Santalum Genus: phytochemical constituents, biological activities and health promoting-effects.

Santalum genus belongs to the family of Santalaceae, widespread in India, Australia, Hawaii, Sri Lanka, and Indonesia, and valued as traditional medicine, rituals and modern bioactivities. Sandalwood is reported to possess a plethora of bioactive compounds such as essential oil and its components (α-santalol and ß-santalol), phenolic compounds and fatty acids. These bioactives play important role in contributing towards biological activities and health-promoting effects in humans. Pre-clinical and clinical studies have shown the role of sandalwood extract as antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, antibacterial, antifungal, antiviral, neuroleptic, antihyperglycemic, antihyperlipidemic, and anticancer activities. Safety studies on sandalwood essential oil (EO) and its extracts have proven them as a safe ingredient to be utilized in health promotion. Phytoconstituents, bioactivities and traditional uses established sandalwood as one of the innovative materials for application in the pharma, food, and biomedical industry.

A Review on Tradescantia: Phytochemical Constituents, Biological Activities and Health-Promoting Effects.

Tradescantia is a genus of herbaceous and perennial plants belonging to the Commelinaceae family and organized into three infrageneric classifications and 12 sections. More than 80 species within the genus have been used for centuries for medicinal purposes. Phytochemical compounds (from various species of the genus) such as coumarins, alkaloids, saponins, flavonoids, phenolics, tannins, steroids and terpenoids have recently been characterized and described with antioxidant, cytotoxic, anti-inflammatory, anticancer or antimicrobial properties. The objective of this review is to describe the different aspects of the genus Tradescantia, including its botanical characteristics, traditional uses, phytochemical composition, biological activities, and safety aspects.

Malva species: Insights on its chemical composition towards pharmacological applications.

Malvaceae family is typical from the Mediterranean region, contains 240 genera and more than 4,200 species. They are most commonly used as ornamental plants, although they can also be conceived as a food resource and remedy for various diseases, such as digestive, respiratory, genitourinary, throat infections, and skeletal and skin disorders, as also injuries where they are profoundly applied for skin care and as antiseptic and demulcent. They also possess diuretic, lenitive, spasmolytic, and laxative effects, besides to be used as antidiarrheal. Thus, the present review provides in-depth data on Malva spp. potential applications and phytochemical composition for food and pharmaceutical industries. Habitat and cultivation conditions and the clinical reports related to its biological effects are also emphasized. Malva spp. possess a wide variety of chemical constituents (such as polysaccharides, coumarins, flavonoids, polyphenols, vitamins, terpenes, and tannins) found in different plant organs, especially in leaves and flowers, connected to their biological activity. In general, Malva spp. have rather moderate antimicrobial activity, high antiinflammatory and wound healing activities, strong antioxidant activity, and anticancer properties. Results from in vitro and in vivo experiments encourage more in-depth studies, namely clinical trials, towards to improve knowledge on the use of Malva spp. for the treatment of various health conditions in humans.

Euphorbia-Derived Natural Products with Potential for Use in Health Maintenance.

Euphorbia genus (Euphorbiaceae family), which is the third largest genus of angiosperm plants comprising ca. 2000 recognized species, is used all over the world in traditional medicine, especially in the traditional Chinese medicine. Members of this taxa are promptly recognizable by their specialized inflorescences and latex. In this review, an overview of Euphorbia-derived natural products such as essential oils, extracts, and pure compounds, active in a broad range of biological activities, and with potential usages in health maintenance, is described. The chemical composition of essential oils from Euphorbia species revealed the presence of more than 80 phytochemicals, mainly oxygenated sesquiterpenes and sesquiterpenes hydrocarbons, while Euphorbia extracts contain secondary metabolites such as sesquiterpenes, diterpenes, sterols, flavonoids, and other polyphenols. The extracts and secondary metabolites from Euphorbia plants may act as active principles of medicines for the treatment of many human ailments, mainly inflammation, cancer, and microbial infections. Besides, Euphorbia-derived products have great potential as a source of bioactive extracts and pure compounds, which can be used to promote longevity with more health.

Cucurbits Plants: A Key Emphasis to Its Pharmacological Potential.

Cucurbita genus has received a renowned interest in the last years. This plant species, native to the Americas, has served worldwide folk medicine for treating gastrointestinal diseases and intestinal parasites, among other clinical conditions. These pharmacological effects have been increasingly correlated with their nutritional and phytochemical composition. Among those chemical constituents, carotenoids, tocopherols, phenols, terpenoids, saponins, sterols, fatty acids, and functional carbohydrates and polysaccharides are those occurring in higher abundance. However, more recently, a huge interest in a class of triterpenoids, cucurbitacins, has been stated, given its renowned biological attributes. In this sense, the present review aims to provide a detailed overview to the folk medicinal uses of Cucurbita plants, and even an in-depth insight on the latest advances with regards to its antimicrobial, antioxidant and anticancer effects. A special emphasis was also given to its clinical effectiveness in humans, specifically in blood glucose levels control in diabetic patients and pharmacotherapeutic effects in low urinary tract diseases.

The Therapeutic Potential of Apigenin.

Several plant bioactive compounds have exhibited functional activities that suggest they could play a remarkable role in preventing a wide range of chronic diseases. The largest group of naturally-occurring polyphenols are the flavonoids, including apigenin. The present work is an updated overview of apigenin, focusing on its health-promoting effects/therapeutic functions and, in particular, results of in vivo research. In addition to an introduction to its chemistry, nutraceutical features have also been described. The main key findings from in vivo research, including animal models and human studies, are summarized. The beneficial indications are reported and discussed in detail, including effects in diabetes, amnesia and Alzheimer's disease, depression and insomnia, cancer, etc. Finally, data on flavonoids from the main public databases are gathered to highlight the apigenin's key role in dietary assessment and in the evaluation of a formulated diet, to determine exposure and to investigate its health effects in vivo.

Tagetes spp. Essential Oils and Other Extracts: Chemical Characterization and Biological Activity.

Tagetes (marigold) is native to America, and its cultivation currently extends to other countries in Africa, Asia, and Europe. Many species of this genus, such as T. minuta, T. erecta, T. patula, and T. tenuifolia, are cultivated as ornamental plants and studied for their medicinal properties on the basis of their use in folk medicine. Different parts of the Tagetes species are used as remedies to treat various health problems, including dental, stomach, intestinal, emotional, and nervous disorders, as well as muscular pain, across the world. Furthermore, these plants are studied in the field of agriculture for their fungicidal, bactericidal, and insecticidal activities. The phytochemical composition of the extracts of different Tagetes species parts are reported in this work. These compounds exhibit antioxidant, antiinflammatory, and enzyme inhibitory properties. Cultivation and the factors affecting the chemical composition of Tagetes species are also covered. In the current work, available literature on Tagetes species in traditional medicine, their application as a food preservative, and their antimicrobial activities are reviewed.

Plants of Genus Mentha: From Farm to Food Factory.

Genus Mentha, a member of Lamiaceae family, encompasses a series of species used on an industrial scale and with a well-described and developed culture process. Extracts of this genus are traditionally used as foods and are highly valued due to the presence of significant amounts of antioxidant phenolic compounds. Many essential oil chemotypes show distinct aromatic flavor conferred by different terpene proportions. Mint extracts and their derived essential oils exert notable effects against a broad spectrum of bacteria, fungi or yeasts, tested both in vitro or in various food matrices. Their chemical compositions are well-known, which suggest and even prompt their safe use. In this review, genus Mentha plant cultivation, phytochemical analysis and even antimicrobial activity are carefully described. Also, in consideration of its natural origin, antioxidant and antimicrobial properties, a special emphasis was given to mint-derived products as an interesting alternative to artificial preservatives towards establishing a wide range of applications for shelf-life extension of food ingredients and even foodstuffs. Mentha cultivation techniques markedly influence its phytochemical composition. Both extracts and essential oils display a broad spectrum of activity, closely related to its phytochemical composition. Therefore, industrial implementation of genus Mentha depends on its efficacy, safety and neutral taste.

Aloe Genus Plants: From Farm to Food Applications and Phytopharmacotherapy.

Aloe genus plants, distributed in Old World, are widely known and have been used for centuries as topical and oral therapeutic agents due to their health, beauty, medicinal, and skin care properties. Among the well-investigated Aloe species are A. arborescens, A. barbadensis, A. ferox, and A. vera. Today, they account among the most economically important medicinal plants and are commonly used in primary health treatment, where they play a pivotal role in the treatment of various types of diseases via the modulation of biochemical and molecular pathways, besides being a rich source of valuable phytochemicals. In the present review, we summarized the recent advances in botany, phytochemical composition, ethnobotanical uses, food preservation, and the preclinical and clinical efficacy of Aloe plants. These data will be helpful to provide future directions for the industrial and medicinal use of Aloe plants.

Urtica spp.: Ordinary Plants with Extraordinary Properties.

Nettles (genus Urtica, family Urticaceae) are of considerable interest as preservatives in foods for both human and animal consumption. They have also been used for centuries in traditional medicine. This paper reviews the properties of nettles that make them suitable for wider applications in the food and pharmaceutical industries. Nettles contain a significant number of biologically-active compounds. For example, the leaves are rich sources of terpenoids, carotenoids and fatty acids, as well as of various essential amino acids, chlorophyll, vitamins, tannins, carbohydrates, sterols, polysaccharides, isolectins and minerals. Extracts from the aerial parts of nettles are rich sources of polyphenols, while the roots contain oleanol acid, sterols and steryl glycosides. Due to the variety of phytochemicals and their proportions they contain, nettles show noticeable activity against both Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria. These properties make nettles suitable for a range of possible applications, including functional food, dietary supplements and pharmacological formulations. Despite these benefits, the nettle is still an underestimated plant source. This paper provides a unique overview of the latest research on nettle plants focusing on the possibilities for transforming a common weed into a commercial plant with a wide range of applications. Special attention is paid to the antimicrobial activity of the active compounds in nettles and to possible uses of these valuable plants in food and feed formulations.

Phenolic Compounds Contained in Little-known Wild Fruits as Antiadhesive Agents Against the Beverage-Spoiling Bacteria Asaia spp.

The aim of the study was to evaluate antioxidant activity and total phenolic content of juice from three different types of fruits: elderberry (Sambucusnigra), lingonberry (Vacciniumvitis-idaea) and cornelian cherry (Cornusmas), and their action against adhesion of bacterial strains of Asaialannensis and Asaiabogorensis isolated from spoiled soft drinks. The antioxidant profiles were determined by total antioxidant capacity (2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl, DPPH), and ferric-reducing antioxidant power (FRAP). Additionally, total polyphenol content (TPC) was investigated. Chemical compositions of juices were tested using the chromatographic techniques: high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) and liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS). Adhesion properties of Asaia spp. cells to various abiotic materials were evaluated by luminometry, plate count and fluorescence microscopy. Antioxidant activity of fruit juices expressed as inhibitory concentration (IC50) ranged from 0.042 ± 0.001 (cornelian cherry) to 0.021 ± 0.001 g/mL (elderberry). TPC ranged from 8.02 ± 0.027 (elderberry) to 2.33 ± 0.013 mg/mL (cornelian cherry). Cyanidin-3-sambubioside-5-glucoside, cyanidin-3-glucoside, and cyanidin-3-sambubioside were detected as the major anthocyanins and caffeic, cinnamic, gallic, protocatechuic, and p-coumaric acids as the major phenolic acids. A significant linear correlation was noted between TPC and antioxidant capacity. In the presence of fruit juices a significant decrease of bacterial adhesion from 74% (elderberry) to 67% (lingonberry) was observed. The high phenolic content indicated that these compounds may contribute to the reduction of Asaia spp. adhesion.

Antibacterial and Antiadhesive Activities of Extracts from Edible Plants against Soft Drink Spoilage by Asaia spp.

This study was conducted to investigate the antibacterial and antiadhesive activities of ethanol extracts from five edible plant parts: cinnamon bark ( Cinnamomum zeylanicum ), licorice root ( Glycyrrhiza radix ), nettle leaves ( Urtica dioica ), green tea leaves ( Camellia sinensis ), and elderberry flowers ( Sambucus nigra ). The chemical constituents of the extracts were identified using high-performance liquid chromatography and liquid chromatography plus mass spectrometry. Six strains of Asaia lannensis and Asaia bogorensis bacteria isolated from spoiled commercial fruit-flavored noncarbonated mineral water were used. Bacterial adhesion to polystyrene as an attachment substrate in culture media supplemented with 10% plant extract was evaluated using luminometric measurement of the ATP extracted from adhered cells. The viability of the adhered and planktonic cells was assessed using the plate count method, and the relative adhesion coefficient was calculated. All tested crude extracts contained flavonols (kaempferol, quercetin, and their derivatives), flavanols (catechin and derivatives), flavanones (glabrol, licorice glycoside A, and liquiritin), and phenolic acids (gallic, quinic, chlorogenic, neochlorogenic, caffeic, coumaric, and ferulic). The culture medium with 10% elderberry extract provided the least favorable environment for all tested bacterial strains. Extracts from green tea, cinnamon, and licorice also had significant inhibitory effects on the adhesion of the tested bacterial strains. This research suggests that the addition of selected edible plant extracts could improve the microbial stability of noncarbonated soft drinks.

Black Currant (Ribes nigrum L.) and Bilberry (Vaccinium myrtillus L.) Fruit Juices Inhibit Adhesion of Asaia spp.

The aim of the study was to evaluate the activity of high-polyphenolic black currant (Ribes nigrum L.) and bilberry (Vaccinium myrtillus L.) juices against bacterial strains Asaia lannensis and Asaia bogorensis isolated as spoilage of commercial soft drinks. The composition of fruit juices was evaluated using chromatographic techniques HPLC and LC-MS. The adhesion to glass, polystyrene, and polyethylene terephthalate in two different culture media was evaluated by luminometry and the plate count method. The major anthocyanins in the V. myrtillus were petunidin-3-glucoside, malvidin-3-glucoside, cyanidin-3-glucoside, and delphinidin-3-glucoside, while in R. nigrum delphinidin-3-rutinoside and cyanidin-3-rutinoside were detected. The LC-MS analysis showed presence of anthocyanins (delphinidin, cyanidin, petunidin, and malvidin derivatives), phenolic acids (chlorogenic and neochlorogenic acids), flavonols (quercetin-3-glucoside, quercetin-3-rutinoside), and flavanols (procyanidin B2 and procyanidin type A2). Additionally, in the bilberry juice A type procyanidin trimer was detected. The adhesion of Asaia spp. cells depended on the type of medium, carbon sources, and the type of abiotic surfaces. We noted that the adhesion was significantly stronger in minimal medium containing sucrose. The addition of bilberry and black currant juices notably reduced bacterial growth as well as cell adhesion to polyethylene terephthalate surfaces.