ABSTRACT
Chestnut fruits are highly regarded and widely consumed throughout Europe, America and Asia. Various commercial forms are available, e.g. fresh and industrially processed. There have been various reviews on the composition of chestnut fruits but there has not been a comprehensive review of the different health benefits that this fruit can provide. This review is focused on the composition and associated health effects of European fresh chestnut (Castanea sativa Mill.) fruits and their home-processed and industrial products, e.g. boiled, roasted, frozen, and 'marron glacées'. We also expand the knowledge of chestnut uses by presenting data for other chestnut materials that have potential applications as new foods, as sources of antioxidants, and as sources of other useful bioactives. There is considerable literature data on nutrients in fresh chestnut fruits but less information on bioactive non-nutrients such as phenolics. Chestnuts are mostly consumed as processed forms, and the different types of processing clearly affect the nutrient and non-nutrient composition of the fruits. The benefits that this fruit can provide for human and animal health are numerous, but it is clear that improvements can be made for both production and quality of chestnut products, e.g. genetic selection and optimizing industrial processing.
Subject(s)
Fagaceae/chemistry , Fruit/chemistry , Functional Food/analysis , Animals , Antioxidants/analysis , Flavonoids/analysis , Food Handling , Humans , Nutritive Value , Phenols/analysis , PolyphenolsABSTRACT
Nile tilapia, Oreochromis niloticus, of both sexes were reared in freshwater and exposed to 0.5, 1.0 and 2.5mg L-1 of waterborne copper for a period of 21 days. Liver and gill samples were collected after 21 days of exposure to copper and lesions were analyzed by light microscopy. The main histopathological changes observed in gills exposed to the highest concentration were edema, lifting of lamellar epithelia and an intense vasodilatation of the lamellar vascular axis. Although less frequent, lamellar fusion caused by the filamentar epithelium proliferation and some lamellar aneurisms were also found. The liver of control group exhibited a quite normal architecture, while the fish exposed to copper showed vacuolation and necrosis. These hepatic alterations were more evident in fish exposed to 1.0 and 2.5mg L-1 copper concentrations. The number of hepatocytes nucleus per mm² of hepatic tissue decreased with the increase of copper concentration. In contrast, the hepatic somatic index was high in fish exposed at 2.5mg L-1 of copper. In short, this work advance new knowledge as influence of copper in the gill and liver histology of O. niloticus and demonstrated that their effects could be observed at different concentrations.
Tilápia do Nilo, Oreochromis niloticus, de ambos os sexos foram mantidas em água doce e expostas a concentrações de 0.5, 1.0 e 2.5mg L-1 de sulfato de cobre durante um período de 21 dias. Amostras de fígado e de brânquia foram coletadas após o tempo de exposição e as lesões foram analisadas por microscopia óptica. As principais alterações histopatológicas observadas nas brânquias foram edema, "lifting" do epitélio lamelar e uma intensa vasodilatação do eixo lamelar. Embora menos freqüentes, a fusão lamelar causada pela proliferação do epitélio filamentar e alguns aneurismas lamelares também foram observadas. O fígado do grupo controle exibiu uma arquitetura normal, enquanto os dos peixes expostos ao cobre apresentaram vacuolização e necrose. Estas lesões hepáticas foram mais evidentes nos peixes expostos a concentrações de cobre de 1.0 e 2.5mg L-1. O número dos núcleos dos hepatócitos / mm² de tecido hepático decresceu com o aumento da concentração de cobre. Em contraste, o índice hepatossomático foi mais elevado nos peixes expostos a 2.5mg L-1 de cobre. Em resumo, este trabalho acrescenta nova informação sobre a influência do cobre ao nível da histologia da brânquia e do fígado de O. niloticus e demonstra que os seus efeitos podem ser observados em diferentes concentrações.
