The nutraceutical properties and health benefits of pseudocereals: a comprehensive treatise.

This review article depicts the possible replacement of staple cereal sources with some pseudocereals like Chia, Quinoa, Buckwheat, and Amaranth, which not only provide recommended daily allowance of all nutrients but also help to reduce the chances of many non-communicable infections owing to the presence of several bioactive compounds. These pseudocereals are neglected plant seeds and should be added in our routine diet. Besides, they can serve as nutraceuticals in combating various diseases by improving the health status of the consumers. The bioactive compounds like rutin, quercetin, peptide chains, angiotensin I, and many other antioxidants present in these plant seeds help to reduce the oxidative stress in the body which leads toward better health of the consumers. All these pseudocereals have high quantity of soluble fiber which helps to regulate bowel movement, control hypercholesterolemia (presence of high plasma cholesterol levels), hypertension (high blood pressure), and cardiovascular diseases. The ultimate result of consumption of pseudocereals either as a whole or in combination with true cereals as staple food may help to retain the integrity of the human body which increases the life expectancy by slowing down the aging process.

Therapeutic application of carvacrol: A comprehensive review.

Carvacrol is a major natural constituent and is significantly present as an essential oil in aromatic plants and is well known for its numerous biological activities. Therapeutic properties of carvacrol have been demonstrated as anti-oxidant, anticancer, diabetes prevention, cardioprotective, anti-obesity, hepatoprotective and reproductive role, antiaging, antimicrobial, and immunomodulatory properties. The carvacrol biosynthesis has been mediated through mevalonate pathway. Carvacrol has the anticancer ability against malignant cells via decreasing the expressions of matrix metalloprotease 2 and 9, inducing apoptosis, enhancing the expression of pro-apoptotic proteins, disrupting mitochondrial membrane, suppressing extracellular signal-regulated kinase 1/2 mitogen-activated protein kinase signal transduction, and also decreasing the phosphoinositide 3-kinase/protein kinase B. It also decreased the concentrations of alanine aminotransferase, alkaline phosphatase and aspartate aminotransferase, and gamma-glutamyl transpeptidase as well as also restored liver function, insulin level, and plasma glucose level. Carvacrol also has been found to exert antimicrobial activity against Staphylococcus aureus, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Coagulase-negative staphylococcus, Salmonella spp., Enterococcus sp. Shigella, and Escherichia coli. The current review article summarizes the health-promoting perspectives of carvacrol through various pathways.

Therapeutic perspective of thymoquinone: A mechanistic treatise.

The higher utilization of fruits and vegetables is well known to cure human maladies due to the presence of bioactive components. Among these compounds, thymoquinone, a monoterpene and significant constituent in the essential oil of Nigella sativa L., has attained attention by the researchers due to their pharmacologies perspectives such as prevention from cancer, antidiabetic and antiobesity, prevention from oxidative stress and cardioprotective disorder. Thymoquinone has been found to work as anticancer agent against different human and animal cancer stages including propagation, migration, and invasion. Thymoquinone as phytochemical also downregulated the Rac1 expression, mediated the miR-34a upregulation, and increased the levels of miR-34a through p53, as well as also regulated the pro- and antiapoptotic genes and decreased the phosphorylation of NF-κB and IKKα/ß. In addition, thymoquinone also lowered the metastasis and ERK1/2 and PI3K activities. The present review article has been piled by adapting narrative review method and highlights the diverse aspects of thymoquinone such as hepatoprotective, anti-inflammatory, and antiaging through various pathways, and further utilization of this compound in diet has been proven effective against different types of cancers.

Anxiolytic-like effects of Moringa oleifera in Swiss mice.

Moringa oleifera is evident to act against many neurological diseases, including muscle spasm, epilepsy, nervousness, fatigue, memory impairment, convulsion, and epilepsy. Anxiety represents the most common and disabling psychiatric condition, being often associated with depressive symptoms. This study investigated the anxiolytic-like effects of crude organic fractions of M. oleifera leaves in different behavioral paradigms that evaluate anxiety in mice. To this end, mice were administered with crude extracts (500 mg/kg, p.o.) and/or diazepam (2 mg/kg, p.o.), and submitted to behavioral tests. In the open-field test, the number of square field cross, grooming and rearing were calculated, while in light-dark and swing test were, respectively, the time spent in dark portion and number of swings. Each test was performed for 3 min. M. oleifera leaf methanol and n-hexane extracts elicited an anxiolytic-like effect observed by increased total time in the center and decreased number of rearings and groomings responses in the open field and swing tests, and residence in the dark portion in the light-dark box, similar to the diazepam group. A moderate anxiolytic effect was observed in the aqueous fraction group, while insignificant effects were recorded in the ethyl acetate fraction group in all test paradigms. In addition, both extracts potentiate the calming effects of diazepam in experimental animals. Preliminary phytochemical reports suggest that M. oleifera contains alkaloids, flavonoids, phenols, steroids, glycosides, saponins, tannin, terpenes, and gums. Of note, the results expand the understanding of M. oleifera effects in central nervous system and suggest that plant metabolites may be helpful for anxiety-related disorders management.