Current Nutrition & Food Science - Current Issue

Our health care system greatly benefits from the use of old medical techniques. In Ayurvedic medicine to improve manhood, Flemingia strobilifera (Lam.) is utilized as an herb. The Fabaceae family, which includes Flemingia strobilifera (Palas), is widely cultivated throughout India. There are more than forty species of Flemingia throughout the globe; out of which 15 species of this genus are in India.

To learn more details about this plant and various species of Flemingia, specifically the chemical makeup of the plant, its species, and/or its elements, traditional and medical uses for the plant. This review article also focuses on the origin, history, classification, phytochemistry, morphology, microscopy, and pharmacological aspects.

A detailed and extensive literature survey through research findings, review articles, Google sources, database etc. was done to explore the aspect of Flemingia species for its various physical, chemical, pharmacological, phytochemistry and related fields.

Our findings report that several representatives of this genus have been employed as vermifuges and remedies for fever, diarrhea, indigestion in traditional medicine. The plants anthelmintic, anticancer, antirheumatic, antiinflammatory, antioxidant and antihistaminic effects are well documented. According to literature reports, the chemical constituents of this genus are flavonoids, glycosides, chalcones, epoxy chromenes, and pterocarpans. Rural and ethnic people regularly use this plant to treat a range of diseases.

Research on Flemingia strobilifera has a bright future thanks to its strong natural origin. The uniqueness and usefulness of Flemingia strobilifera was obscured. In future, many more potential of Flemingia could be investigated in combination with other herbs.

Ginger (Zingiber officinale), as one of the herbal medicines, has high antioxidant activity. It may have protective effects against hepatotoxicity. This study seeks to perform a systematic review and meta-analysis on the impact of ginger on liver enzymes.

The present systematic review and meta-analysis study adhered to the guidelines outlined in the PRISMA 2020 statement. A comprehensive literature search was carried out in the Medline database (PubMed), Google Scholar, Embase, Scopus, Web of Science, and Cochrane Library until the conclusion of February 2021. All interventional animal studies were included. The selected studies were the ones that examined the impact of ginger on serum liver enzymes.

Out of 741 articles, 39 studies were incorporated into the systematic review and meta-analysis. The pooled results suggested that ginger significantly reduced alanine aminotransferase (ALT) (standardized mean difference (SMD): 2.52, 95% confidence interval (CI): 2.12 to 2.93), aspartate aminotransferase (AST) (SMD: 3.03, 95% CI: 2.48 to 3.58), and alkaline phosphatase (ALP) (SMD: 2.10, 95% CI: 1.60 to 2.60).

Ginger has favorable effects on liver enzymes. It shows potential as a beneficial complementary therapy for higher levels of ALT, AST, and ALP because of its useful effects and negligible side effects.

This research study presents a detailed physicochemical analysis and antioxidant activity of 15 bee pollen samples collected from different areas of Algeria.

A comprehensive range of analytical parameters, such as moisture content, sugar composition (fructose, glucose, and sucrose), ash, electrical conductivity, free acidity, and pH, were evaluated. Total flavonoid (TFC) and phenolic (TPC) contents, protein, and lipid contents were also determined. Additionally, antioxidant activity was assessed using two methods: DPPH radical scavenging activity and Ferric-Reducing Antioxidant Power (FRAP).

The results revealed higher values of pH, free acidity, and electrical conductivity, indicating potential variations in the physicochemical properties of bee pollen samples from different regions. Notably, the samples were further distinguished by high total phenolic content (26.23 mg GAE/g), flavonoid content (4.73 mg QE/g), and protein content (21.7%), along with a unique mineral composition. The analysis also demonstrated the highest total antioxidant capacity and a marked correlation with total phenolics.

This study highlights the influence of geographical factors on the physicochemical properties and antioxidant activity of Algerian bee pollen. Regional variations underscore the importance of considering geographical factors in evaluating bee pollen quality, nutritional value, and potential health benefits of Algerian bee pollen. This emphasizes their crucial role in functional foods and natural health products.

Understanding these variations provides valuable insights for optimizing the utilization of bee pollen in functional foods, dietary supplements, and pharmaceutical formulations. Further research into environmental factors influencing bee pollen's antioxidant properties could enhance our understanding of its therapeutic potential.

Antioxidant activity is currently one of the most significant characteristics of red wines, mainly attributable to phenolic components, that enhance health-promoting effects. To this purpose, it is necessary to implement simple, and reliable analytical methods for evaluating such bioactive compounds in wines according to their background.

This research aims to characterize the phenolic and antioxidant activity of 48 commercial monovarietal red wines produced from eight native Lazio cultivars (“Cesanese del Piglio”, “Cesanese di Olevano Romano”, “Cesanese da Castel Franco”, “Olivella del Frusinate”, “Nostrano”, “Syrah”, “Merlot”, and “Nero Buono”), according to different wine-making techniques and vintage.

The characterization was carried out through the chromatographic determination of anthocyanins (HPLC-PDA), spectrophotometric assays for total phenolic content (TPC), total flavonoid content (TFC), total phenolic acid content (TPAC), and antioxidant activity (AA) through ABTS, and DPPH assays, coupled with chemometric tools (Principal Component Analysis and Cluster Analysis).

The quantitative determination of phenolic compounds showed significant (p > 0.05) differences according to wine cultivars. Wine belonging to ‘Syrah’, ‘Nero Buono’, ‘Cesanese del Piglio’ and ‘Cesanese di Olevano Romano’ cultivars showed the highest TPC (2.673 – 4.094; 1.963 – 3.859, 2.104 – 3.794, and 2.668 – 3.549 mg GAE/L, respectively), as well as the highest TFC and TPAC.

In addition, wines sharing cold maceration (i.e., COR and CP samples) resulted in the highest total anthocyanidin content with a variable malvidin and cyanidin distribution percentage; as well as younger wines (2019) showed the highest TPC and anthocyanidins content. In these regards, the natural groupings among samples obtained by chemometrics reinforce the influence of cultivar origin, the wine-making process, as well as wine aging on phenolic content and compositions, thus acting as fingerprints for specific grape cultivars.

Babbularishta is an Ayurvedic medicine in liquid form used for the treatment of phthisis, skin diseases, urinary disorders, and breathing problems. It is also beneficial in cases of blood disorders, acne, dermatitis, hemoptysis, lung injury, asthma, persistent cough, whooping cough, etc.

The functional role of this study is to develop a simple, novel, precise, accurate, reliable, and selective RP-HPLC method for the estimation of piperine content in herbal drug formulations (Babbularista).

A traditional approach to method development could fail to meet the desired separation. Consideration of the current regulatory requirement for analytical method development and RP-HPLC method for routine analysis of piperine in the herbal formulation has been optimized using an analytical Quality by Design (QbD) approach. Three laboratory formulations and three marketed preparations of Babularishta were investigated for organoleptic parameters, physicochemical parameters, and validation. The mobile phase composition (methanol and water % as A), pH (B), and flow rate (mL/min as C) were selected as independent variable. In contrast, retention time (min. as Y2), area (AU as Y1) is selected as dependent variables.

The fingerprinting method was developed and optimized by using the AQbD approach. Piperine content was found to be in Piper nigrum (Marica) 3.01 ± 0.01527% w/w and in Piper longum (Pipali) 2.74 ± 0.01154% w/w in Babbularista.

An attempt has been made to develop quality control parameters of Babbularista by developing a suitable and sensitive HPLC methods for the quantitation of piperine in herbal drug formulations (Babbularista). The developed method was found to be simple, accurate, precise, and economical for the estimation of piperine in herbal formulations.

The novelty of the current research work lies in developing and optimizing the RP-HPLC method by the AQbD approach for the estimation of piperine content in herbal formulations, Babbularista.

Alzheimer's Disease (AD), a common neurodegenerative relevance of dementia, is spreading in the world. Hitherto, the pharmacological treatment for AD is prescribed limitedly in clinical application. Recently, it has been found that naturally occurring extracts possess promising anti-neurodegenerative properties, including AD.

Our previous study indicated that formononetin (FMN) exerts the anti-AD benefits based on bioinformatics analysis. However, the experimental validation for bioinformatics findings has not been conducted. In this study, we primarily applied the molecule docking analysis to ascertain the pharmacological targets, including cytochrome P450 19A1 (CYP19A1). Transgenic AD mice were used to validate the bioinformatics findings in vivo experimentally. Molecular docking data showed that FMN acted directly on CYP19A1 target protein with effective binding sites and potent combining affinity/energy.

Meanwhile, FMN intervention contributed to an increased trend of body weight in transgenic AD mice reduced hippocampal expression of Aβ1-42, and elevated content of CYP19A1. Additionally, FMN intervention showed reduced terminal deoxynucleotidyl Transferase dUTP Nick-End Labeling (TUNEL) expression and increased CYP19A1 and Ki67 expressions in hippocampal sections of transgenic AD mice.

Collectively, FMN may be used for the prevention of AD, and the pharmacological activities are possibly related to reducing Aβ1-42, and TUNEL expressions to increase Ki67 and CYP19A1 activities.

The biological clock or circadian rhythm of an organism is a set of regular oscillations. Working at night or on night shifts disrupts the circadian rhythm. When the circadian rhythm is disrupted, concentrations of adiponectin and leptin (satiety hormones) rise at night, leading to overeating and fat gain, while lack of sleep elevates ghrelin levels of the hunger hormone. Thus, the current study sought to explore the knowledge, attitudes, and practices about the dietary and lifestyle factors amongst night-shift working professionals and to assess the influence of knowledge and attitudes on their practices.

A cross-sectional survey was conducted among individuals working night shifts in Maharashtra. A pre-tested questionnaire consisting of questions related to their knowledge, diet, and lifestyle was recorded and scored.

Among the 206 participants, a maximum of them were male (57.1%). Approximately 72.8% of respondents were quite young (25-30 years) and had been working the night shift for a period of 9-12 months. The majority (76.6%) of respondents had no medical conditions. Many (42.7%) of the night-shift working professionals were found to be obese. Significance was observed between knowledge and attitude among the overweight BMI category.

The participants had good knowledge in terms of dietary habits and lifestyle-related factors. However, this was not reflected in their attitudes and practices. Therefore, interventional research targeting attitudes and behaviors is required to improve behavioral patterns among overweight/obese people.

Cyprinus carpio, as a commercial fish in Iran, has an important effect on human health and nutrition.

The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of oil sources in the diet on the nutritional value and fatty acid composition of C. carpio fish.

Soybean oil (SO), palm oil (PO), fish oil (FO), and oil (soybean and palm) (SPO) contained in the carp diet were fed.

The quality of fatty acids in the fish fillet from SO and PO was significantly better than the FO diet. Total SFA (saturated fatty acids) in carp fillet fat fed with PO was significantly higher than others (p<0.05). In carp fillets fed with experimental diets, there was a significant difference between monounsaturated fatty acids, polyunsaturated fatty acids, high unsaturated fatty acids, and n-3/n-6 fatty acids (p>0.05). The highest amounts of alpha-linolenic acid, linoleic acid, and oleic acid were observed in fish fillets with FO and SO, respectively. Although the percentage of eicosapentaenoic acid in fillets fed with FO and SPO diets was higher than in other treatments, no significant difference in docosahexaenoic acid concentration was observed between all treatments (p<0.05).

The present study showed that oil sources (SO, PO, SPO) fed by C. carpio for 56 days are suitable in terms of productivity and efficiency.

Despite the potential role of vitamin D in the acute phase of COVID-19, studies on its prevalence and association with long COVID severity are limited, leaving the relationship between vitamin D levels and long COVID symptoms unclear.

The objective of this study was to investigate the prevalence of vitamin D deficiency in patients with fatigue or neuropsychiatric symptoms of long COVID and its correlation with the severity of symptoms.

A cross-sectional, single-center study was conducted at Thammasat University Hospital, Thailand. The study recruited participants between the ages of 18 and 60 years who had received a diagnosis of COVID-19 and had at least one long COVID symptom, including fatigue or neuropsychiatric symptoms. Vitamin D level was collected, and clinical severity was assessed using the Chalder Fatigue Scale (CFQ-11), Depression, Anxiety and Stress Scale-21 Items (DASS-21), Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI), Addenbrooke's Cognitive Examination III (ACE), and Trail Making Test A & B (TMT-A and TMT-B).

A total of 82 patients were recruited; most were female (78%), with a mean age of 34.2 years. Most participants had a vitamin D deficiency (<20 ng/mL, 73.2%), accounting for 23.2% vitamin D insufficiency (20-30 ng/mL), and 3.6% had an adequate vitamin D level. Only gender was associated with vitamin D levels. Multivariable analysis demonstrated that the vitamin D level was not correlated with all clinical outcomes, including total CFQ, total DASS, DASS depression, DASS anxiety, total PSQI, total ACE score, and total TMT scores.

The prevalence of vitamin D insufficiency and deficiency was high in patients with long COVID, with female gender serving as predictors of lower vitamin D levels. However, no associations were found between vitamin D level and fatigue syndrome, depression, anxiety, sleep problems, or cognitive function.

Skin-contact white wines (also known as amber, orange, or macerated white wines) go through extended maceration during fermentation, giving the wine a characteristic amber- or orange-like color and a unique flavor.

This study aimed to compare the polyphenolic profile and antioxidant capacity of selected skin-contact white wines from three different regions including the ones prepared with the traditional Kakhetian method.

Samples consisted of nine commercially available skin-contact white wines from Greece, United States and Georgia. Wines from Georgia were prepared with the traditional Kakhetian method. Several physicochemical properties, total phenolic content (TPC), ß-carotene, and mineral content were determined.

TPC ranged from 447 to 2211 mg GAE/L, antioxidant capacity measured using ABTS and DPPH ranged from 643 – 2088 µmol TE/L, and 584 – 4421 µmol TE/L, respectively. Mn, Ca, Mg and P content ranged from 3.6 – 18.2 mg/L, 406 - 772 mg/L, 1530 – 2770 mg/L, and 530 – 2200 mg/L, respectively. A Principal Component Analysis (PCA) of the eight phenolic compounds that were present in more than one wine (gallic acid, vanillic acid, caffeic acid, caftaric acid, 4-CQA=4-Caffeoylquinic acid, p-coumaric acid, catechin, and epicatechin) identified two groups of skin-contact wines. Group one included the three amber wines from Georgia (samples 1 to 3) made following the Kakhetian method and one orange wine from the USA (sample 9). Group two included the remaining samples from the USA (samples 7, 8) and the three samples from Greece (samples 4-6).

Skin-contact white wines, despite having an extended maceration during fermentation in common, can be quite different in polyphenol content and antioxidant capacity, perhaps due to differences in the processing conditions.

Antimicrobial resistance is a growing global concern, highlighting the urgent need for effective non-antibiotic alternatives to treat urinary tract infections. Effortlessly blending traditional Unani knowledge with modern scientific evaluation, this study highlights the potential of Unani formulations in managing uncomplicated UTIs. This study's findings underscore the importance of exploring and bridging the gap between Unani medicine and evidence-based practices. This study investigates the efficacy and safety of an Unani Pharmacopeial powder formulation and Sharbat Banafsha in treating women with uncomplicated urinary tract infections (UTI).

The pre and post-test pilot self-control clinical study involved 13 participants with uUTI who received 3.5 g powder Unani formulation comprising Lagenaria siceraria (Molina) Standl, Malva sylvestris L., Cucumis sativus L. and Cucumis melo L., Portulaca oleracea L., and Adiantum capillus L. with Sharbat Banafsha (syrup of Viola odorata L.) 25 ml twice daily for 8 days. The primary outcomes were assessed using the urinary tract infection symptoms assessment (UTISA) questionnaire, while secondary outcomes included urine culture and sensitivity, as well as health-related quality of life (HRQoL) assessment using the SF-12 health survey. The data was analyzed, and p<0.05 was considered significant.

The UTISA total score from 15.69 ± 2.18 was reduced to 4.00 ± 5.07 on day 9 with a significance difference (p < 0.001). On day 14, 84.61% of the population had negative cultures. The total SF-12, PCS, and MCS scores showed significant differences from Day 0 to 60 (p>0.05). No adverse effects were reported in both groups. HPLC analysis confirmed the presence of the plant metabolite luteolin in both the powder and syrup.

The data explores the effectiveness of Unani formulations for bacterial urinary tract infections (UTI), showing no adverse effects while also improving the HRQoL of women. These herbal products contain luteolin, a bioactive molecule with antimicrobial properties.

CTRI/2020/02/023404 dated 17/02/2020.