Many studies have been conducted with regard to free radicals, oxidative stress and antioxidant activity of food, giving antioxidants a prominent beneficial role, but, recently many authors have questioned their importance, whilst trying to understand the mechanisms behind oxidative stress. Many scientists defend that regardless of the quantity of ingested antioxidants, the absorption is very limited, and that in some cases prooxidants are beneficial to human health. The detection of antioxidant activity as well as specific antioxidant compounds can be carried out with a large number of different assays, all of them with advantages and disadvantages. The controversy around antioxidant in vivo benefits has become intense in the past few decades and the present review tries to shed some light on research on antioxidants (natural and synthetic) and prooxidants, showing the potential benefits and adverse effects of these opposing events, as well as their mechanisms of action and detection methodologies. It also identifies the limitations of antioxidants and provides a perspective on the likely future trends in this field.

Abstract:The pressing issue to feed the increasing world population has created a demand to enhance food production, which has to be cheaper, but at the same time must meet high quality standards. Taste, appearance, texture, and microbiological safety are required to be preserved within a foodstuff for the longest period of time. Although considerable improvements have been achieved in terms of food additives, some are still enveloped in controversy. The lack of uniformity in worldwide laws regarding additives, along with conflicting results of many studies help foster this controversy. In this report, the most important preservatives, nutritional additives, coloring, flavoring, texturizing, and miscellaneous agents are analyzed in terms of safety and toxicity. Natural additives and extracts, which are gaining interest due to changes in consumer habits are also evaluated in terms of their benefits to health and combined effects. Technologies, like edible coatings and films, which have helped overcome some drawbacks of additives, but still pose some disadvantages, are briefly addressed.Future trends like nanoencapsulation and the development of "smart" additives and packages, specific vaccines for intolerance to additives, use of fungi to produce additives, and DNA recombinant technologies are summarized.

In a time where the public is more aware and interested with what they eat, natural additives have been gaining interest both from the food industries and the consumers.Some studies show that consumers prefer food prepared with natural additives rather than chemical ones, due to health reasons. Although quite promising, natural additives still face some drawbacks and limitations as well as conflicting information. In this manuscript, the most important natural additives are overviewed, as well as their use, benefits and risks. The future of these molecules along with new types of additives are also summarized. Keywords: natural food additives, antimicrobials, antioxidants, sweeteners, colorings Food as a basic needThe importance of food for mankind is undeniable; there is still no way of living without eating, therefore, this commodity is of utmost importance for the well-being of every man, woman and child across the world. Although the need to feed has maintained itself immutable across the ages, the way we consume foodstuffs has seen deep changes. From the local gatherers in the Paleolithic to the domestications of animals and vegetables there was a huge leap, only surpassed by the commercial trading of spices and other goods in the fifteenth century. Today, in modern countries food is produced in specific facilities and then transported to markets that can be within the same country or even in distant ones (Atkins and Bowler, 2001). Delivering food in good conditions from the production site to the consumer requires a great load of energy, either by refrigeration, controlled packaging or the use of additives to avoid spoilage and reduce food alteration. In a competitive global market, the least expensive method of food preservation is always favored, and in most cases, food additives are 3 chosen over the others. Furthermore, food additives are essential to enable the food industry to make food meet the increasingly challenging market and legal demands (Saltmarsh et al., 2013). Food additivesThe Codex Alimentarius defines a food additive as "any substance not normally consumed as a food itself and not normally used as a typical ingredient of the food, whether or not it has nutritive value, the intentional addition of which to food for a technological (including organoleptic) purpose in the manufacture, processing, preparation treatment, packing, packaging, transport or holding of such food results, or may be reasonably expected to result, (directly or indirectly) in it or its by-products becoming a component of or otherwise affecting the characteristics of such foods. The term does not include contaminants, or substances added to food for maintaining or improving nutritional qualities, or sodium chloride" (Codex Alimentarius; Motarjemi, Moy and Todd, 2014). The Food and Drug Administration of the United States (FDA) defines a food additive as "any substance the intended use of which results or may reasonably be expected to result --directly or indirectly --in its becoming a component or otherwise aff...

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Background: Food antioxidants play a critical role in the food industry, and have become one of the most widespread methods of conserving food. Their cheapness and ease of use have made them a part of virtually all foodstuffs. Although different, all groups of food antioxidants have a same common objective, to conserve food for the longest possible time without altering it, conferring taste or color. Consumer trends have shifted the industry to find natural antioxidants for conservation, and although synthetic additives have been the mainstream, their natural counterparts have been gaining interest. Scope and approach: This review focuses of the different antioxidant groups, describing their properties, function and applicability, as well as indexing the relevant legislation in order to be a guide for academia and industry. Key findings and conclusions: The wide number of antioxidant additives allowed by the different countries if of synthetic origin, and consist of pure molecules. Although consumers are leaning toward natural additives, this offer is still quite limited despite the permission of rosemary extract within the European Union. There is still much work to be done in order to completely demystify the importance and safety of antioxidants as well as to harmonize legislation worldwide.

Abstract:Cancer is a worldwide scourge; it's the leading cause of death in developed countries and is increasing in developing countries. Mankind has been trying with effort to find better and cheaper treatments with fewer side effects, to reduce the incidence of the disease and its consequent mortality. For many years, phenolic compounds have been intensely studied for their antitumor, proapoptotic and antiangiogenic effects. In recent years, the usage of these compounds has increased considerably.This manuscript intends to structurally characterize the different phenolic compounds (flavonoids, hydroxycinnamates, hydroxybenzoates, coumarins, xanthones, chalcones, stilbenes, lignins and lignans) and their metabolic pathways as well as review the most important results regarding these compounds and their derivatives in cancer treatment and prevention both in tumor cell lines in vitro, in murine models in vivo and finally some results regarding human trials.

a b s t r a c tConsumers demand more and more so-called ''natural" products and, therefore, the aim of this work was to compare the effects of natural versus synthetic antioxidant preservatives in yogurts. Matricaria recutita L. (chamomile) and Foeniculum vulgare Mill. (fennel) decoctions were tested as natural additives, while potassium sorbate (E202) was used as a synthetic additive. The fortification of yogurts with natural and synthetic antioxidants did not cause significant changes in the yoghurt pH and nutritional value, in comparison with control samples (yogurt without any additive). However, the fortified yogurts showed higher antioxidant activity, mainly the yogurts with natural additives (and among these, the ones with chamomile decoction). Overall, it can be concluded that plant decoctions can be used to develop novel yogurts, by replacing synthetic preservatives and improving the antioxidant properties of the final product, without changing the nutritional profile.

Infusions and decoction of chestnut tree flowers have been used for different medical purposes, but their phytochemical profile and antioxidant activity are still mostly unknown. Herein, decoctions and infusions of flowers from the two most appreciated chestnut cultivars (longal and judia) in Trás-os-Montes, Portugal, were prepared and characterized with regard to their content in free sugars, organic acids, and phenolic compounds, such as flavonoids and hydrolyzable tannins, and their antioxidant activity. Overall, the decoction of the cultivar judia was the sample with both the highest quantity of flavonoids and antioxidant activity. The phenolic compound with the highest abundance in all samples was trigalloyl-HHDP-glucoside, followed by pentagalloyl glucoside. The sample with the highest quantity of total phenolic compounds was judia infusion, closely followed by longal decoction, which also gave the highest quantities of ellagitannins. Regarding sugars and organic acids, the profiles were more similar. These results corroborate ancestral claims of the health benefits of infusions and decoctions of chestnut flowers.