Oxidative stress plays an essential role in the pathogenesis of chronic diseases such as cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, neurodegenerative diseases, and cancer. Long term exposure to increased levels of pro-oxidant factors can cause structural defects at a mitochondrial DNA level, as well as functional alteration of several enzymes and cellular structures leading to aberrations in gene expression. The modern lifestyle associated with processed food, exposure to a wide range of chemicals and lack of exercise plays an important role in oxidative stress induction. However, the use of medicinal plants with antioxidant properties has been exploited for their ability to treat or prevent several human pathologies in which oxidative stress seems to be one of the causes. In this review we discuss the diseases in which oxidative stress is one of the triggers and the plant-derived antioxidant compounds with their mechanisms of antioxidant defenses that can help in the prevention of these diseases. Finally, both the beneficial and detrimental effects of antioxidant molecules that are used to reduce oxidative stress in several human conditions are discussed.

Curcumin, a yellow polyphenolic pigment from the Curcuma longa L. (turmeric) rhizome, has been used for centuries for culinary and food coloring purposes, and as an ingredient for various medicinal preparations, widely used in Ayurveda and Chinese medicine. In recent decades, their biological activities have been extensively studied. Thus, this review aims to offer an in-depth discussion of curcumin applications for food and biotechnological industries, and on health promotion and disease prevention, with particular emphasis on its antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, neuroprotective, anticancer, hepatoprotective, and cardioprotective effects. Bioavailability, bioefficacy and safety features, side effects, and quality parameters of curcumin are also addressed. Finally, curcumin's multidimensional applications, food attractiveness optimization, agro

Critical fouling conditions were studied during wine cross-flow microfiltration using a multichannel ceramic membrane (0.2 m). The aim was to determine critical operating conditions in order to limit fouling caused by wine colloids (tannins, pectin and mannoproteins) and enhance process performances. The method used is a square wave filtration based on the determination of the reversibility and irreversibility of fouling. Filtrations were performed with filtered red wine (FW) added with different concentrations of colloids. Considering FW, critical flux for irreversibility was beyond the studied range of pressure (≥1.4 × 10 −4 m/s). No clear critical flux could be determined for any of the tested molecules in the studied range of pressure. On the other hand, an upper limit of fluxes range has been identified (below which critical flux could be found). Irreversible fouling always takes place from the beginning of the filtrations and even at low pressures. For FW containing 0.2 g/l mannoprotein and 0.5 g/l pectin, a loss of average fluxes is observed beyond a given limit of transmembrane pressure. This fact was attributed to the compaction of a gel layer. Finally, a criterion (R if /R m ≤ 1) has been suggested to determine the so-called "threshold flux" below it, fouling remains acceptable.