Functional Components of Carob Fruit: Linking the Chemical and Biological Space

Abstract

The contribution of natural products to the drug-discovery pipeline has been remarkable since they have served as a rich source for drug development and discovery. Natural products have adapted, during the course of evolution, optimum chemical scaffolds against a wide variety of diseases, including cancer and diabetes. Advances in high-throughput screening assays, assisted by the continuous development on the instrumentation’s capabilities and omics, have resulted in charting a large chemical and biological space of drug-like compounds, originating from natural sources. Herein, we attempt to integrate the information on the chemical composition and the associated biological impact of carob fruit in regards to human health. The beneficial and health-promoting effects of carob along with the clinical trials and the drug formulations derived from carob’s natural components are presented in this review.

Nutritional characterization of carobs and traditional carob products

“…This corroborates the potential use of carob as an alternative and healthy choice and a coffee and cocoa substitute. Moreover, it has advantages over chocolate, as it has fewer calories and does not contain caffeine or theobromine (Goulas et al., 2016; Khlifa, Bahloul, & Kitane, 2013). …”

“…Carob tree is cultivated in most Mediterranean countries, mainly in mild and dry areas. World production of carob is estimated at 160,000 tons per year (Goulas, Stylos, Chatziathanasiadou, Mavromoustakos, & Tzakos, 2016). Spain produces the largest quantities, followed by Italy, Portugal, Morocco, Turkey, Greece, Cyprus, and Lebanon (Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations).…”

“…A number of cyclitols are also present in carob beans. The major cyclitol is D‐pinitol (3‐O‐methyl‐D‐chiro‐inositol) with multiple health benefits (Goulas et al., 2016). …”

Nutraceuticals: Curative Integrative Cancer Treatment

“…Carob fruit contains delphinidin, pelargonidin and cyanidin [47]. Delphinidin is an anthocyanidin that affects NF-κβ regulation [47].…”

“…Upon cancer diagnosis patients are interested in conventional and integrative therapies [2]. Post cancer diagnosis, 17% of Italian, 27% of Austrians, 35.9% of Europeans overall, 44% of German gynecologic cancer, 47.2% of Canadian, and 50% of German breast cancer patients use integrative medicine therapies [2][3][4][5][6]. Consistent with this, integrative gynecologic cancer treatment is regarded as reasonable by 44.5%, and practiced by 24.2% of 310 Hessian region ObGyns who responded to a survey at an educational meeting [7].…”