Current Nutrition & Food Science - Volume 18, Issue 3, 2022

The increased prevalence of obesity, metabolic syndrome and type 2 diabetes has prompted scientists to look for new active and safe molecules that may help the prevention of metabolic disorders: hyperglycemia, insulin-resistance and dyslipidemia. Berberine is an alkaloid compound derived from plants, and it is largely used in traditional Chinese medicine. The aim of this study is to investigate in SCOPUS and Web of Science (WOS) databases how the scientists focused on the use of berberine against metabolic disorders, in human subjects. We carried A bibliometric analysis of scientific literature and performed 2 searches: 1) “Berberine” AND “Diabetes” AND “Diabetes Type 2”, 2) “Berberine” AND “Metabolic Syndrome”, both in ARTICLE (Title/Abstract/Keyword) with a time limitation of 1st January, 2000 through 31st December, 2018, with the filter on “HUMAN” AND/OR “HUMANS”. The research sorted out 500 papers, finding about 300 (60 %) in the first search definition and 200 (40 %) in the second. The refined research sorted out 46 papers regarding the use of berberine in diabetes, and 40 articles on the use of the alkaloid compound in metabolic syndrome. For both topics, we found increasing interest between 2008 and 2009, with citation trends in a constant crescendo in the overall period studied. These findings underlined that berberine is a safe and interesting botanical compound, especially against chronic-metabolic disorder that affects billions of people globally, and emphasized that scientists are interested in searching for long-term therapies that show no major adverse effects.

Humans have conducted numerous space missions in past decades and its success depends upon many factors, including astronaut health as the major factor. Health and nutrition are two vital components of life derived from food which helps in keeping one’s body alive, nourished as well as energetic, including the astronauts during their long-duration manned missions. With the advancement in research and technology, it became possible to include a wide variety of dishes in the space menu, with most of them being similar to those eaten on the earth. This review highlights the evolution of space food starting from mission Mercury to the current International Space Station. Furthermore, it also enlightens and focuses on types of space food, its packaging considerations, and vitamin A-rich energy balls as potential space food. Many deleterious effects of outer space explorations have been observed on the human body, such as loss of body mass, visionrelated changes, loss in bone density, and even anemia. To overcome these issues, various considerations must be followed while designing space food. The nutritional requirement plays an important role in a space mission. Various foods have the potential to overcome the limitations caused by a space mission. Thus, while developing space food, various parameters should be taken into consideration, such as deficiencies and illness. The food should be compact, bite-sized, easily digestible, and shelf-stable. Further research is required to better gain insight into the technological advancements while considering the nutritional status and requirements of astronauts in a space mission.

Background: Ginkgo (Ginkgo biloba) is a living fossil and a deciduous tree, having extracts with antidiabetic, antioxidant, anticancer, antihypertensive, immunostimulating, hepatoprotective, and antimicrobial activities, memory enhancement efficiency, and beneficial effects against neurodegenerative disease. Objective: This study aimed at evaluating the medicinal values and natural benefits of Ginkgo. Methods: This review investigated publication in MEDLINE/PubMed database and Google Scholar. The keywords used for an electronic search were Ginkgo biloba, living fossil, bioactive components, and traditional Chinese medicine. Results: The main active constituents of Ginkgo biloba are flavone glycosides such as kaempferol, quercetin, and isorhamnetin, terpene lactones, alkylphenols, proanthocyanidins, rhamnose, glucose, D-glucaric acid, ginkgolic acid, organic acids such as hydroxykinurenic, kynurenic, protocatechic, shikimic, and vanillic. Ginkgo kernels have been used as medicine or eaten as nuts in traditional medicinal science. The most notable pharmaceutical applications of Ginkgo are observed in cardiovascular disease, Alzheimer's disease, impaired cerebral performance, vascular insufficiency, antidepressant-induced sexual dysfunction, premenstrual syndrome, liver fibrosis, vascular disease, tinnitus, macular degeneration, memory, and vertigo. Conclusion: The development of modern drugs from Ginkgo by considering the importance of traditional medicinal Asian science with further research works should be emphasized.

Obesity is defined by the World Health Organisation (WHO) as a body mass index equal to 30 kg/m² or greater. It is an important and escalating global public health problem. Obesity is known to cause low-grade chronic inflammation, increasing the burden of noncommunicable and possibly communicable diseases. There is considerable evidence that obesity is associated with an increased risk of contracting coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) infection as well as significantly higher COVID-19 morbidity and mortality. It appears plausible that controlling the chronic systemic low-grade inflammation associated with obesity may have a positive impact on the symptoms and the prognosis of COVID-19 disease in obese patients. Astaxanthin (ASTX) is a naturally occurring carotenoid with anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, and immunomodulatory activities. As a nutraceutical agent, it is used as a preventative and a co-treatment in a number of systemic neurological, cardiovascular, and metabolic diseases. This review article will discuss the pathogenesis of COVID-19 infection and the effect of ASTX on obesity and obesity-related inflammation. The potential positive impact of ASTX anti- inflammatory properties in obese COVID-19 patients will be discussed.

Acrylamide is classified as a hazard whose formation in carbohydrate-rich food cooked at a high temperature has created much interest in the scientific community. The review attempts to comprehend the chemistry and mechanisms of formation of acrylamide and its levels in popular foods. A detailed study of the toxicokinetics and biochemistry, carcinogenicity, neurotoxicity, genotoxicity, interaction with biomolecules, and its effects on reproductive health has been presented. The review outlines the various novel and low-cost conventional as well as newer analytical techniques for the detection of acrylamide in foods with the maximum permissible limits. Various effective approaches that can be undertaken in industries and households for the mitigation of levels of acrylamide in foods have also been discussed. This review will assist in providing an in-depth understanding of acrylamide that will make it simpler to assess the risk to human health from the consumption of foods containing low amounts of acrylamide.

Rhododendron is a resourceful, evergreen shrub or a small tree with an ornate display of scarlet red or pale pink flowers that belongs to the family Ericaceae. Rhododendron plants are traditionally used to treat numerous human ailments like blood dysentery, headache, asthma, cough, stomachache, fever, inflammation and fungal infections. Rhododendron also has economic, medicinal, and pharmacological importance. Rhododendron has been regarded as a rich source of secondary metabolites. Apart from aesthetic and sacred values, from past times, Rhododendron juice was prepared from the flowers to curb allergies, treat diabetes and deal with inflammations. Recent studies have shown several promising activities particularly relaxant, digestive enzyme, antioxidant, antimicrobial, antispasmodic, anticancer and antagonistic effects. With the rapidly growing popularity of Rhododendron arboreum, it is important to have a comprehensive reference for its nutritional benefits with the growing search for natural and healthy foods. This work aimed to review the recent advances in research carried out to date for the purposive evaluation of the nutritional quality and potential health benefits of Rhododendron arboreum for its utilization in food processing industries for composing novel value- added products, to achieve high consumer acceptability and health benefits.

Hypertension is a global public health concern since it can lead to complications like stroke, heart disease, and kidney failure. These complications can add to a disability, increase healthcare costs, and can even result in mortality. In spite of the availability of a large number of anti-hypertensive drugs, the control of blood pressure is suboptimal in many patients. Spices have been used as flavouring agents and in treating diseases in folk medicine since they are considered to be rich sources of phytochemicals, especially polyphenols. Hence, during recent years, there has been renewed interest among researchers in exploring natural sources, especially spices, in an attempt to find cheaper alternatives with fewer side effects. Our aim is to review the relevant preclinical and clinical studies focused on the potential use of spices in the management of hypertension. Studies conducted on the most common spices, such as celery, cinnamon, cardamom, garlic, ginger, saffron, and turmeric, have been elaborated in this review. These spices may lower blood pressure via several possible mechanisms, including antioxidant effect, increase in nitric oxide production, reduction in calcium ion concentration, modulation of the renin-angiotensin pathway, etc.

Fruits and vegetables play an important part in the diets of global human population. During processing, the unused residues, such as peels, stalks, rinds, stem, leaves etc., come out as waste. Due to the high moisture content of these perishable wastes, they undergo rapid decomposition that leads to foul odour and growth of pathogens. Almost 30% of the loss occurs at the supply, retail, consumer, post-harvest and processing level. The perishable waste like peels, pomace, seeds etc., act as threat to the environment and degrade pollution-free model. The wastes are rich in protein, carbohydrates, minerals, vitamins and other phytochemicals and bioactive compounds, such as pigments, dietary fibre, essential oils, etc. Recent researches have shown that there is an increase in the utilization of these wastes for the extraction of value- added products, such as bioactive compounds, bio-colorants, organic acids, single cell protein (SCP), organic minerals, enzymes and others. The present review paper deals with the recent studies conducted on the valorisation of the fruit & vegetable waste.

Background: The incorporation of oils in the diet may have promoting or inhibitory effects on Colorectal Cancer (CRC). In this study, azoxymethane (AOM) was used to mimic CRC in rats, and the effect of sunflower oil on cancer progression in the colon of the rats was tested. Objective: This study was conducted to investigate the effect of sunflower oil on preneoplastic cancer properties of the colonic mucosal surface of tumors and the aberrant crypt foci (ACF). Methods: Six-week-old Sprague-Dawley male rats were randomized into 4 groups of 6 rats each, namely naïve, positive control, negative control, and sunflower oil-fed. CRC was induced by AOM by subcutaneous injection of 20 mg/kg. After CRC induction, the rats were given the respective treatment of either basal diet (naïve group), 10 mg/kg indomethacin (positive control), 0.9 % saline (negative control), or 7 % sunflower oil (experimental group) daily by oral gavage for 42 days. Rats were sacrificed by cervical dislocation; colon samples were visually observed for any tumors on the colonic mucosal surface and evaluated for ACF; histopathological examinations were also performed. Results: The mean body weights of the rats were similar in all groups as per one-way ANOVA. A total of 3 ACF were found in the negative group, while none were observed in other groups. The crypts appeared regular with circular luminal openings and were closely packed together in the naïve group. Crypts in the positive and treated group had a similar appearance to the naïve group. Conclusion: Sunflower oil inhibition of the preneoplastic cancer ACF properties were tested but were found to be insignificant when administered during CRC treatment or management. However, long-term experiments with a greater number of days will yield better development of tumor and ACF development and will be useful in identifying the molecular mechanism.