Search

Summary Sword beans (Canavalia gladiata) have been used as grain legumes and medicinal plants in China for thousands of years. To explore new natural antioxidant sources, the antioxidant capacity and phenolic composition in the soluble and bound fractions of three sword bean genotypes were evaluated in vitro. The red and black sword beans were found to have antioxidant capacity compared to the white sword bean, and this was attributed to their red and black bean coats, which possessed extremely high phenolic content. Gallic acid and its derivatives, such as methyl gallate, digalloyl hexoside and digallic acid, were the main phenolic compounds in the coats of red and black sword beans. Therefore, the red and black sword beans, especially their bean coats, are good sources of antioxidant phenolics and may have potential health benefits.

Gut bacteria are an important component of the microbiota ecosystem in the human gut, which is colonized by 1014 microbes, ten times more than the human cells. Gut bacteria play an important role in human health, such as supplying essential nutrients, synthesizing vitamin K, aiding in the digestion of cellulose, and promoting angiogenesis and enteric nerve function. However, they can also be potentially harmful due to the change of their composition when the gut ecosystem undergoes abnormal changes in the light of the use of antibiotics, illness, stress, aging, bad dietary habits, and lifestyle. Dysbiosis of the gut bacteria communities can cause many chronic diseases, such as inflammatory bowel disease, obesity, cancer, and autism. This review summarizes and discusses the roles and potential mechanisms of gut bacteria in human health and diseases.

Chemicals (such as alcohol, drugs, and pollutants) may cause liver injuries, which could consequently develop into fatty liver, hepatitis, fibrosis, cirrhosis, and liver failure, or even cancers. Liver injuries have been a serious public health problem worldwide. Numerous natural products and their bioactive components have shown protective action for liver injuries, such as blueberry, cactus fruits, Pueraria lobate, betaine, and silymarin. The underlying mechanisms mainly include antioxidation, anti-inflammation, anti-apoptosis, anti-necrosis, repairing damaged DNA, regulating the metabolism of lipids, and modulating primary bile acid biosynthesis. This review summarizes the natural products and bioactive compounds with protective effects on liver injuries caused by chemicals, and special attention is paid to the mechanisms of action. This updated information can be helpful to prevent and treat liver-related diseases, especially chemical-induced liver injuries.

There is a long history of using fermentation in food production. Edible seeds, such as certain beans and cereal grains, are important in the human diet and provide many health benefits. Various microbes, such as lactic acid bacteria, molds, and yeasts, considered as generally recognized as safe (GRAS) microbes, are commonly used to ferment edible seeds and their products. Fermentation can change bioactive components and produce new bioactivities. In order to highlight the importance of fermentation on bioactive components and bioactivities in edible seeds, this review, therefore, summarizes recent relevant studies and discusses fermentation procedures and influences of fermentation on their bioactive components and bioactivities. Overall, fermented edible seeds and their products contain enhanced bioactive components, especially γ-aminobutyric acid and natural phenolics, and they possess versatile bioactivities, such as antioxidant and anti-cancer effects, and, therefore, can be recommended as an important part of the human diet, or they can be developed into functional foods to help in the prevention of certain chronic diseases.

Liver kinase B1 (LKB1), known as a serine/threonine kinase, has been identified as a critical cancer suppressor in many cancer cells. It is a master upstream kinase of 13 AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK)-related protein kinases, and possesses versatile biological functions. LKB1 gene is mutated in many cancers, and its protein can form different protein complexes with different cellular localizations in various cell types. The expression of LKB1 can be regulated through epigenetic modification, transcriptional regulation and post-translational modification. LKB1 dowcnstream pathways mainly include AMPK, microtubule affinity regulating kinase (MARK), salt-inducible kinase (SIK), sucrose non-fermenting protein-related kinase (SNRK) and brain selective kinase (BRSK) signalings, etc. This review, therefore, mainly discusses recent studies about the expression, regulation, downstream signaling and cancer suppressive function of LKB1, which can be helpful for better understanding of this molecular and its significance in cancers.

In this study, response surface methodology (RSM) and two artificial neural networks (ANN), multi-layer perceptron (MLP) and radial basis function (RBF), were used for the first time to model and optimize the extraction conditions of phenolic compounds in kidney beans in order to compare and establish effective prediction models. A total of 40 experiments were performed to screen for variables. The highest amount of polyphenols (917.2 mg GAE/100 g DW) and the strongest antioxidant activity (56.03 μmol Trolox/g DW) were obtained under optimal extraction conditions (70 min extraction time, 53% acetone, and 37 mL/g solvent-to-solid ratio). Response values were close to the predicted values with prediction accuracy as RBF > MLP > RSM, indicating that ANN model has higher prediction accuracy than RSM. Furthermore, UPLC-QTOF-MS analysis of extracts under the optimal extraction conditions showed that there were 25 antioxidant compounds detected, 13 of which were proposed from kidney beans for the first time.

Tea has been reported to prevent and manage many chronic diseases, such as cancer, diabetes, obesity, and cardiovascular diseases, and the antioxidant capacity of tea may be responsible for these health benefits. In this study, the antioxidant capacities of fat-soluble, water-soluble, and bound-insoluble fractions of 30 Chinese teas belonging to six categories, namely green, black, oolong, dark, white, and yellow teas, were systematically evaluated, applying ferric-reducing antioxidant power and Trolox equivalent antioxidant capacity assays. In addition, total phenolic contents of teas were determined by Folin&ndash, Ciocalteu method, and the contents of 18 main phytochemical compounds in teas were measured by high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). The results found that several teas possessed very strong antioxidant capacity, and caffeine, theaflavine, gallic acid, chlorogenic acid, ellagic acid, and kaempferol-3-O-glucoside, as well as eight catechins, were the main antioxidant compounds in them. Thus, these teas could be good natural sources of dietary antioxidants, and their extracts might be developed as food additives, nutraceuticals, cosmetics, and pharmaceuticals.

Cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) are critical global public health issues with high morbidity and mortality. Epidemiological studies have revealed that regular tea drinking is inversely associated with the risk of CVDs. Additionally, substantial in vitro and in vivo experimental studies have shown that tea and its bioactive compounds are effective in protecting against CVDs. The relevant mechanisms include reducing blood lipid, alleviating ischemia/reperfusion injury, inhibiting oxidative stress, enhancing endothelial function, attenuating inflammation, and protecting cardiomyocyte function. Moreover, some clinical trials also proved the protective role of tea against CVDs. In order to provide a better understanding of the relationship between tea and CVDs, this review summarizes the effects of tea and its bioactive compounds against CVDs and discusses potential mechanisms of action based on evidence from epidemiological, experimental, and clinical studies.

Ginger (Zingiber officinale Roscoe) is a common and widely used spice. It is rich in various chemical constituents, including phenolic compounds, terpenes, polysaccharides, lipids, organic acids, and raw fibers. The health benefits of ginger are mainly attributed to its phenolic compounds, such as gingerols and shogaols. Accumulated investigations have demonstrated that ginger possesses multiple biological activities, including antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, antimicrobial, anticancer, neuroprotective, cardiovascular protective, respiratory protective, antiobesity, antidiabetic, antinausea, and antiemetic activities. In this review, we summarize current knowledge about the bioactive compounds and bioactivities of ginger, and the mechanisms of action are also discussed. We hope that this updated review paper will attract more attention to ginger and its further applications, including its potential to be developed into functional foods or nutraceuticals for the prevention and management of chronic diseases.

The current study aimed to provide a comprehensive bibliometric overview of the literature on curcumin, complementing the previous reviews and meta-analyses on its potential health benefits. Bibliometric data for the current analysis were extracted from the Web of Science Core Collection database, using the search string TOPIC=(&ldquo, curcumin*&rdquo, ), and analyzed by the VOSviewer software. The search yielded 18,036 manuscripts. The ratio of original articles to reviews was 10.4:1. More than half of the papers have been published since 2014. The major contributing countries were the United States, China, India, Japan, and South Korea. These publications were mainly published in journals representing the following scientific disciplines: biochemistry, chemistry, oncology, and pharmacology. There was a significant positive correlation between the total publication count and averaged citations per manuscript for affiliations, but not for countries/regions and journals. Chemicals that were frequently mentioned in the keywords of evaluated curcumin publications included curcuminoids, resveratrol, chitosan, flavonoids, quercetin, and polyphenols. The literature mainly focused on curcumin&rsquo, s effects against cancer, inflammation, and oxidative stress. Cancer types most frequently investigated were breast, colon, colorectal, pancreatic, and prostate cancers.

The feasibility of improving the extraction rate of common bean antioxidants by ultrasonic treatment was investigated. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and spectrum Fourier transform infrared spectrophotometer (FT-IR) analysis revealed that ultrasonic treatment substantially altered the cellular structure of common bean seed, resulting in increased surface area, eroded cell walls, and greater exposure of cellulose and hemicellulose. The highest antioxidant activity was obtained at optimal extraction conditions (68 min, 55% acetone, 36:1 liquid to solid ratio, 30 ℃, and 480 W) which were optimized by response surface methodology. In terms of the extraction rate of common bean antioxidants, ultrasound-assisted extraction (UAE) exhibits about seven-fold higher extraction efficiency than conventional solvent extraction (CSE). In addition, 10 phenolic compounds in the common bean extracts were detected and quantified by high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC), including protocatechuic acid, catechin, chlorogenic acid, epicatechin, ferulic acid, coumarin, rutin, myricetin, cinnamic acid, and genistein. In summary, ultrasonic treatment is an ideal candidate methodology for improving the extraction rate of common bean antioxidants.

In order to find new sources of natural antioxidants, antioxidant capacities of infusions from 223 medicinal plants were systemically evaluated using ferric-reducing antioxidant power (FRAP) and Trolox equivalent antioxidant capacity (TEAC) assays, and their total phenolic contents (TPC) were measured by Folin–Ciocalteu method. A very weak correlation ( R 2 = 0.1563) between the TEAC value and the FRAP value suggested that the components capable of scavenging free radicals could be different from those reducing oxidants in these plants. A significant correlation ( R 2 = 0.7549) between TEAC value and TPC as well as a very weak correlation ( R 2 = 0.1966) between FRAP value and TPC implied that phenolic compounds in these plants could be the main components contributing to scavenging free radical activities, but not be responsible for reducing oxidant abilities. Several plants possessing the high antioxidant capacities and TPC have been screened out, which could be potential rich resources of natural antioxidants, and could be developed into herbal infusion, functional food or pharmaceuticals for prevention and treatment of diseases caused by oxidative stress.

Green tea is one of the most popular beverages in the world, especially in Asian countries. Consumption of green tea has been demonstrated to possess many health benefits, which mainly attributed to the main bioactive compound epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG), a flavone-3-ol polyphenol, in green tea. EGCG is mainly absorbed in the intestine, and gut microbiota play a critical role in its metabolism prior to absorption. EGCG exhibits versatile bioactivities, with its anti-cancer effect most attracting due to the cancer preventive effect of green tea consumption, and a great number of studies intensively investigated its anti-cancer effect. In this review, we therefore, first stated the absorption and metabolism process of EGCG, and then summarized its anti-cancer effect in vitro and in vivo, including its manifold anti-cancer actions and mechanisms, especially its anti-cancer stem cell effect, and next highlighted its various molecular targets involved in cancer inhibition. Finally, the anti-cancer effect of EGCG analogs and nanoparticles, as well as the potential cancer promoting effect of EGCG were also discussed. Understanding of the absorption, metabolism, anti-cancer effect and molecular targets of EGCG can be of importance to better utilize it as a chemopreventive and chemotherapeutic agent.

Impact of heat-moisture treatment (HMT) on nutritional properties of normal maize starch (NMS) under various reaction conditions was investigated. NMS was adjusted to moisture levels of 20%, 25%, 30% and 35% and heated at 80, 100, 120 and 140°C for 4, 8, 12 and 16h. Response surface methodology (RSM) based on Box-Behnken design (BBD) was employed to obtain the optimal combination of moisture level (X1: 20-30%), length of heating (X2: 4-12h), and temperature (X3: 100-140°C). The optimum reaction condition decreased rapidly digestible starch (RDS) from 87.10% to 82.21%, when NMS was subjected to HMT at 23.6% moisture content and heated at 114.8°C for 9.04h. The ANOVA measurement and confirmation experiments were performed to verify the predictive value and the RSM model, indicating that temperature was the main factor to determine the digestion rate of HMT NMS. The results suggested that RDS was not correlated to heating length but positively correlated to temperature and moisture content. Reaction condition had no correlations with slowly digestible starch (SDS) and resistant starch (RS). This study could provide more information for producing low-glycemic index products.

In order to supply new information on the antioxidant function of selected fruits for nutritionists and the general public, antioxidant activities and total phenolic contents of 62 fruits were evaluated using ferric reducing antioxidant power (FRAP) and Trolox equivalent antioxidant capacity (TEAC) assays as well as the Folin-Ciocalteu method, respectively. The correlations between the FRAP value and the TEAC value as well as total phenolic content were also assessed. The results showed that different fruits had diverse antioxidant capacities and the variation was very large, and seven fruits, Chinese date, pomegranate, guava, sweetsop, persimmon, Chinese wampee and plum, possessed the highest antioxidant capacities and total phenolic contents among tested fruits, and could be important dietary sources of natural antioxidants for prevention of diseases caused by oxidative stress.

Mulberry is one of the most widely used traditional Chinese medicines. Anthocyanins are the main bioactive components of mulberry, and possess important biological activities, such as antimicrobial, anti-inflammatory and antioxidant activities. This study investigated the ultrasound-assisted extraction (UAE) of anthocyanins from mulberry by using response surface methodology (RSM). The extraction conditions associated with anthocyanin yield, including extraction solvent, liquid-to-solid rate, temperature and extraction time, are discussed. The optimal conditions obtained by RSM for UAE from mulberry include 63.8% methanol contains 1% (v/v) trifluoroacetic acid (TFA), 43.2 °C temperature, 23.8 (v/w) liquid-to-solid ratio, and 40 min time for the maximum yield (64.70 ± 0.45 mg/g). The results indicated that the UAE can be an effective method for the extraction of some active components from plant materials.

In order to supply new information on the antioxidant function of selected beverages for nutritionists and the general public, total phenolic contents of 51 kinds of herbal and tea infusions made in China were measured by the Folin-Ciocalteu method, and their antioxidant capacities were evaluated using ferric reducing antioxidant power (FRAP) and Trolox equivalent antioxidant capacity (TEAC) assays. A significant correlation between FRAP and TEAC values suggested that antioxidant components in these beverages were capable of reducing oxidants and scavenging free radicals. The high correlation between antioxidant capacities and total phenolic contents indicated that phenolic compounds could be one of the main components responsible for antioxidant activities of these beverages. Generally, these beverages had high antioxidant capacities and total phenolic contents, and could be important dietary sources of antioxidant phenolics for prevention of diseases caused by oxidative stress.

Background: Carvacrol is an aromatic phenolic terpenoid widely existing in the volatile oils of thyme, oregano, and some other aromatic plants. Recent studies have found that carvacrol possesses excellent antibacterial activity. In order to provide an updated information about the antibacterial potentials of carvacrol, herein, we summarized recent publications about the antibacterial activity of carvacrol, with special attention paid to its antibacterial molecular mechanisms, including desrupting cell membrane, depleting intracellular ATP, inducing reactive oxygen species, inhibiting efflux pumps, as well as suppressing two important virulence factors, biofilm and quorum sensing. In conclusion, carvacrol is a promising natural antibacterial compound with potential application in food preservation and infection.Keywords：Carvacrol, antibacterial mechanisms, biofilm, quorum sensing

In order to identify wild fruits possessing high nutraceutical potential, the antioxidant activities of 56 wild fruits from South China were systematically evaluated. The fat-soluble components were extracted with tetrahydrofuran, and the water-soluble ones were extracted with a 50:3.7:46.3 (v/v) methanol-acetic acid-water mixture. The antioxidant capacities of the extracts were evaluated using the ferric reducing antioxidant power (FRAP) and Trolox equivalent antioxidant capacity (TEAC) assays, and their total phenolic contents were measured by the Folin-Ciocalteu method. Most of these wild fruits were analyzed for the first time for their antioxidant activities. Generally, these fruits had high antioxidant capacities and total phenolic contents. A significant correlation between the FRAP value and the TEAC value suggested that antioxidant components in these wild fruits were capable of reducing oxidants and scavenging free radicals. A high correlation between antioxidant capacity and total phenolic content indicated that phenolic compounds could be the main contributors to the measured antioxidant activity. The results showed that fruits of Eucalyptus robusta, Eurya nitida, Melastoma sanguineum, Melaleuca leucadendron, Lagerstroemia indica, Caryota mitis, Lagerstroemia speciosa and Gordonia axillaris possessed the highest antioxidant capacities and total phenolic contents among those tested, and could be potential rich sources of natural antioxidants and functional foods. The results obtained are very helpful for the full utilization of these wild fruits.

The consumption of herbal teas has become popular in recent years due to their attractive flavors and outstanding antioxidant properties. The Five-Golden-Flowers tea is a herbal tea consisting of five famous edible flowers. The effects of microwave-assisted extraction parameters on the antioxidant activity of Five-Golden-Flowers tea were studied by single-factor experiments, and further investigated using response surface methodology. Under the optimal parameters (53.04 mL/g of solvent/material ratio, 65.52 °C, 30.89 min, and 500 W), the ferric-reducing antioxidant power, Trolox equivalent antioxidant capacity, and total phenolic content of the herbal tea were 862.90 ± 2.44 µmol Fe2+/g dry weight (DW), 474.37 ± 1.92 µmol Trolox/g DW, and 65.50 ± 1.26 mg gallic acid equivalent (GAE)/g DW, respectively. The in vivo antioxidant activity of the herbal tea was evaluated on alcohol-induced acute liver injury in mice. The herbal tea significantly decreased the levels of aspartate aminotransferase, total bilirubin, and malonaldehyde at different doses (200, 400, and 800 mg/kg), improved the levels of liver index, serum triacylglycerol, and catalase at dose of 800 mg/kg. These results indicated its role in alleviating hepatic oxidative injury. Besides, rutin, chlorogenic acid, epicatechin, gallic acid, and p-coumaric acid were identified and quantified by high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC), which could contribute to the antioxidant activity of the herbal tea.

In order to find new sources of natural antioxidants, the antioxidant capacities of 50 medicinal plants associated with treatment of rheumatic diseases were systemically evaluated using the ferric-reducing antioxidant power (FRAP) and Trolox equivalent antioxidant capacity (TEAC) assays, and their total phenolic contents were measured by the Folin–Ciocalteu method. Their antioxidant activities of some of these plants were analyzed for the first time. The FRAP and TEAC assay results suggested that the antioxidant compounds in these plants possessed free radicals scavenging activity and oxidant reducing power. A positive linear correlation between antioxidant capacities and total phenolic contents implied that phenolic compounds in these plants could be the main components contributing to the observed activities. The results showed that Geranium wilfordii, Loranthus parasiticus, Polygonum aviculare, Pyrrosia sheaeri, Sinomenium acutum and Tripterygium wilfordii possessed the highest antioxidant capacities and total phenolic content among 50 plants tested, and could be rich potential sources of natural antioxidants.

Antioxidant capacities of 56 selected Chinese medicinal plants were evaluated using the Trolox equivalent antioxidant capacity (TEAC) and ferric reducing antioxidant power (FRAP) assays, and their total phenolic content was measured by the Folin-Ciocalteu method. The strong correlation between TEAC value and FRAP value suggested that the antioxidants in these plants possess free radical scavenging activity and oxidant reducing power, and the high positive correlation between antioxidant capacities and total phenolic content implied that phenolic compounds are a major contributor to the antioxidant activity of these plants. The results showed that Dioscorea bulbifera, Eriobotrya japonica, Tussilago farfara and Ephedra sinica could be potential rich sources of natural antioxidants.

Brown rice presently attracts a growing number of customers due to its perceived health benefits, but its cooking properties differ from white rice. This study aims to investigate the relationship between physicochemical properties and cooking properties of brown rice and white rice. Brown rice samples generally are found to have higher thousand kernel weight, and minimum cooking time, but lower length/breadth ratio, pasting viscosity values (except setback), swelling power, water uptake ratio, gruel solid loss, cooked length/breadth ratio, and elongation ratio than white rice. Brown and white rice from the same cultivar show some differences regarding their gelatinization properties. The cooking property differences between brown and white rice may be explained by impact of embryo and protection by bran layers. Correlation analysis indicate that cooking properties are little correlated to the flour physicochemical properties, except minimum cooking time. Although apparent amylose content show strong correlations with most flour physicochemical properties, gelatinization temperature may be preferred to be used for prediction of minimum cooking time in both brown and white rice.

Buckwheat (BF) and millet (MF) are recommended as healthy foods due to their unique chemical composition and health benefits. This study investigated the thermal and rheological properties of BF-WF (wheat flour) and MF-WF flour blends at various ratios (0:100 to 100:0). Increasing BF or MF concentration led to higher cold paste viscosity and setback viscosity of pasting properties gel adhesiveness, storage modulus (G') and loss modulus (G″) of dynamic oscillatory rheology, and yield stress (σ0 ) of flow curve of WF. BF and MF addition decreased peak viscosity and breakdown of pasting, gel hardness, swelling volume, and consistency coefficient (K) of flow curve of WF. Thermal properties of the blends appeared additive of that of individual flour. Nonadditive effects were observed for some property changes in the mixtures, and indicated interactions between flour components. This may provide a physicochemical basis for using BF and MF in formulating novel healthy products.

Functional and digestible properties of starches isolated from four mung bean varieties were investigated. Amylose content ranged from 37 to 42 %. Gelatinization temperature and enthalpy were ranged 71.4-73.8 °C and 14.1-16.7 J/g, respectively. The extent of amylopectin retrogradation ranged from 3.5 to 6.6 %. Peak viscosity, hot paste viscosity, breakdown, cold paste viscosity and setback were ranged 230-317 RVU, 167-203 RVU, 26-129 RVU, 297-409 RVU, and 129-205 RVU, respectively. Pasting properties examination showed that variety Har had high pasting stability because of low granular breakdown while variety MI06 showed weaker pasting stability due to high granular breakdown. All varieties produced firmer gel which ranged from 165 to 209 (g). Adhesiveness and cohesiveness did not vary significantly among the varieties. It appears that gel hardness of tested mung bean varieties is influenced by the rigidity of the swollen granules and order of amylose rather than the concentration of amylose in continuous gel network. Digestibility of mung bean starch seems to be influenced by swelling power and rigidity of the starch granules. The excellent gelling and gel textural characteristics of the tested mung bean starch provide scientific basis for their potential food applications, such as the development of mung bean noodles.

Mung bean (Vigna radiata) sprout is commonly consumed as a vegetable, while the coat of the germinated mung bean is a waste. In this paper, an ultrasound-assisted extraction method has been developed to extract natural antioxidants from the seed coat of mung bean. Several experimental parameters—which included ethanol concentration, solvent/material ratio, ultrasound extraction time, temperature, and power—were studied in single-factor experiments. The interaction of three key experimental parameters (ethanol concentration, solvent/material ratio, and ultrasonic extraction time) was further investigated by response surface method. Besides, traditional extracting methods, including maceration and Soxhlet extraction methods, were also carried out for comparison. The results suggested that the best extracting condition was 37.6% (v/v) of ethanol concentration, 35.1:1 mL/g of solvent/material ratio and ultrasonic extraction of 46.1 min at 70 °C under 500 W ultrasonic irradiation. The antioxidant capacity (178.28 ± 7.39 µmol Trolox/g DW) was much stronger than those obtained by the maceration extraction process (158.66 ± 4.73 µmol Trolox/g DW) and the Soxhlet extraction process (138.42 ± 3.63 µmol Trolox/g DW). In addition, several antioxidant components in the extract were identified and quantified. This study is helpful for value-added utilization of the waste from germinated mung bean.

The pigmented rice has been consumed in China, Japan, and Korea for a long time. It has been used for strengthening kidney function, treating anemia, promoting blood circulation, removing blood stasis, treating diabetes, and ameliorating sight in traditional Chinese medicine. The extracts from pigmented rice are used as natural food colorants in bread, ice cream, and liquor as well as functional food. The pigmented rice is mainly black, red, and dark purple rice, and contains a variety of flavones, tannin, phenolics, sterols, tocols, γ-oryzanols, amino acids, and essential oils. Anthocyanins are thought as major functional components of pigmented rice. Several anthocyanins have been isolated and identified from the pigmented rice, including cyanidin 3-glucoside, cyanidin 3-galactoside, cyanidin 3-rutinoside, cyanidin 3,5-diglucoside, malvidin 3-galactoside, peonidin 3-glucoside, and pelargonidin 3,5-diglucoside. This review provides up-to-date coverage of pigmented rice in regard to bioactive constituents, extraction and analytical methods, and bioactivities. Special attention is paid to the bioactivities including antioxidant and free radical scavenging, antitumor, antiatherosclerosis, hypoglycemic, and antiallergic activities.

The antioxidant capacity and polyphenol content in mung bean (Vigna radiata) and soya bean (Glycine max) milk fermented by Lactobacillus plantarum WCFS1 were investigated. Fermentation had different effects on antioxidant capacity in the lipophilic and hydrophilic fractions of two bean milks. Further, the free radical scavenging capacity was much higher in the lipophilic fraction than in the commonly investigated hydrophilic fraction of both fermented bean milks. Total phenolic content in both fermented bean milks increased. HPLC and LC-MS/MS analyses found that vitexin and isovitexin were the main phenolic compounds in the fermented and nonfermented mung bean milk, and fermentation did not significantly change their contents. Practical Applications Fermentation of bean milk by lactic acid bacteria (LAB) has been of increasing attraction to food scientists. Herein, we highlighted that LAB Lactobacillus plantarum WCFS1 was efficient for the fermentation of mung bean and soya bean milks, and the two fermented bean milks contained substantial antioxidant polyphenols, especially the fermented mung bean milk, which was rich in vitexin and isovitexin, two flavones with a number of bioactivities. Therefore, L. plantarum WCFS1 can be a good candidate for the fermentation of edible bean milks and fermented bean milks containing antioxidant polyphenols can be developed into functional drinks with enhanced health benefits.

Hot air drying has been widely used for the processing and preservation of fresh fruits and vegetables. In this study, we investigated the browning of hot air dried mung bean (Vigna radiata L.) sprouts, as well as the antioxidant capacity and phenolic contents in their soluble and insoluble fractions. Hot air drying at 70 and 80C for 24 h increased the browning of mung bean sprouts, and hot air dried samples generally had higher total phenolic content and antioxidant capacity compared to the freeze-dried sample. Rutin, caffeic acid and p-coumaric acid were identified in mung bean sprouts by LC–MS, and hot air drying at higher temperature (70 and 80C) reduced rutin and p-coumaric acid contents, while increasing the content of caffeic acid. Browning pigments and polyphenols may be the main contributors of antioxidant capacity in hot air dried mung bean sprouts. Practical Applications The mung bean sprout is a popular fresh vegetable in many Asian countries. We previously found that it had the highest antioxidant polyphenols among twelve cultivated edible bean sprouts, and this study further demonstrated that hot air drying was able to increase its antioxidant capacity and total phenolic conent compared to freeze-dried samples. Therefore, hot air dried mung bean sprout powders are good natural source of antioxidant polyphenols, and can be used as additives to fortify food antioxidant polyphenols or developed into novel functional foods with potential health benefits. This finding should be of interest to the public and experts in the field of food science and technology.

Sites of Generation and Physicochemical Basis of Formation of Reactive Oxygen Species in Plant Cell S. Bhattacharjee Multiple Roles of Radicals in Plants Igor Kovalchuk Reactive Oxygen Species and Ascorbate-Glutathione Interplay in Signaling and Stress Responses V. Locato et al. Reactive Oxygen Species and Programmed Cell Death Tsanko Gechev, Veselin Petrov and Ivan Minkov Oxidative Burst-mediated ROS Signaling Pathways Regulating Tuberization in Potato D. Sarkar and S. Sharma ROS Regulation of Antioxidant Genes P.V. Mylona and Alexios N. Polidoros The Role of Antioxidant Enzymes during Leaf Development Yun-Hee Kim and Sang-Soo Kwak Antioxidants Involvement in the Ageing of Non-green Organs: The Potato Tuber as a Model Pierre Delaplace et al. Metal Toxicity, Oxidative Stress and Antioxidative Defense System in Plants R.S. Dubey ROS, Oxidative Stress and Engineering Resistance in Higher Plants Damla D. Bilgin Role of Free Radicals and Antioxidants in in vitro Morphogenesis S. Dutta Gupta ROS as Biomarkers in Hyperhydricity Nieves Fernandez-Garcia et al. Antioxidant Effects of Plant Polyphenols: A Case Study of a Polyphenol-rich Extract from Geranium sanguineum L. Julia Serkedjieva LC-(Q) TOF-MS Characterization of Phenolic Antioxidants Segura-Carretero et al. Antioxidant Properties of Chinese Medicinal Plants Hua-Bin Li et al.

To study the relationship between dietary soy isoflavones and blood lipids among residents of 40 - 65 years old, in Guangzhou.Dietary soy isoflavones and other nutrients intakes were assessed with quantitative food frequency questionnaire (FFQ). Total cholesterol (TC), triglycerides (TG), HDL cholesterol (HDL-C) and LDL cholesterol (LDL-C) in plasma were measured with colorimetry.Ranges of dietary soy isoflavones intake among 134 males and 261 females were from 0 mg/day to 61.96 mg/day and 0 mg/day to 82.52 mg/day, with means of 11.95 mg/day, 14.90 mg/day, respectively. After adjusted for total energy intake and fat percent energy, differences of TC, LDL-C in total population and TC in women were statistically significant between groups (P value was 0.002, 0.008, 0.004, respectively) and dose-effect relationships (P value was0.001, 0.012, 0.001, respectively) were observed between dietary soy isoflavones intake and the upper mentioned three indices. Compared with the low-intake group, these three indices lowered 7.06%, 10.13% and 7.48%, respectively in high-intake group. Critical significance of LDL-C was observed both in women and men between groups. Further controlled for age, BMI and WHR, no obvious change of the results was observed.Moderate intakes of soy isoflavone as part of a regular diet seemed to be associated with favorable blood lipid levels.