Search results for "FOODS"
showing 10 items of 537 documents
Identification of Predominant Lactic Acid Bacteria and Yeasts of Turkish Sourdoughs and Selection of Starter Cultures for Liquid Sourdough Production…
2016
WOS: 000375613200005
Multifaceted Health Benefits of Mangifera indica L. (Mango): The Inestimable Value of Orchards Recently Planted in Sicilian Rural Areas
2017
Historically, Mangifera indica L. cultivations have been widely planted in tropical areas of India, Africa, Asia, and Central America. However, at least 20 years ago its spreading allowed the development of some cultivars in Sicily, an island to the south of Italy, where the favourable subtropical climate and adapted soils represent the perfect field to create new sources of production for the Sicilian agricultural supply chain. Currently, cultivations of Kensington Pride, Keitt, Glenn, Maya, and Tommy Atkins varieties are active in Sicily and their products meet the requirements of local and European markets. Mango plants produce fleshy stone fruits rich in phytochemicals with an undispute…
Immunomodulatory activity of Humulus lupulus bitter acids fraction: Enhancement of natural killer cells function by NKp44 activating receptor stimula…
2019
Abstract Humulus lupulus (Hop) contains numerous metabolites with anticancer potential. Despite this, their immunomodulatory activity, and in particular of bitter acids, is unknown. In this study, we demonstrated that a Hop pellet extract fraction containing bitter acids possesses immunomodulatory activity by enhancing Natural Killer (NK) cells function. After fractionation by semi-preparative Liquid Chromatography, three different fractions were obtained. The phytocomplex and the fractions were tested to verify the ability to modulate the NK compartment. Cytofluorimetric analysis revealed that a fraction containing bitter acids was able to up-regulate of NKG2D and NKp44 activating receptor…
Plant sterols and human gut microbiota relationship: An in vitro colonic fermentation study
2018
Abstract Due to the preventive effect that plant sterols could have in relation to colon cancer and the scarce information available on plant sterols-gut microbiota interaction, we evaluate the sterols influence upon gut microbiota and viceversa. In vitro colonic fermentation using a residue from the in vitro digestion of a plant sterol-enriched beverage were used. Faecal sterols by GC–MS, and gut microbiota using DNA sequencing were determined. A higher plant sterols metabolism and lower for cholesterol in presence of plant sterols was occurred. Neutral plant sterols decreased and its metabolites increased during fermentation times. The global changes in microbial communities were associat…
Fibres as functional foods and the effects on gut hormones: The example of β-glucans in a single arm pilot study
2018
Abstract Nutritional styles as Mediterranean and DASH diets are associated with lower incidences of certain chronic diseases and long life expectancy. The reason lays on their different contribution in fibers, polyphenols (from vegetables and fruit) and proteins. Barley is high fiber cereal that contains high amount of β-glucans and insoluble fibers that it was recognized having healthy benefits. The aim of the study was to evaluate the effects of β-glucans intake on glycaemic response, cholesterol and intestinal hormones levels. A single arm pilot study was performed with ten healthy individual which, consumed pasta enriched with 6% β-glucans for 30 days. Blood was collected at fasting and…
Litchi chinensis as a Functional Food and a Source of Antitumor Compounds: An Overview and a Description of Biochemical Pathways.
2017
Litchi is a tasty fruit that is commercially grown for food consumption and nutritional benefits in various parts of the world. Due to its biological activities, the fruit is becoming increasingly known and deserves attention not only for its edible part, the pulp, but also for its peel and seed that contain beneficial substances with antioxidant, cancer preventive, antimicrobial, and anti-inflammatory functions. Although literature demonstrates the biological activity of Litchi components in reducing tumor cell viability in in vitro or in vivo models, data about the biochemical mechanisms responsible for these effects are quite fragmentary. This review specifically describes, in a comprehe…
Stinging nettle (Urtica dioica L.) as a functional food additive in egg pasta: Enrichment and bioaccessibility of Lutein and β-carotene
2018
Abstract The use of stinging nettles as an ingredient in egg pasta has been evaluated with respect to food enrichment with carotenoids. Bioaccessibility of lutein and β-carotene has been estimated by dynamic simulation of the digestion process, with particular attention to duodenum and colon stages. Higher bioaccessibility for the two carotenoids occurs between 2 and 24 h of colonic fermentation and it is around 35% for lutein and 10% for β-carotene. However, the results reveal that the food matrix has a significant role in carotenoid release during the digestion process. In general, nettle enriched pasta has a lower carotenoid bioaccessibility than dietary supplement at duodenum and after …
Virgin olive oil enriched with its own phenolic compounds or complemented with thyme improves endothelial function: The potential role of plasmatic f…
2017
The aim of the present study was to assess whether different functional virgin olive oils (FVOOs) with varying phenolic compounds (PC) could protect the plasmatic fat-soluble vitamins, which in turn could improve the endothelial function. In order to select the optimal phenolic dose in the improvement of ischemic reactive hyperemia (IRH), a dose-response study (n = 12, healthy subjects) was performed and the enrichment of 500 mg PC/kg oil was selected. In a 3-week cross-over sustained study (n = 33 hypercholesterolemic subjects), the consumption of 25 mL/day of two phenol-enriched olive oils (one enriched with its own PC and another combined with thyme PC) increased IRH and plasma concentra…
The Effect of Lutein on Eye and Extra-Eye Health
2018
Lutein is a carotenoid with reported anti-inflammatory properties. A large body of evidence shows that lutein has several beneficial effects, especially on eye health. In particular, lutein is known to improve or even prevent age-related macular disease which is the leading cause of blindness and vision impairment. Furthermore, many studies have reported that lutein may also have positive effects in different clinical conditions, thus ameliorating cognitive function, decreasing the risk of cancer, and improving measures of cardiovascular health. At present, the available data have been obtained from both observational studies investigating lutein intake with food, and a few intervention tri…
Associations between parental food choice motives, health-promoting feeding practices, and infants' fruit and vegetable intakes: the Food4toddlers st…
2020
Background: Parents influence their infants' diets and are the providers of healthy foods such as fruit and vegetables. Parental motives can influence infant's diets directly or through parental feeding practices. Objective: This study aimed to assess the associations between parental food choice motives and infants' fruit and vegetable intakes and to examine whether parental feeding practices mediated these associations. Design: A total of 298 parents participated in the Norwegian Food4toddlers study. Before the child's first birthday (mean age = 10.9 months), the parents completed an online baseline questionnaire. Five parental food choice motives were assessed: health, convenience, senso…