Polyphenols are attributed to multiple biological activities that providenutritional and therapeutical benefits. The present paper is a descriptive review focused on polyphenolic chemical structural aspects contributing to explain biological and biochemical functions offered by these phytochemicals. Element conformation differences, ring modifications, the presence of specific functional groups, and the tridimensional chemical arrangement are fundamental to explain specific effects presented by polyphenols. The anti-oxidant and anti-inflammatory actions of polyphenols suggest that basic chemical reactions and element re-organization are important in understanding their function, well-known polyphenols such as quercetin, curcumin, and catechin have been evaluated in multiple studies. Moreover, anti-bacterial and anti-viral activities have been proven to be dependent on hydroxylation, methoxylation, and alkylation of several polyphenol ring components. Polyphenols extracted from tea, like catechins, proved to inhibit efficiently hepatitis C, Zika, and Chikungunya viruses. They have also acted as promising prophylactic and therapeutic agents against SARS-CoV-2.Epicatechin extracted from the hawthorn tree showed antiviral activity on several bacteria such as Escherichia coli and Salmonella typhimurium. The inclusion of these natural components in daily diets is of primary nutritional benefit and importance in the prevention of several diseases.
La agenda interna de competitividad del departamento de Caldas incluye el aguacate Hass como uno de los productos hortofrutícolas de mayor importancia y proyección en la región. Dadas las condiciones favorables del trópico y la gran biodiversidad de plagas, es necesario el uso de plaguicidas para su control, lo que conlleva un potencial peligro para la salud de los consumidores por los residuos de estos químicos tóxicos en el producto final. El interés del presente estudio es la inocuidad alimentaria del aguacate Hass, para lo cual es necesario implementar y validar metodologías de análisis de plaguicidas organoclorados y organofosforados. Se hicieron análisis en las cáscaras y la pulpa de aguacates Hass con la metodología QuEChERS comparando el uso de dos fases adsorbentes, el C18 y las arcillas funcionales, con el fin de obtener una mezcla de analitos que luego fueron separados e identificados por cromatografía de gases con un detector de microcaptura de electrones (GC - µECD) para los compuestos organoclorados, y por cromatografía de gases con detección de nitrógeno y fosforo (GC - NPD) para los compuestos organofosforados. La metodología QuEChERS asociada con arcillas funcionales resultó más eficiente que la extracción con fase C18 según los valores de resolución promedio de 3,44 en cáscara y de 2,12 en pulpa. El uso de esta nueva fase adsorbente facilitó la separación, generó una mayor resolución y extrajo de una mejor manera los plaguicidas presentes en la matriz.
Carotenoids are naturally occurring fat-soluble pigments found in many organisms. Because of their extensively conjugated carbon–carbon double bond system, carotenoids are potent antioxidants. Although the most abundant carotenoid and best singlet oxygen quencher found in red tomatoes is lycopene, carotenoid profiles may vary between genotypes. The objective of this work was to perform carotenoid profile indentification using HPLC-DAD-APCI-MS in ten wild cherry tomato accessions and one cultivated tomato. A mixture of hexane/acetone/ethanol (50:25:25) and 0.1% BHT was used for carotenoid extraction. For separation, a C30 column at 30 °C with a gradient consisting of methanol, methyl-tert-butyl ether, and water was used for their analysis. Ten major carotenoids were quantified within cherry tomato samples. All accessions present different profiles and quantities of carotenoids. Wild red tomatoes had more lycopene content that commercial tomato, whereas yellow tomatoes present no lycopene. From a functional viewpoint, higher concentrations of carotenoids that could play an antioxidant activity were measured from accessions IAC401, IAC426, LA1480, IAC391, and LA2692. This trait means that these germplasms may be targets for commercial activities. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first time that HPLC-DAD-APCI-MS has been used to analyze these accessions of wild cherry tomatoes that are both functionally promising and suitable for projects with social implementation at a local scale.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.