Consumers' concerns about the environment and health have led to the development of new food packaging materials avoiding petroleum-based matrices and synthetic additives. The present study has developed polylactic acid (PLA) films containing different concentrations of essential oil from Origanum vulgare L. virens (OEO). The effectiveness of this new active packaging was checked for use in ready-to-eat salads. A plasticising effect was observed when OEO was incorporated in PLA films. The rest of the mechanical and physical properties of developed films did not show much change when OEO was included in the film. An antioxidant effect was recorded only for films containing the highest percentages of the active agent (5% and 10%). In addition, films exhibited in vitro antibacterial activity against Staphylococcus aureus, Yersinia enterocolitica, Listeria monocytogenes, Enterococcus faecalis and Staphylococcus carnosus. Moreover, in ready-to-eat salads, antimicrobial activity was only observed against yeast and moulds, where 5% and 10% of OEO was the most effective.
Scope
Propyl‐propane thiosulfonate (PTSO) is a component isolated from garlic (Allium sativum) with antioxidant, anti‐inflammatory, immunomodulatory, and antimicrobial properties. In consequence, PTSO can be a potential candidate for the treatment of inflammatory bowel diseases.
Methods and results
The anti‐inflammatory effects of PTSO are studied in two mice models of colitis: 2,4‐dinitrobenzene sulfonic acid (DNBS) (PTSO doses: 0.01–10 mg kg–1) and dextran sodium sulfate (DSS) (PTSO doses: 0.01–0.1 mg kg–1). The immunomodulatory effects of PTSO (0.1–25 µm) are also shown in vitro in Caco‐2 and THP‐1 cells, reducing the production of pro‐inflammatory mediators and downregulating mitogen‐activated protein kinases (MAPKs) signaling pathways. This compound displays beneficial effects in both models of mouse colitis by reducing the expression of different pro‐inflammatory mediators and improving the intestinal epithelial barrier integrity. Moreover, PTSO ameliorates the altered gut microbiota composition observed in DSS colitic mice.
Conclusion
PTSO exerts intestinal anti‐inflammatory activity in experimental colitis in mice. This anti‐inflammatory activity can be associated with the immunomodulatory properties of PTSO through the regulation of the activity of cells involved in the inflammatory response. Furthermore, PTSO is able to restore the intestinal epithelial barrier function and to ameliorate the intestinal microbiota homeostasis, thus supporting its future development in human IBD.
Dietary changes affect the composition and structure of gut microbiota (GM) in animals and humans. One of the beneficial effects of consuming products derived from plants is the positive influence on immunity and gastrointestinal health. Species belonging to the genus Allium contain many organosulfur compounds (OSCs) that have been widely studied showing their biological properties and beneficial effects on intestinal health and GM. This is the first systematic review of OSCs from Allium performed following the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines, and it is based on the evidence that we found in literature about the benefits on the GM and intestinal health demonstrated by OSCs from Allium, and specifically from onion. OSCs from Allium cepa have shown a significant antibacterial activity against a broad spectrum of antibiotic-resistant Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria. In addition, the intake of OSCs from onion was able to modulate the composition of GM, increasing the beneficial bacterial populations in animal models. Moreover, the beneficial effects observed in murine models of colitis suggest that these compounds could be suitable candidates for the treatment of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) or reverse the dysbiosis caused by a high-fat diet (HFD). Despite the evidence found both in vitro and in vivo, we have not found any article that tested OSCs different from allicin in clinical trials or dietary intervention studies in humans. In this sense, it would be interesting to conduct new research that tests the benefits of these compounds in human GM.
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