Nutraceuticals in Human Health

Abstract

The combined and concerted action of nutrient and biologically active compounds is flagged as an indicator of a “possible beneficial role” for health. The use and applications of bioactive components cover a wide range of fields, in particular the nutraceuticals. In this context, the Special Issue entitled “Nutraceuticals in Human Health” is focused on the all aspects around the nutraceuticals, ranging from analytical aspects to clinical trials, from efficacy studies to beneficial effects on health status.

Effect of Quercetin 3-O-β-D-Galactopyranoside on the Adipogenic and Osteoblastogenic Differentiation of Human Bone Marrow-Derived Mesenchymal Stromal Cells

“…Nutraceuticals derived from plant phenolic substances are credited for various beneficial effects towards the preventive approach against common diseases and disorders such as diabetes, cancer, osteoporosis, obesity, and cardiovascular complications [5,6,15,16]. Quercetin is a popular and widely researched phytochemical in this sense, with reported bioactivities [17,18].…”

Characteristics, Occurrence, Detection and Detoxification of Aflatoxins in Foods and Feeds

“…After that, versiconal hemiacetal acetate (VHA) is formed via the oxidation of HVN, see Figure 1 (6) that is converted to versiconol acetate (VOAc) and then versiconol (VOH), see Figure 1 (7) [82]; the VOH then uses esterase to produce versiconal, see Figure 1 (8) that is subsequently converted to versicolorin B via cyclase, see Figure 1 (9) [83], followed by the conversion of versicolorin B to versicolorin A and dimethyl-dihydro-sterigmatocystin (DMDHST) as shown Figure 1 (10); then the conversion of versicolorin A and DMDHST to dimethyl-sterigmatocystin (DMST) and dihydro-sterigmatocystin (DHST), respectively, see Figure 1 (11) [84][85][86]. Next, O-methyltransferases plays central role in the biosynthesis of AFs to convert the intermediates of DMST and DHST to sterigmatocystin (ST) and dihydro-O-methylsterigmatocystin (DHOMST), respectively, as shown in Figure 1 (12) [87]. Afterwards, O-methylsterigmatocystin (OMST) is produced (13); finally, OMST and DHOMST lead to the production of AFs, as shown in Figure 1 (13b and 14) [88][89][90][91][92][93][94][95].…”

“…Food contamination is a global concern in the stages of the production, distribution and consumption of agricultural and processed products [1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10]. From the perspective of a joined and integrated approach to food research, three aspects of foods and the food chain should be investigated: quality, safety, and potential nutraceutical value [11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18][19][20][21][22][23]. Food safety is currently a priority in the processes of the production, processing and distribution of food products.…”

Anticancer Effects of Nutraceuticals in the Mediterranean Diet: An Epigenetic Diet Model

“…However, the diet cannot always ensure an adequate supply of those nutrients and phyto derivatives able to actively condition gene expression, trying to optimize the positive aspects inherent in each individual's DNA and to limit the consequences of unfavorable genomic susceptibility. Thus, was born the concept of nutraceuticals, a mix of substances able to interact with the individual genotypic structure in function with the environmental one (phenotype) (35,36). Nutraceuticals therefore take on the role of cellular and functional modulators, capable of ensuring the optimization of physiological processes (37).…”