The neuroprotective role of phenolic acids from food has previously been reported by many authors. In this review, the role of phenolic acids in ameliorating depression, ischemia/reperfusion injury, neuroinflammation, apoptosis, glutamate-induced toxicity, epilepsy, imbalance after traumatic brain injury, hyperinsulinemia-induced memory impairment, hearing and vision disturbances, Parkinson’s disease, Huntington’s disease, anti-amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, Chagas disease and other less distributed diseases is discussed. This review covers the in vitro, ex vivo and in vivo studies concerning the prevention and treatment of neurological disorders (on the biochemical and gene expression levels) by phenolic acids.

Anticholinesterase activities of mashes produced using wheat ('Wheat Pale') or barley malts ('Pilsner', 'Pale Ale', 'Munich Light', 'Carahell' or 'Carared') were studied by spectrophotometric method. The highest inhibition of acetylcholinesterase and butyrylcholinesterase was observed at 52 C and/or 64 C, followed by a decrease or stabilization of the activity at 72 C. Changes in the total phenolics content in the test mashes were correlated with changes in the acetylcholinesterase and/or butyrylcholinesterase activities. Phenolic acids were singled out from phenolic compounds for more detailed studies owing to their simplicity and structural similarity to well-known cholinesterase inhibitors. The main phenolic acids in the test malts were ferulic, gallic, p-coumaric and vanillic acids followed by chlorogenic, caffeic, syringic, p-OH-benzoic, sinapic and protocatechuic acids. The anticholinesterase activities of the phenolic acids were studied using model standard solutions at concentrations similar to the maximal content of these compounds in the test mashes. Among the phenolic acids, p-coumaric acid had the largest share in the anticholinesterase activity, even though it was present in the test mashes at a significantly lower concentration (~0.38 mM L À1 ) than ferulic acid (~1.00 mM L À1 ). Sinapic acid and p-OH-benzoic acid (0.03 and 0.01 mM L À1 , respectively) were equally efficient inhibitors as ferulic acid at~1.00 mM L À1 . This preliminary study should be extended to other phenolic compounds from malt (wort) in the near future.

Numerous authors have provided evidence regarding the beneficial effects of phenolic acids and their derivatives against Alzheimer's disease (AD). In this review, the role of phenolic acids as inhibitors of acetylcholinesterase (AChE) and butyrylcholinesterase (BChE) is discussed, including the structure-activity relationship. In addition, the inhibitory effect of phenolic acids on the formation of amyloid β-peptide (Aβ) fibrils is presented. We also cover the in vitro, ex vivo, and in vivo studies concerning the prevention and treatment of the cognitive enhancement.

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Prunus persica fruit is a source of anti-cholinesterase agents and led to an increase of acetylcholine levels in brain tissue as a usefull tool in the Alzheimer’s disease therapy. This study aimed to propose a convenient method for the purification of cholinesterase inhibitors from P. persica water extract. Water extract from the fruit was ultrafiltered (0.2 μm→5 kDa→3 kDa) followed by preparative chromatography (Sephadex LH-20, high pressure C18) and high pressure analytical C18 chromatography. The chemical structures of inhibitors were confirmed using infrared and 1H-NMR spectroscopies. The anti-acetylcholinesterase activity was measured using the colorimetric method in fractions obtained after each stage of purification. Polyphenolic cholinesterase inhibitors identified in peach fruit were kaempferol, quercetin and quercetin-3-O-rhamnoglucoside (rutin). The relatively fast purification procedure elaborated in this work can be adopted for the isolation of phenolic cholinesterase inhibitors from fruit extracts related to P. persica fruit.

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Borowiec K., Szwajgier D., Olejnik A., Kowalska K., Targoński Z. (2016): Effects of a bilberry preparation on selected cell lines of the digestive system. Czech J. Food Sci., 34: 300-305.Bilberry is a valuable wild forest fruit harvested in many countries in Europe. The biological activities of bilberry include antioxidant, anticancer, antiviral, antibacterial, and anticholinesterase activities. This study examines the protective effects of a bilberry (BB) preparation on IEC-6, Caco-2, and HepG2 cell lines. The 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide assay was used to study the cytotoxicity of BB. The genotoxicity was determined using single-cell microgel electrophoresis. The Ames test was employed to assay bilberry mutagenicity. No significant effects of BB (12.5-100 µg dry mass/ml) were observed on the viability of IEC-6, Caco-2, and HepG2 cells. There were no differences in the percentage of DNA in the comet tail between the cells treated with BB (100 µg dry mass/ml) and the control cells. However, a significant reduction of oxidative DNA damage in the HepG2 cells was found. BB exhibited neither mutagenic nor promutagenic effects. Our results suggest that bilberry can be a potential tool in the prevention of chronic diseases, without any undesired effects on the cells of the gastrointestinal tract.