Ginger (Zingiber officinale Roscoe) is a common and widely used spice. It is rich in various chemical constituents, including phenolic compounds, terpenes, polysaccharides, lipids, organic acids, and raw fibers. The health benefits of ginger are mainly attributed to its phenolic compounds, such as gingerols and shogaols. Accumulated investigations have demonstrated that ginger possesses multiple biological activities, including antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, antimicrobial, anticancer, neuroprotective, cardiovascular protective, respiratory protective, antiobesity, antidiabetic, antinausea, and antiemetic activities. In this review, we summarize current knowledge about the bioactive compounds and bioactivities of ginger, and the mechanisms of action are also discussed. We hope that this updated review paper will attract more attention to ginger and its further applications, including its potential to be developed into functional foods or nutraceuticals for the prevention and management of chronic diseases.

Garlic (Allium sativum L.) is a widely consumed spice in the world. Garlic contains diverse bioactive compounds, such as allicin, alliin, diallyl sulfide, diallyl disulfide, diallyl trisulfide, ajoene, and S-allyl-cysteine. Substantial studies have shown that garlic and its bioactive constituents exhibit antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, antibacterial, antifungal, immunomodulatory, cardiovascular protective, anticancer, hepatoprotective, digestive system protective, anti-diabetic, anti-obesity, neuroprotective, and renal protective properties. In this review, the main bioactive compounds and important biological functions of garlic are summarized, highlighting and discussing the relevant mechanisms of actions. Overall, garlic is an excellent natural source of bioactive sulfur-containing compounds and has promising applications in the development of functional foods or nutraceuticals for the prevention and management of certain diseases.

No abstract

Cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) are critical global public health issues with high morbidity and mortality. Epidemiological studies have revealed that regular tea drinking is inversely associated with the risk of CVDs. Additionally, substantial in vitro and in vivo experimental studies have shown that tea and its bioactive compounds are effective in protecting against CVDs. The relevant mechanisms include reducing blood lipid, alleviating ischemia/reperfusion injury, inhibiting oxidative stress, enhancing endothelial function, attenuating inflammation, and protecting cardiomyocyte function. Moreover, some clinical trials also proved the protective role of tea against CVDs. In order to provide a better understanding of the relationship between tea and CVDs, this review summarizes the effects of tea and its bioactive compounds against CVDs and discusses potential mechanisms of action based on evidence from epidemiological, experimental, and clinical studies.

Governmental legislation, regulations, and policies are used to prevent and mitigate the negative impact of human-caused wildland fires. In Ontario, Canada, the Modifying Industrial Operations Protocol (MIOP) aims to manage and limit the risk associated with fires ignited because of industrial forestry operations while maintaining flexibility in terms of daily restrictions. The MIOP was enacted in Ontario in 2008, when it replaced the Woods Modifications Guidelines, which had been in effect since 1989. We use quantile regression to quantify how the distribution of incremental growth has changed when contrasting three prevention time periods (MIOP, Woods Guidelines, Pre-Woods) while controlling for several possible confounding variables that drive fire growth. We analyze data of industrial forestry-caused wildland fires ignited on Crown forest land in Ontario from 1976 to 2019. This type of retrospective analysis is important for monitoring the performance of Ontario’s prevention and mitigation efforts and providing insight for the future, especially in a changing environment. Our findings provide evidence of MIOP succeeding at its goal of mitigating the negative impact of ignited industrial forestry fires when compared against previous regulations. Study Implications: Regulations are one avenue for mitigating risk associated with the accidental ignition of fires by forestry operations. The Modifying Industrial Operations Protocol (MIOP) aims to be more flexible than its predecessor, so we investigate whether forestry-caused fires are tending to grow larger or smaller under MIOP compared to previous time periods. Quantile regression allows us to model individual quantiles of the distribution of incremental growth, the difference between a fire’s discovery and final sizes, while controlling for several confounders that influence growth. We find evidence of improvements to the right tail of this distribution, with fires growing less under MIOP.