Herbs-derived phytochemicals - a boon for combating COVID-19.

The recent pandemic, the novel coronavirus (COVID-19), has put the whole world on alert with the threat of the virus that targets the human respiratory system. The disease has affected more than 633.6 million people globally and caused 6.5 million deaths since November 18, 2022. About 12.94 billion people are vaccinated as of November 18, 2022. Due to varied climatic conditions, SARS-CoV-2 has shown rapid mutation in recent years. Because of the lack of appropriate therapeutic drugs, inadequate diagnostic mechanisms, life-supporting medical facilities, and lack of awareness, the spread of SARS-CoV-2 has become severe. Thus, the most efficient strategy to control this disease is to follow preventive measures. However, treating SARS-CoV-2 cases in Wuhan using traditional Chinese herbs has set an example to show how traditional health can contribute to treating this novel virus. Medicinal herbs are known for their antimicrobial, antibacterial, antiviral, immunomodulatory, immunoadjuvant, and anti-inflammatory properties. These medicinal herbs are used during cooking and consumed regularly worldwide. In this view, medicinal herbs gained evident attention. These herbs can serve as a potential and economical remedy for combating the lethal effects of COVID-19. The present review highlights the phytochemicals and their mechanisms of action in preventing SARS-CoV-2. Supplementary Information: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s42535-023-00601-9.

Carica papaya L. Leaves: Deciphering Its Antioxidant Bioactives, Biological Activities, Innovative Products, and Safety Aspects.

The prevalence of viral infections, cancer, and diabetes is increasing at an alarming rate around the world, and these diseases are now considered to be the most serious risks to human well-being in the modern period. There is a widespread practice in Asian countries of using papaya leaves (C. papaya L.) as herbal medicine, either alone or in combination with prescribed medications, to treat a variety of ailments. The importance of conducting the necessary descriptive studies in order to determine the safety of papaya leaf consumption is also emphasized in the context of their application in the healthcare sector. Electronic databases such as Google Scholar, Scopus, and PubMed were used to gather information on papaya leaves, their therapeutic potential, and clinical evidence-based studies. The literature was gathered from publications on papaya leaves, their therapeutic potential, and clinical evidence-based studies. The antidengue, anticancer, antidiabetic, neuroprotective, and anti-inflammatory effects of papaya leaves discussed in this article are supported by evidence from preclinical, in vivo, in vitro, and clinical trial studies, as well as from other sources. Leaves have been investigated for their mechanism of action as well as their potential to be used in the development of novel herbal products for the health business. According to the reports gathered, only a small number of research demonstrated that leaf extract at high concentrations was hazardous to certain organs. The collective literature reviewed in this review provides insights into the use of papaya leaves as a cure for epidemic diseases, highlighting the phytochemical composition and pharmacological attributes of papaya leaves, as well as the results of various preclinical and clinical studies that have been conducted so far on the subject. The review clearly demonstrates the successful medical evidence for the use of papaya leaf extracts in the healthcare system as a supplemental herbal medication in a variety of clinical settings.

The effect of fat and coffee concentration on the consumer acceptance of iced-coffee beverages.

The fat content of a product has the potential to influence consumer liking via mouthfeel, taste, and aroma modification. This study aims to determine the effects of fat and coffee concentration on sensory attributes and consumer liking of iced-coffee beverages. Nine iced-coffee beverages were formulated: low fat-low coffee; medium fat-low coffee; high fat-low coffee; low fat-medium coffee; medium fat-medium coffee; high fat-medium coffee; low fat-high coffee; medium fat-high coffee; and high fat-high coffee. Fat content was adjusted using different concentrations of cream, and coffee using different concentrations of Nescafé Blend 43. Regular coffee consumers (n = 231) rated their overall liking using a 9-point hedonic scale and completed a ranked preference based on degree of liking of all samples. Consumers also rated liking for sensory attributes: appearance, aroma, sweetness, coffee intensity, mouthfeel, and aftertaste. There were significant relationships between 1/ fat and 2/ coffee and liking of iced-coffee beverages (p < 0.001). There were three clusters of consumers based on iced-coffee preferences. Response surface curve indicated that overall liking of iced-coffee beverages increased with the increase of fat and coffee concentration to a certain level, then continuing to increase the fat and coffee concentration decreases overall liking. The finding of this study provides valuable information on how fat and coffee concentrations can be adjusted to modify consumer acceptance of iced-coffee beverages. PRACTICAL APPLICATION: The results of this research could be applied to reformulate iced-coffee beverages, while ensuring consumer acceptance. In addition, this research provides evidence that sweetness, aftertaste, coffee-intensity, and mouthfeel are important sensory attributes associated with consumer liking of iced-coffee beverages.

Pharmacological properties, therapeutic potential, and legal status of Cannabis sativa L.: An overview.

Marijuana, or Cannabis sativa L., is a common psychoactive plant used for both recreational and medicinal purposes. In many countries, cannabis-based medicines have been legalized under certain conditions because of their immense prospects in medicinal applications. With a comprehensive insight into the prospects and challenges associated with the pharmacological use and global trade of C. sativa, this mini-review focuses on the medicinal importance of the plant and its legal status worldwide; the pharmacological compounds and its therapeutic potential along with the underlying public health concerns and future perspective are herein discussed. The existence of major compounds including Δ9 -tetrahydrocannabinol (Δ9 -THC), cannabidiol, cannabinol, and cannabichromene contributes to the medicinal effects of the cannabis plant. These compounds are also involved in the treatment of various types of cancer, epilepsy, and Parkinson's disease displaying several mechanisms of action. Cannabis sativa is a plant with significant pharmacological potential. However, several aspects of the plant need an in-depth understanding of the drug mechanism and its interaction with other drugs. Only after addressing these health concerns, legalization of cannabis could be utilized to its full potential as a future medicine.

Sugar Reduction in Dairy Food: An Overview with Flavoured Milk as an Example.

Owing to the public health concern associated with the consumption of added sugar, the World Health Organization recommends cutting down sugar in processed foods. Furthermore, due to the growing concern of increased calorie intake from added sugar in sweetened dairy foods, the present review provides an overview of different types and functions of sugar, various sugar reduction strategies, and current trends in the use of sweeteners for sugar reduction in dairy food, taking flavoured milk as a central theme where possible to explore the aforementioned aspects. The strength and uniqueness of this review are that it brings together all the information on the available types of sugar and sugar reduction strategies and explores the current trends that could be applied for reducing sugar in dairy foods without much impact on consumer acceptance. Among different strategies for sugar reduction, the use of natural non-nutritive sweeteners (NNSs), has received much attention due to consumer demand for natural ingredients. Sweetness imparted by sugar can be replaced by natural NNSs, however, sugar provides more than just sweetness to flavoured milk. Sugar reduction involves multiple technical challenges to maintain the sensory properties of the product, as well as to maintain consumer acceptance. Because no single sugar has a sensory profile that matches sucrose, the use of two or more natural NNSs could be an option for food industries to reduce sugar using a holistic approach rather than a single sugar reduction strategy. Therefore, achieving even a small sugar reduction can significantly improve the diet and health of an individual.

Nutritional Interventions for Elderly and Considerations for the Development of Geriatric Foods.

The process of aging is characterized by numerous changes in the body which has an overall negative effect on the health and lifestyle of elderly. Nutrition deserves special attention as an individual reaches old age. It plays a vital role in affecting the quality of life, including physical, mental and social health. The physiological decline in food intake is very common among older age and this result in nutritional deficiencies. These increased nutritional deficiencies are the major risk factors for certain chronic diseases and deteriorated age related health. Thus, the adoption of nutritional intervention can be a measure to tackle the current situation of nutritional deficiencies and promote a healthy lifestyle.

Kinetics of lipid oxidation in omega fatty acids rich blends of sunflower and sesame oils using Rancimat.

Blended sunflower (SO) (50-80%) and sesame oils (SEO) (20-50%) were evaluated for thermo-oxidative stability (induction period, IP), oxidation kinetics (rate constant, k), synergy and shelf-life (25 °C) (IP25) using Rancimat (100, 110, 120, and 130 °C). The Arrhenius equation (ln k vs. 1/T) and activated complex theory (ln k/T vs. 1/T) were used to estimate activation energies, activation enthalpies and entropies, which varied from 92.05 to 99.17 kJ/mol, 88.83 to 95.94 kJ/mol, -35.58 to -4.81 J/mol K, respectively (R2 > 0.90, p < 0.05). Oil blend (OB) with 1:1 SO to SEO exhibited greatest synergy (115%), highest IP (100 °C) (13.2 vs. 6.1 h) and most extended IP25 (193 vs. 110 days) with a nutritionally stable composition of ω-fatty acids (ω9, 34.5 vs. 28.7%; ω6, 49 vs. 52%) compared with SO. Better retention of lignans (6205 vs. 3951 mg/kg) and tocopherols (332 vs. 189 mg/kg) were also noted in OB compared with SO alone.