Fasting is increasingly practiced to improve health and general well-being, as well as for its cytoprotective effects. Changes in blood redox status, linked to the development of a variety of metabolic diseases, have been recently documented during calorie restriction and intermittent fasting, but not with long-term fasting (LF). We investigated some parameters of the blood redox profile in 109 subjects before and after a 10-day fasting period. Fasting resulted in a significant reduction in body weight, improved well-being and had a beneficial modulating effect on blood lipids and glucose regulation. We observed that fasting decreased lipid peroxidation (TBARS) and increased total antioxidant capacity (TAC) in plasma, concomitant with a uric acid elevation, known to be associated with fasting and did not cause gout attacks. Reduced glutathione (GSH), glutathione reductase (GR), glutathione peroxidase (GPx) and catalase in erythrocytes did not show significant changes. In addition, reduction in body weight, waist circumference, and glucose levels were associated to a reduced lipid peroxidation. Similar results were obtained by grouping subjects on the basis of the changes in their GSH levels, showing that a period of 10 days fasting improves blood redox status regardless of GSH status in the blood.

Background/Aim: The winemaking procedure results in the generation of stems, a by-product that is harmful to the environment. Concomitantly, stems are rich in polyphenols and, hence, they are putatively beneficial for human health. Materials and Methods: In this study, the grape stem extracts derived from three native Greek vine varieties, namely Mavrodaphne, Muscat and Rhoditis were examined for their chemical composition and antioxidant and antimutagenic properties using a battery of in vitro biomarkers. Results: All extracts are rich in polyphenols. Moreover, they exhibit potent antioxidant and antimutagenic properties with the extract of Mavrodaphne being the strongest in reducing the DPPH • and O 2 -• radicals and the Fe 3+ and in protecting plasmid DNA from peroxyl radicalinduced oxidative modification. Conclusion: Therefore, although they are serious pollutants, grape stems contain phytochemicals with important biological properties and can be used as (ingredients of) bio-functional foods to improve certain aspects of human health.

Mitochondria are considered the 'powerhouses' of cells, generating the essential energy in the form of adenosine triphosphate that they need for their energy demands. Nevertheless, their function is easily adaptable as regards the energy demands and the availability of chemical substrates. This allows cells to buffer sudden changes and reassure cellular metabolism, growth or survival. currently, humans have different dietary habits, which provide several stimuli to the cell. According to the energy substrate availability due to the diet quality and diet temporality, mitochondrial physiology is greatly affected. The present review article aimed to collect all the available information that has been published to date concerning the impact of five different popular diets (high-fat diet, ketogenic diet, fasting, caloric restriction diet and the Mediterranean diet) on specific mitochondrial physiological aspects, such as function, biogenesis, mitophagy and mitochondrial fission/fusion. Contents 1. Mitochondrial physiology 2. diets 3. clinical impact 4. conclusions

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Current concerns over the modern health status have been transpired due to the desire of consumers to gain the benefits of quality biofunctional foods, and the will of producers to improve the scalability of their products. The constant flow of scientific knowledge and technology manifests the progressive exploitation of the biological capacity of foods to produce an economic output. Therefore, the assessment of specific properties that agricultural products contain, is a prerequisite prior to their entering the market. In the present review article, a wide array of methodologies is proposed which may be used to evaluate the antioxidant, reductive and DNA protective capacity of honey at cell-free, cell-based in vitro and in vivo experimental levels. This proposed array is compiled by non-laborious techniques that do not demand sophisticated and expensive equipment. Moreover, they can be followed by scientists to screen different honey batches and other agricultural goods that will allow enhanced repeatability and comparability among studies. Contents1. Introduction 2. Oxidative stress and counteractive mechanisms 3. In vitro cell-free system measurements 4. In vitro measurements in cell cultures 5. In vivo measurements 6. Conclusion and future perspectives