Biography of biophenols: past, present and future

Abstract

ABSTRACT:Background: The term "biophenols" was first coined by Romeo and Uccella in 1996 to denote bioactive phenols in olives replacing the more common and less chemically accurate term "polyphenols". "Biophenols" has started gaining popularity beyond olive chemistry and currently used by researchers to refer to plant phenols in general. Biophenols constitute the largest group of secondary plant metabolites with ubiquitous presence in plants and wide spectrum of biological activities. During the last three decades, biophenols have seized scientific attention, lured industry and attracted consumers' interest due to their antioxidative potential in preservation of food and maintaining human health. For the first time, a definition for "biophenols" has been proposed to present a more precise and comprehensive umbrella term to encompass all phenolic compounds of botanical origin. In this article, the author is tracing the landmarks of the history of biophenol research; profiling contemporary research directions; highlighting research controversies and uncertainties; and presenting an outlook of the biophenols future research.

Biophenols of mints: Antioxidant, acetylcholinesterase, butyrylcholinesterase and histone deacetylase inhibition activities targeting Alzheimer’s disease treatment

“…Biophenols are well known for their free radical scavenging and antioxidant activities (Obied, 2013). The main phenolic compounds in mints such as danshensu, rosmarinic, salvianolic and caffeic acids and quercetin and luteolin glycosides have all been reported to have antioxidant activity (Rice-Evans, Miller, & Paganga, 1997).…”

“…Demographic ageing is a worldwide phenomenon due to the success of improved health care over the last century (Ferri, Sousa, Albanese, Ribeiro, & Honyashiki, 2009), but there are challenges due to greater demand for healthy ageing (Obied, 2013). One challenge is the significant increase in the number of people with Alzheimer's disease (AD) and related dementias (Ferri et al, 2009).…”

Content of bioactive compounds and antioxidant activity in garlic (Allium sativum L.)

“…Garlic belongs to the important and significant vegetables, characterized by significantly high content of polyphenolic compounds positively affecting human body. The majority of polyphenol compounds in garlic are phenolic acids and flavonoids (Piazzon et al, 2012;Obied, 2013). Polyphenols are heterogeneous oligo-or polymeric compounds combined with other compounds (Xiao et al, 2013).…”

“…The total polyphenol content of the garlic can be influenced by the variety (Srivastava et al, 2013), as well as storage and technological processing of garlic (Süli et al, 2014). The physiological effect of polyphenols is wide ranging and shows antioxidant, anti-carcinogenic, anti-mutagenic, antibacterial, anti-parasitic, and antidiabetic activity (Obied, 2013).…”

Characterization of Microwave-Assisted Extracts of Citrus sinensis Exocarp and Mesocarp Peels for their Pharmaceutical Excipient Potentia

“…26 The chelation of metal ions generally requires ortho-dihydroxylation on the phenyl ring in phenolic acids and flavonoids or the presence of a 3-or 5-hydroxyl group of flavonoids. 27 Dietary polyphenols from food industry are the good source of antioxidants and are one of the main composition of the nutraceutical products available in the market. The most important dietary phenolics are the phenolic acids (including hydroxybenzoic and hydroxycinnamic acids), polyphenol (hydrolyzable and condensed tannins) and flavonoids, the latter being the most primitively studied group.…”