ABSTRACT
Dairy-based functional beverages have been a growing segment as consumer demands for health foods have shifted focus from simply enhancing lifespan to protecting health. Green tea is often limited in use because of poor bioavailability and disagreeable taste. However, milk is considered an ideal platform for the delivery of active polyphenolic compounds in green tea. Furthermore, the antioxidant enzymatic activity and antioxidant index of polyphenols in green tea have been known to be protected through interaction with dairy proteins inside the unstable intestinal environment. In addition, consumption of green tea infused with milk has been found to have a significant impact on reducing skin wrinkles and roughness in elderly subjects, through a decrease in lipid peroxidation and a concomitant reduction in oxidative stress. A similar affinity has been observed between antioxidants in coffee and milk proteins. Dark chocolate has been known to contain significant phenolic content and antioxidant activity. The activation of protein complex NF-κB, which is responsible for cell survival, was found to be significantly reduced upon consumption of cocoa with water, whereas consuming cocoa with milk had no effect on the bioavailability of the phenolic compounds in cocoa. The popularity of dairy as the source for polyphenol fortified beverages in the diet will be dictated by optimization of the technology for maximizing the bioavailability of the antioxidants.
Subject(s)
Cacao/chemistry , Coffee/chemistry , Milk Proteins/chemistry , Milk/chemistry , Polyphenols/chemistry , Tea/chemistry , Animals , Anti-Infective Agents/chemistry , Anti-Infective Agents/metabolism , Anti-Infective Agents/pharmacology , Antioxidants/chemistry , Antioxidants/metabolism , Antioxidants/pharmacology , Bacteria/drug effects , Gastrointestinal Microbiome/drug effects , Humans , Milk/metabolism , Milk Proteins/metabolism , Polyphenols/metabolism , Polyphenols/pharmacology , Protein BindingABSTRACT
Background: Ayurveda, the traditional Indian therapeutic system, involves herbs and spices as drug ingredients and a kind of food intake regulation. The health and curative aspects of plant products are often ascribed to their antimicrobial and antioxidant activities (AA). However, it seems somewhat possible to correlate the AA of herbal extracts or plant isolates with their phenolic contents (PC). Objective: Indian researchers have carried out some tests for the determination of AA and PC of plant products that are worth mentioning. Methods: Among the herbal analysis techniques, the important contributions of Indians and people of Indian origin in this field include the remarkable separation of phenolic compounds, including the use of reversed-phase columns, on-line HPLC, the 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) assay to effectively screen and identify antioxidant compounds from herbal extracts, and other chromatographic, spectrographic, and spectroscopic techniques, in the analysis of complex biological matrices. Results: The aim of this paper is to present an overview of such arguments with reference to herbal drugs and food intake regulation for specific ailments. Conclusions: The lack of uniformity in the use of test protocols for antioxidant assays (particularly using the DPPH free radical) and differences in in vitro mechanisms of antiradical activity and in vivo metabolism of polyphenols have been the issues associated with these experiments that have been raised by researchers in the period from 2000 onward.
Subject(s)
Antioxidants/analysis , Polyphenols/analysis , Antioxidants/chemistry , India , Magnoliopsida/chemistry , Medicine, Ayurvedic , Oxidation-Reduction , Plant Extracts/analysis , Plant Extracts/chemistry , Polyphenols/chemistryABSTRACT
Antimicrobial substances are widely used in many anthropic activities, including sanitary and military services for the human population. These compounds are also known to be used in food production, agricultural activities, and partially correlated industrial sectors. However, there are concerns regarding the link between the abuse of antimicrobial agents in these ambits and the possible detection of antibiotic-resistant microorganisms. Modern food and beverage products are generally found on the market as prepackaged units, with several exceptions. Consequently, positive and negative features of a specific food or beverage should be considered as the result of the synergic action of different components, including the container (or the assembled sum of packaging materials). At present, the meaning of food container also includes the creation and development of new packaging materials that are potentially able to interact with the contained food. "Active" packaging systems can be realized with antimicrobial substances. On the other hand, a careful evaluation of risks and advantages correlated with antimicrobial agents is needed because of possible negative and/or unexpected failures.
