Does the carotenoid neoxanthin occur in orange juice?

The colorful world of carotenoids: a profound insight on therapeutics and recent trends in nano delivery systems

The therapeutic effects of carotenoids as dietary supplements to control or even treat some specific diseases including diabetic retinopathy, cardiovascular diseases, bacterial infections, as well as breast, prostate, and skin cancer are discussed in this review and also thoughts on future research for their widespread use are emphasized. From the stability standpoint, carotenoids have low bioavailability and bioaccessibility owing to their poor water solubility, deterioration in the presence of environmental stresses such as oxygen, light, and high heat as well as rapid degradation during digestion. Nanoencapsulation technologies as wall or encapsulation materials have been increasingly used for improving food product functionality. Nanoencapsulation is a versatile process employed for the protection, entrapment, and the delivery of food bioactive products including carotenoids from diverse environmental conditions for extended shelf lives and for providing controlled release. Therefore, we present here, recent (mostly during the last five years) nanoencapsulation methods of carotenoids with various nanocarriers. To us, this review can be considered as the first highlighting not only the potential therapeutic effects of carotenoids on various diseases but also their most effective nanodelivery systems.HighlightsBioactive compounds are of deep interest to improve food properties.Carotenoids (such as β-carotene and xanthophylls) play indispensable roles in maintaining human health and well-being.A substantial research effort has been carried out on developing beneficial nanodelivery systems for various carotenoids.Nanoencapsulation of carotenoids can enhance their functional properties.Stable nanoencapsulated carotenoids could be utilized in food products.

Profiles of free and bound phenolics extracted from Citrus fruits and their roles in biological systems: content, and antioxidant, anti-diabetic and anti-hypertensive properties

This study of selected plants of the Rutaceae family was carried out to investigate their phenolic content, antioxidant activity, and the in vitro inhibitory potential of extracted phenolics towards enzymes relevant for hyperglycemia and hypertension. The phenolic content, antioxidant activity and phenolic extract-mediated inhibitory activities for α-glucosidase and α-amylase were evaluated by spectrophotometry. The content of individual phenolics and the angiotensin I-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitory activity of the phenolic extracts were evaluated by LC/MS-MS and RP-HPLC methods, respectively. A higher percentage of free phenolic content was seen for all the selected plants of the Rutaceae family (85.43-92.82% of the total phenolic content) than of the bound form (7.18-14.57% of total phenolic content). The major predominant bound phenolic in lemon and red blood orange was hesperidin. The major predominant bound phenolic in pummelo, shamouti and clementine was ferulic acid. The highest ACE and α-glucosidase inhibitory activity of the extracted phenolics from lemon was associated with free phenolic extracts obtained at 30 °C with values of 100% inhibition. Red blood orange free phenolic extract (30 °C) elicited the highest α-amylase inhibition activity (32.3%). In contrast, extracted bound phenolics after acid and base hydrolysis from all selected plants from the Citrus species were shown to induce activation of the ACE and α-amylase enzymes.

In Vitro Lipophilic Antioxidant Capacity, Antidiabetic and Antibacterial Activity of Citrus Fruits Extracts from Aceh, Indonesia

This study reports in vitro lipophilic antioxidant, inhibition of α-amylase and antibacterial activities of extracts of peel and pulp of citrus samples from Aceh, Indonesia. HPLC (high-performance liquid chromatography), phytochemical, and FTIR (fourier transform infrared) analysis detected carotenoids, flavonoids, phenolic acids and terpenoids, contributing to the biological potencies. Most peel and pulp extracts contained lutein and lower concentrations of zeaxanthin, α-carotene, β-carotene and β-cryptoxanthin. The extracts also contained flavanone glycosides (hesperidin, naringin and neohesperidin), flavonol (quercetin) and polymethoxylated flavones (sinensetin, tangeretin). L-TEAC (lipophilic trolox equivalent antioxidant capacity) test determined for peel extracts higher antioxidant capacity compared to pulp extracts. All extracts presented α-amylase inhibitory activity, pulp extracts showing stronger inhibitory activity compared to peel extracts. All extracts inhibited the growth of both gram (+) and gram (−) bacteria, with peel and pulp extracts of makin showing the strongest inhibitory activity. Therefore, local citrus species from Aceh are potential sources of beneficial compounds with possible health preventive effects.

Composition by LC-MS/MS of New Carotenoid Esters in Mango and Citrus

Interest in the composition of carotenoid esters of fruits is growing because esterification may affect their bioavailability. Thus, the aim was to provide a detailed identification of carotenoid esters in citrus and mango. Orange cv. 'Valencia' and cv. 'Pera' presented 9 free carotenoids, 38 monoesters, and 60 diesters. Violaxanthin and luteoxanthin derivatives were the major ones, followed by antheraxanthin, lutein, zeaxanthin, β-cryptoxanthin, and zeinoxanthin esters, many of them reported for the first time in orange pulp. The carotenoid ester composition of tangor cv. 'Murcott', reported for the first time, showed 8 free carotenoids, 34 monoesters, and 33 diesters, with β-cryptoxanthin esters as major compounds, followed by violaxanthin and zeaxanthin esters. In citrus, carotenoids were acylated mainly with capric, lauric, myristic, myristoleic, palmitic, palmitoleic, and oleic acids. In mango, 5 free carotenoids, 2 monoesters, and 19 diesters were identified, from which many violaxanthin and neoxanthin esters were reported for the first time.

Analysis of carotenoids and tocopherols in plant matrices and assessment of their in vitro antioxidant capacity

Carotenoids and tocopherols are lipid secondary metabolites that play essential roles in plants. They are also relevant compounds from a nutritional standpoint and attract much attention due to their proposed antioxidant properties. In this chapter, methodologies for the extraction and HPLC analysis of these compounds are described as well as a widely used protocol to assess their antioxidant capacity.

Effect of alcoholic fermentation on the carotenoid composition and provitamin A content of orange juice

Orange juice is considered a rich source of carotenoids, which are thought to have diverse biological functions. In recent years, a fermentation process has been carried out in fruits resulting in products that provide higher concentrations of bioactive compounds than their original substrates. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of a controlled alcoholic fermentation process (15 days) on the carotenoid composition of orange juice. Twenty-two carotenoids were identified in samples. The carotenoid profile was not modified as result of the fermentation. Total carotenoid content and provitamin A value significantly increased from day 0 (5.37 mg/L and 75.32 RAEs/L, respectively) until day 15 (6.65 mg/L and 90.57 RAEs/L, respectively), probably due to a better extractability of the carotenoids from the food matrix as a result of processing. Therefore, the novel beverage produced could provide a rich source of carotenoids and exert healthy effects similar to those of orange juice.

Ultrafast Time-resolved Absorption Spectroscopy of Geometric Isomers of Xanthophylls

This paper presents an ultrafast optical spectroscopic investigation of the excited state energies, lifetimes and spectra of specific geometric isomers of neoxanthin, violaxanthin, lutein, and zeaxanthin. All-trans- and 15,15'-cis-beta-carotene were also examined. The spectroscopy was done on molecules purified by HPLC frozen immediately to inhibit isomerization. The spectra were taken at 77 K to maintain the configurations and to provide better spectral resolution than seen at room temperature. The kinetics reveal that for all of the molecules except neoxanthin, the S(1) state lifetime of the cis-isomers is shorter than that of the all-trans isomers. The S(1) excited state energies of all the isomers were determined by recording S(1) --> S(2) transient absorption spectra. The results obtained in this manner at cryogenic temperatures provide an unprecedented level of precision in the measurement of the S(1) energies of these xanthophylls, which are critical components in light-harvesting pigment-protein complexes of green plants.