Abstract:Research on the potential protective effects of coffee and its bioactives (caffeine, chlorogenic acids and diterpenes) against oxidative stress and related chronic disease risk has been increasing in the last years. The present review summarizes the main findings on the effect of coffee consumption on protection against lipid, protein and DNA damage, as well as on the modulation of antioxidant capacity and antioxidant enzymes in human studies. Twenty-six dietary intervention studies (involving acute and chronic coffee intake) have been considered. Overall, the results suggest that coffee consumption can increase glutathione levels and improve protection against DNA damage, especially following regular/repeated intake. On the contrary, the effects of coffee on plasma antioxidant capacity and antioxidant enzymes, as well as on protein and lipid damage, are unclear following both acute and chronic exposure. The high heterogeneity in terms of type of coffee, doses and duration of the studies, the lack of information on coffee and/or brew bioactive composition, as well as the choice of biomarkers and the methods used for their evaluation, may partially explain the variability observed among findings. More robust and well-controlled intervention studies are necessary for a thorough understanding of the effect of coffee on oxidative stress markers in humans.

This paper presents a comprehensive analysis of the phytochemical profile of a proprietary rosemary (Rosmarinus officinalis L.) extract rich in carnosic acid. A characterization of the (poly)phenolic and volatile fractions of the extract was carried out using mass spectrometric techniques. The (poly)phenolic composition was assessed by ultra-high performance liquid chromatography-electrospray ionization-mass spectrometry (UHPLC-ESI-MS n ) and a total of 57 compounds were tentatively identified and quantified, 14 of these being detected in rosemary extract for the first time. The rosemary extract contained 24 flavonoids (mainly flavones, although flavonols and flavanones were also detected), 5 phenolic acids, 24 diterpenoids (carnosic acid, carnosol, and rosmanol derivatives), 1 triterpenoid (betulinic acid), and 3 lignans (medioresinol derivatives). Carnosic acid was the predominant phenolic compound. The volatile profile of the rosemary extract was evaluated by head space solid-phase microextraction (HS-SPME) linked to gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). Sixty-three volatile molecules (mainly terpenes, alcohols, esters, aldehydes, and ketones) were identified. This characterization extends the current knowledge on the phytochemistry of Rosmarinus officinalis and is, to our knowledge, the broadest profiling of its secondary metabolites to date. It can assist in the authentication of rosemary extracts or rosemary-containing products or in testing its bioactivity. Moreover, this methodological approach could be applied to the study of other plant-based food ingredients.

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Trimethylamine-N-oxide (TMAO) is a small organic molecule, derived from the intestinal and hepatic metabolism of dietary choline and carnitine. Although the involvement of TMAO in the framework of many chronic diseases has been recently described, no evidence on its putative role in the central nervous system has been provided. The aim of this study was to evaluate whether TMAO is present at detectable levels in human cerebrospinal fluid (CSF). CSF was collected for diagnostic purposes from 58 subjects by lumbar puncture and TMAO was quantified by using liquid chromatography coupled with multiple-reaction monitoring mass spectrometry. The molecule was detected in all samples, at concentrations ranging between 0.11 and 6.43 µmol/L. Further analysis on CSF revealed that a total of 22 subjects were affected by Alzheimer’s disease (AD), 16 were affected by non-AD related dementia, and 20 were affected by other neurological disorders. However, the stratification of TMAO levels according to the neurological diagnoses revealed no differences among the three groups. In conclusion, we provide the first evidence that TMAO can be assessed in human CSF, but the actual impact of this dietary metabolite in the patho-physiolgy of the central nervous system requires further study.

Abstract:The present paper reports a complete mass spectrometric characterization of both the phenolic and volatile fractions of a dried spearmint extract. Phenolic compounds were analysed by ultra-high performance liquid chromatography-electrospray ionization-mass spectrometry (UHPLC-ESI-MS n ) and a total of 66 compounds were tentatively identified, being the widest phenolic characterisation of spearmint to date. The analysis suggests that the extract is composed of rosmarinic acid and its derivatives (230.5˘13.5 mg/g) with smaller amounts of salvianolic acids, caffeoylquinic acids, hydroxybenzoic acids, hydroxycinnamic acids, flavones, and flavanones. Head space solid-phase microextraction (HS-SPME) coupled with gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) technique, that was applied to characterize the volatile fraction of spearmint, identified molecules belonging to different chemical classes, such as p-cymene, isopiperitone, and piperitone, dihydroedulan II, menthone, p-cymen-8-ol, and β-linalool. This comprehensive phytochemical analysis can be useful to test the authenticity of this product rich in rosmarinic acid and other phenolics, and when assessing its biological properties. It may also be applied to other plant-derived food extracts and beverages containing a broad range of phytochemical compounds.