Current Nutraceuticals - Volume 4, Issue 1, 2023

The immense genetic variety found in plants and microbes provides a plethora of opportunities for human advancement in the creation of medicine. Microorganisms have been exceptionally rich sources of drugs. Nowadays, the emergence of new infectious diseases and the resistance of some pathogenic microbes necessitates further attempts to find new antimicrobial agents in the fight against infections.

The main goal of this study was to explore and evaluate the biologically active secondary metabolites from selected desert flora-associated microorganisms.

This was achieved through the isolation of bacteria and fungi associated with plants selected from diverse parts of the Saudi Arabian desert. This study was directed to test the optimal microbial culture composition for the production of biologically active metabolites against pathogenic microbes.

The produced secondary metabolites showed profound antibiosis activities. Some of which were comparable to or more potent than some of the currently used antibiotics.

These findings lay the foundation for further discoveries of new metabolites that are urgently needed to face the uprising microbial resistance and mutations that the whole world is continuously suffering from.

Malnutrition is associated with high morbidity and death in children under the age of five. A large child population is suffering from severe acute malnutrition (SAM) and it is not possible to admit every child for treatment in hospitals. SAM may be treated simply by providing calorie-dense, protein-rich, vitamin- and mineral-fortified meals at home. In India, there are 132 million children under the age of five, and 8 million of them are affected by malnutrition. As a result, there is a demand for locally made ready-to-use therapeutic food (RUTF) comparable to WHO-recommended RUTF, which should be efficient, safe, and easily accessible.

The aim of this study was to develop a RUTF from locally available raw materials, such as barley flour, ghee, peanut, sugar, and flaxseeds.

For the development of optimized RUTF, an I-Optimal mixture design with three variable and three non-variable factors was used. Thirty semi-trained panelists participated in sensory analysis. The finally optimized RUTF (with high desirability) was further analyzed. The optimized RUTF composition included malted-roasted barley flour (25 gm), roasted peanut (25 gm), powdered sugar (20 gm), desi ghee (20 gm), and roasted flax seeds (10 gm).

The optimized RUTF (100gm) provided 522.72 ± 0.031 kcal total energy, and the protein-energy, fat–energy, and carbohydrate-energy ratio of RUTF were found to be 11.98%, 51.66%, and 37.45%, respectively.

The developed RUTF from locally produced is comparable to WHO-approved RUTFs.

Alga (comprising of many varieties of algae) are our wealth from nature. They are abundant, and do not require any special sustenance measure; in fact, they sustain the fauna on Earth. Alga provide ‘nutritive’ and ‘ceutic’ functionalities, simultaneously. Their insignificant demand for sustenance, but the plethora of useful products they produce is intriguing. It’s also true that the impact of algae on our nutrition and pharmaceuticals is tremendous.

Despite their utility, a coherent overview and an in-depth discussion on the various facets of alga as a source of nutraceuticals and pharmaceuticals is awaited. Currently, focus on specialization-wise utilization of algae is practiced by researchers, which could be owing to the lack of a review article that presents a comprehensive discussion on algal utilization in medicine and nutraceuticals. To know more about them functionally as a nutraceutical and pharmaceutical, a review article could provide a holistic understanding of algal utilization.

A narrative review for collation of findings, and developing an interlink among various findings has been adopted in the present article. This method was envisaged to better aid in understanding the lacunae in existing research, and formulate the way forward. The present disquisition focusses on discussing nutraceuticals and pharmaceuticals used or derived from alga that have significant utility.

The exposition provides an in-depth understanding on the developments that have been made, and attempts to apprise on the future scope available in the research for processes as well as products development, for the optimum utilization of this valuable bioresource. Compiling the article revealed that algal research has provided evidence-based insight into their utility spectra that establishes this botanical as a reliable bioresource for supplementation of food and medical care in the times to come.

Interdisciplinary studies comprising botany, applied science, and product development should be envisaged as a futuristic strategy for algal product development, utilization, and commercialization. This is because standalone approaches could not realize the complete potential of this bioresource. Future research could benefit from using various applications of algal products. Algal products' relevance is more realizable since the said botanical is both affordable and available in plenty (or at least be conveniently harvested). More inclusion of algae-based food products in our regular diet for functional attributes could be also considered as one of the useful outcomes of this review. Natural medicines based on algae could also be more consumed in the near future.

Trikatu, a vital ingredient in many Indian Ayurvedic drugs, is a consortium of three spices, viz. dry ginger, black pepper, and long pepper, known for its peculiar pungency. To convert Trikatu into a widely acceptable palatable form, we blended these three spices in a decoction form and added them to syrup prepared from palmyra palm neera, which resulted in ‘Trikatu Syrup’ (TS). Recently, we reported in vivo immunomodulatory properties of TS.

The immunomodulatory effects of spices are attributed largely to the presence of certain phytochemicals. The importance of phytochemicals in spices as immunomodulatory agents necessitate a thorough investigation of these bioactives in formulations comprising spices. In the present study, we have focused on understanding the retention of spice and syrup-based phytochemicals in the formulated product that assists in product standardization of TS.

NMR serves as a highly reliable tool for explicit structural confirmation of phytochemicals when compared to HPLC or mass spectrometry tools. NMR spectra of a phytochemical, whether in pure form or when the phytochemical is a part of the mixture, enable qualitative and quantitative studies with a mixture of phytochemicals in organic extracts of food matrices. Hence, the NMR spectral comparison of compounds isolated from the organic extracts of TS is described here.

Fractionation of TS using Diaion^® HP-20 resulted in the partitioning of compounds based on their polarity. Purification of the acetone fraction by column chromatography aided in the efficient isolation of compound 1 (pellitorine), compound 2 (piperine), compounds 3-5 (trienamides), and compound 6 (pipataline). Acetonitrile fraction yielded compound 7 (uridine) and compound 8 (3-O-methyl-myo-inositol), which were neither reported in the three spices nor palmyra palm. A qualitative display of the acetone fraction of TS with its phytochemicals 1-6 served as a fingerprint of TS.

In summary, TS, a palatable spice-based nutraceutical in palmyra palm syrup with immunomodulatory potential, was thoroughly investigated for the phytochemical composition of its organic fractions. The process of fractionating TS using Diaion^® HP-20, subsequent flash purification, and column chromatography facilitated the isolation of prominent phytochemicals. We report the utility of NMR as a reliable and efficient tool for fingerprinting phytochemicals in formulations, nutraceuticals, etc., which assists in ascertaining their authenticity.