In-vitro evaluation of bioactive compounds, anti-oxidant, lipid peroxidation and lipoxygenase inhibitory potential of Citrus karna L. peel extract

Herbal-based compounds: A review on treatments of cryptosporidiosis

Cryptosporidium, a monoxenous apicomplexan coccidia, is a prevalent diarrhetic and an opportunistic agent, mainly in immunocompromised individuals. As there are few chemotherapeutic compounds that have limited efficacy, we need to identify new compounds or specific parasite targets for designing more potent drugs to treat cryptosporidiosis. Herbal products with low toxicity, environmental compatibility, wide therapeutic potential, and abundant resources can be considered alternatives for treatment. The current review tried to summarize the studies on plants or herbal bioactive constituents with anti-cryptosporidial activities. Based on constituents, plants act via different mechanisms, and further investigations are needed to clarify the exact mechanisms by which they act on the developmental stages of the parasite or host-parasite relationships.

Measurement of Naringin from Citrus Fruits by High-Performance Liquid Chromatography - a Review

Naringin is a flavonoid found primarily in citrus species with especially high concentrations being present in grapefruit (Citrus paradisi), bitter orange (Citrus aurantium), and pomelo (Citrus grandis). Because of its many positive effects on human health, naringin has been the focus of increasing attention in recent years. Recently, conventional extraction methods have been commonly replaced with unconventional methods, such as ultrasound-assisted extraction (UAE) and other, more eco-friendly extraction methods requiring little-to-no environmentally harmful solvents or significantly less energy. Naringin analysis is most commonly done via high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC), and ultrahigh-performance liquid chromatography (UHPLC) coupled with a mass spectrometer (MS) or a photodiode array (DAD) detector. The aim of this review is to provide an overview of recent trends developments in the extraction, sample preparation, and liquid chromatographic analysis of the compound originating from citrus fruits or their products.

Antioxidant Metabolites in Primitive, Wild, and Cultivated Citrus and Their Role in Stress Tolerance

The genus Citrus contains a vast range of antioxidant metabolites, dietary metabolites, and antioxidant polyphenols that protect plants from unfavorable environmental conditions, enhance their tolerance to abiotic and biotic stresses, and possess multiple health-promoting effects in humans. This review summarizes various antioxidant metabolites such as organic acids, amino acids, alkaloids, fatty acids, carotenoids, ascorbic acid, tocopherols, terpenoids, hydroxycinnamic acids, flavonoids, and anthocyanins that are distributed in different citrus species. Among these antioxidant metabolites, flavonoids are abundantly present in primitive, wild, and cultivated citrus species and possess the highest antioxidant activity. We demonstrate that the primitive and wild citrus species (e.g., Atalantia buxifolia and C. latipes) have a high level of antioxidant metabolites and are tolerant to various abiotic and biotic stresses compared with cultivated citrus species (e.g., C. sinensis and C. reticulata). Additionally, we highlight the potential usage of citrus wastes (rag, seeds, fruit peels, etc.) and the health-promoting properties of citrus metabolites. Furthermore, we summarize the genes that are involved in the biosynthesis of antioxidant metabolites in different citrus species. We speculate that the genome-engineering technologies should be used to confirm the functions of candidate genes that are responsible for the accumulation of antioxidant metabolites, which will serve as an alternative tool to breed citrus cultivars with increased antioxidant metabolites.

Hesperidin: A Therapeutic Agent For Obesity

Obesity is a chronic metabolic disease caused by multiple factors and is considered to be a risk factor for type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease, hypertension, stroke and various cancers. Hesperidin, a flavanone glycoside, is a natural phenolic compound with a wide range of biological effects. Mounting evidence has demonstrated that hesperidin possesses inhibitory effect against obesity diseases. Our review discusses mechanisms of hesperidin in the treatment of obesity. Hesperidin regulates lipid metabolism and glucose metabolism by mediating AMPK and PPAR signaling pathways, directly regulates antioxidant index and anti-apoptosis, and indirectly mediates NF-κB signaling pathway to regulate inflammation to play a role in the treatment of obesity. In addition, hesperidin-enriched dietary supplements can significantly improve symptoms such as postprandial hyperglycemia and hyperlipidemia. Further clinical trials are also required for confirming lipid-lowering efficacy of this natural flavonoid and evaluating its safety profile.

The Potential Role of Citrus limon Powder as a Natural Feed Supplement to Boost the Productive Performance, Antioxidant Status, and Blood Biochemistry of Growing Rabbits

The current study examined the influence of Citrus limon (dry lemon) on the hemato-biochemical profiles, and antioxidant indices of growing rabbits. Forty-eight growing New Zealand White rabbits (age, eight weeks; weight, 1543.33 ± 25 g) were allocated into three groups (16 animals each), the first group was (control) fed a basal diet, whereas the second and third groups were supplemented with dried lemon, 1% or 2% DLP, respectively. A GC-MS analysis of more than 27 active constituents was performed. Feed conversion efficiency was (p < 0.05) better with diets containing 1% or 2% dry lemon, compared to the control group. Hematological indexes were increased significantly with the addition of DLP compared to those in the control group. Adding 1% or 2% dry lemon to rabbit diet increased (p < 0.05) enzymatic and non-enzymatic antioxidant activities (TAC, SOD, GSH, GST, and CAT) in serum and liver tissues. Taken together, these data reveal the advantages and antioxidant effects of dry lemon supplementation for growing rabbits once supplemented at a maximum of 2% in their daily diet.

Kadir N, Mustaqim M, Rahmat Z, Ahmad A, Lam SD, Ismail MR. Susceptibility and tolerance of rice crop to salt threat: Physiological and metabolic inspections

Salinity threat is estimated to reduce global rice production by 50%. Comprehensive analysis of the physiological and metabolite changes in rice plants from salinity stress (i.e. tolerant versus susceptible plants) is important to combat higher salinity conditions. In this study, we screened a total of 92 genotypes and selected the most salinity tolerant line (SS1-14) and most susceptible line (SS2-18) to conduct comparative physiological and metabolome inspections. We demonstrated that the tolerant line managed to maintain their water and chlorophyll content with lower incidence of sodium ion accumulation. We also examined the antioxidant activities of these lines: production of ascorbate peroxidase (APX) and catalase (CAT) were significantly higher in the sensitive line while superoxide dismutase (SOD) was higher in the tolerant line. Partial least squares discriminant analysis (PLS-DA) score plots show significantly different response for both lines after the exposure to salinity stress. In the tolerant line, there was an upregulation of non-polar metabolites and production of sucrose, GABA and acetic acid, suggesting an important role in salinity adaptation. In contrast, glutamine and putrescine were noticeably high in the susceptible rice. Coordination of different strategies in tolerant and susceptible lines show that they responded differently after exposure to salt stress. These findings can assist crop development in terms of developing tolerance mechanisms for rice crops.

Dietary impact on esophageal cancer in humans: a review

Foods and the risk of esophageal cancer.

Antioxidant activity and influence of Citrus byproduct extracts on adherence and invasion of Campylobacter jejuni and on the relative expression of cadF and ciaB

Adherence and invasion to cells are the key processes during infection development by Campylobacter jejuni (C. jejuni). In this study, extracts from the byproducts of Citrus limon, Citrus aurantium, and Citrus medica were added to the cultures of C. jejuni, and the adherence and invasion of C. jejuni to HeLa cells and the expression of cadF and ciaB genes were analyzed. The relative expression of the genes was determined by quantitative reverse transcription PCR (qRT-PCR). The antioxidant activity was determined using spectrophotometric methods. Byproduct extracts at subinhibitory concentrations affected the adherence (reduced 2.3 to 99%) and invasion (reduced 71.3 to 99.2%) to the HeLa cells. The expression of cadF and ciaB was reduced from 66 to 99% and from 81 to 99%, respectively. The total phenolic content of the byproducts varied from 92 to 26 mg GAE/g and the total flavonoids varied from 161 to 29.29 mg QE/g. C. aurantium showed the highest percentage of radical scavenging activity (RSA, 90.1). These extracts can prove as effective alternatives for devising new strategies to control Campylobacter infections.

Citrus fruits as a treasure trove of active natural metabolites that potentially provide benefits for human health

Citrus fruits, which are cultivated worldwide, have been recognized as some of the most high-consumption fruits in terms of energy, nutrients and health supplements. What is more, a number of these fruits have been used as traditional medicinal herbs to cure diseases in several Asian countries. Numerous studies have focused on Citrus secondary metabolites as well as bioactivities and have been intended to develop new chemotherapeutic or complementary medicine in recent decades. Citrus-derived secondary metabolites, including flavonoids, alkaloids, limonoids, coumarins, carotenoids, phenolic acids and essential oils, are of vital importance to human health due to their active properties. These characteristics include anti-oxidative, anti-inflammatory, anti-cancer, as well as cardiovascular protective effects, neuroprotective effects, etc. This review summarizes the global distribution and taxonomy, numerous secondary metabolites and bioactivities of Citrus fruits to provide a reference for further study. Flavonoids as characteristic bioactive metabolites in Citrus fruits are mainly introduced.

In vitro antioxidant properties of mangosteen peel extract

The growing interest in the replacement of synthetic food antioxidants by natural ones has fostered research on the screening of plant-derived raw materials for identifying new antioxidants. The special attention of research today is focused on inexpensive or residual sources from agricultural industries. Fruit peels as sources of powerful natural antioxidants are often the waste parts of various fruits from consumption and food industry. Among the fruit peels, mangosteen peel is an important source of natural phenolic antioxidants. The mangosteen peel contains various bioactive substances, i.e., phenolic acids and flavonoids, which possess biological and medicinal properties, especially antioxidant properties. The aim of this review, after presenting analytical techniques for determining in vitro antioxidant activity of mangosteen peel extract, is to summarize available data on the factors affecting antioxidant activity of mangosteen peel extract. In addition, the potential antioxidant activity of mangosteen peel extract, the bioactive compounds identified from mangosteen peel extract and their antioxidant activity are presented. Potential applications of the mangosteen peel extract in food, pharmaceutical and cosmetic products are also discussed.