found in both extracts, highlighting flanovoids for H. japonicum and xanthones for H. sampsonii. Moreover, anthocya- nins were analyzed for the first time in the latter plant. Antioxidant capacity was highlighted by oxidative he- molysis inhibition assay (OxHLIA), where H. japonicum was more effective (lower EC50) than antioxidant Trolox (16.3 < 21.8 μg/mL). H. sampsonii extract inhibited lipid peroxidation in the thiobarbituric acid reactive sub- stances (TBARS) method (EC50 = 17.05 μg/mL) compared to Trolox (EC50 = 5.8 μg/mL). H. japonicum anti- bacterial activity showed a minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) of 0.007 mg/mL, even lower than the control. These results indicate the bioactive potential of both extracts, as well as the importance of evaluating the food-related bioactive components of medicinal plants and the mechanisms involved in their bioactivities.
- Pressurized liquid extraction for the recovery of bioactive compounds from seaweeds for food industry application: a reviewPublication . Perez-Vazquez, Ana; Carpena Rodríguez, María; Barciela, Paula; Cassani, Lucia; Simal-Gandara, Jesus; Prieto Lage, Miguel A.Seaweeds are an underutilized food in the Western world, but they are widely consumed in Asia, with China being the world's larger producer. Seaweeds have gained attention in the food industry in recent years because of their composition, which includes polysaccharides, lipids, proteins, dietary fiber, and various bioactive compounds such as vitamins, essential minerals, phenolic compounds, and pigments. Extraction techniques, ranging from more traditional techniques such as maceration to novel technologies, are required to obtain these components. Pressurized liquid extraction (PLE) is a green technique that uses high temperatures and pressure applied in conjunction with a solvent to extract components from a solid matrix. To improve the efficiency of this technique, different parameters such as the solvent, temperature, pressure, extraction time and number of cycles should be carefully optimized. It is important to note that PLE conditions allow for the extraction of target analytes in a short-time period while using less solvent and maintaining a high yield. Moreover, the combination of PLE with other techniques has been already applied to extract compounds from different matrices, including seaweeds. In this way, the combination of PLE-SFE-CO2 seems to be the best option considering both the higher yields obtained and the economic feasibility of a scaling-up approximation. In addition, the food industry is interested in incorporating the compounds extracted from edible seaweeds into food packaging (including edible coating, bioplastics and bio-nanocomposites incorporated into bioplastics), food products and animal feed to improve their nutritional profile and technological properties. This review attempts to compile and analyze the current data available regarding the application of PLE in seaweeds to determine the use of this extraction technique as a method to obtain active compounds of interest for food industry application.
- Toxicity and safety of nutraceuticalsPublication . Barciela, Paula; Perez-Vazquez, Ana; Mansour, Sepidar; Donn, Pauline; Garcia-Perez, P.; Carpena, Maria; Fraga-Corral, Maria; Simal-Gandara, Jesus; Prieto Lage, Miguel A.Currently, consumers are more conscious about the importance of having a good diet and lifestyle; so the demand for products with potential health benefits has increased. Nutraceuticals can be classified according to different criteria. Based on their chemical structure, they can be divided into phenolic compounds, fatty acids and structural lipids, carbohydrates and amino-acids derivatives, minerals, and terpenoids derivatives. All these compounds are linked to different health benefits, such as antioxidant, anticancer and anti-inflammatory activity, prevention of neurodegenerative and cardiovascular diseases, or health bones maintenance. However, the potential positive impact of these compounds when incorporated in the human body is limited because of their bioavailability, which is mainly affected because of the hydrophobic properties of these compounds. In this way, different delivery systems were developed as suitable pathways for the bioavailability improvement of nutraceuticals. The most successful delivery systems to incorporate nutraceuticals include micro and nanoemulsions, micelles, nanoparticles, hydrogels, and solid-lipid nanoparticles. They achieved several improvements such as higher bioavailability, bioactivity maintenance, shelf-life improvement, or incorporation of the nutraceutical in a target system/organ. In this way, and considering the increasing demand for these products, the development of regulation is needed so that consumers' safety is assured, although any country has developed it yet. Thus, considering the increasing demand for these compounds, the aim of this study was to compile the available current data of nutraceuticals and also their safety concerns. © 2024 Walter de Gruyter GmbH, Berlin/Boston. All rights reserved.