Kefir Enriched with Carob (Ceratonia siliqua L.) Leaves Extract as a New Ingredient during a Gluten-Free Bread-Making Process

Plant-Based Antioxidants in Gluten-Free Bread Production: Sources, Technological and Sensory Aspects, Enhancing Strategies and Constraints

The recognized contribution of antioxidant compounds to overall health maintenance and spotted deficiencies in celiac patients' diets has driven more intensive research regarding antioxidant compounds' inclusion in gluten-free bread (GFB) production during the last decade. The presented review gathered information that provided insights into plant-based antioxidant sources which are applicable in GFB production through the resulting changes in the technological, sensory, and nutritional quality of the resulting antioxidant-enriched GFB. The influence of the bread-making process on the antioxidant compounds' content alteration and applied methods for their quantification in GFB matrices were also discussed, together with strategies for enhancing the antioxidant compounds' content, their bioaccessibility, and their bioavailability, highlighting the existing contradictions and constraints. The addition of plant-based antioxidant compounds generally improved the antioxidant content and activity of GFB, without a profound detrimental effect on its technological quality and sensory acceptability, and with the extent of the improvement being dependent on the source richness and the amount added. The determination of a pertinent amount and source of plant-based antioxidant material that will result in the production of GFB with desirable nutritional, sensory, and technological quality, as well as biological activity, remains a challenge to be combated by elucidation of the potential mechanism of action and by the standardization of quantification methods for antioxidant compounds.

Synthesis and Characterization of a Biopolymer Pectin/Ethanolic Extract from Olive Mill Wastewater: In Vitro Safety and Efficacy Tests on Skin Wound Healing

Wound-healing delay is one of the major problems of type 2 diabetes, representing also a clinical emergency in non-healing chronic wounds. Natural antioxidants show interesting wound-healing properties, including those extracted from waste derived from olive oil production. Olive mill wastewater is one of the main by-products of the olive oil-making process, and it is rich in high-value secondary metabolites, mainly hydroxytyrosol. We proposed an eco-friendly extraction method, employing both ultrasound-assisted and Soxhlet techniques and ethanol as a solvent, to recover valuable molecules from Roggianella cv (Olea europea L.) olive mill wastewater, which was further entrapped in a pectin polymer via an enzymatic reaction using porcine pancreatic lipase. Pectin, in combination with other substances, promoted and accelerated wound healing and demonstrated good potential to produce a biomedical conjugate for wound treatment. The antioxidant activity of the extracts and conjugate were evaluated against lipophilic (IC50 equal to 0.152 mg mL-1) and hydrophilic (IC50 equal to 0.0371 mg mL-1) radical species as well as the in vitro cytotoxicity via NRU, h-CLAT, and a wound-healing scratch assay and assessment. The pectin conjugate did not exert hemolytic effects on the peripheral blood, demonstrating interesting wound-healing properties due to its ability to stimulate cell proliferation in a dose-dependent manner.

Exploring Carob (Ceratonia siliqua L.): A Comprehensive Assessment of Its Characteristics, Ethnomedicinal Uses, Phytochemical Aspects, and Pharmacological Activities

The carob tree (Ceratonia siliqua L.) is currently considered one of the most valuable fruit and forest trees in various fields and sectors of activity. It is a versatile plant, belonging to the Fabaceae family. It is widely used in traditional medicine to treat many diseases such as diabetes, hypertension, and gastrointestinal disorders, given that all its parts (leaves, flowers, pods, seeds, wood, bark, and roots) are useful and hold value in many areas. Its importance has increased significantly in recent years. Originating from the Middle East, it is recognized for its ecological and industrial significance. Previous studies conducted on Ceratonia siliqua L. have revealed the presence of several compounds, including polyphenols, flavonoids, carbohydrates, minerals, and proteins. The carob tree demonstrates antihypertensive, antidepressant, anti-obesity, and antihyperglycemic activities. This plant is known for its medicinal and therapeutic virtues. Moreover, it is particularly interesting to consider the pharmacological activities of the major phytochemical compounds present in the different extracts of this plant, such as phenolic acids, for example, coumaric and gallic acids, as well as flavonoids such as kaempferol and quercetin. Therefore, this review aims to analyze some aspects of this plant, especially the taxonomy, cytogeography, traditional uses, phytochemical constituents, and pharmacological activities of Ceratonia siliqua L., in addition to its biological properties.

Wine Lees as Source of Antioxidant Molecules: Green Extraction Procedure and Biological Activity

An ultrasound-assisted extraction method, employing ethanol and water as solvents at low temperature (30 °C) and reduced time (15 min), was proposed to extract bioactive molecules from different cultivars (Magliocco Canino, Magliocco Rosato, Gaglioppo, and Nocera Rosso) of wine lees. All the extract yields were evaluated and their contents of phenolic acids, flavonoids, and total polyphenols were determined by means of colorimetric assays and high-performance liquid chromatography coupled with diode-array detection (HPLC-DAD) and Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) techniques. Radical scavenging assays were performed and the Magliocco Canino extracted with a hydroalcoholic mixture returned the best results both against ABTS (0.451 mg mL−1) and DPPH (0.395 mg mL−1) radicals. The chemometric algorithms principal component analysis (PCA) and partial least square regression (PLS) were used to process the data obtained from all qualitative–quantitative sample determinations with the aim of highlighting data patterns and finding possible correlations between composition and antioxidant features of the different wine lees cultivars and the extraction procedures. Wine lees from Magliocco Canino and Magliocco Rosato were found to be the best vegetable matrices in terms of metabolite content and antioxidant properties. The components extracted with alcoholic or hydroalcoholic solvents, specifically (−)-epigallocatechin gallate, chlorogenic acid, and trans-caftaric acid, were found to be correlated with the antioxidant capacity of the extracts. Multivariate data processing was able to identify the compounds related to the antioxidant features. Two PLS models were optimized by using their concentration levels to predict the IC50 values of the extracts in terms of DPPH and ABTS with high values of correlation coefficient R2, 0.932 and 0.824, respectively, and a prediction error lower than 0.07. Finally, cellular (SH-SY5Y cells) antioxidant assays were performed on the best extract (the hydroalcoholic extract of Magliocco Canino cv) to confirm its biological performance against radical species. All these recorded data strongly outline the aptness of valorizing wine lees as a valuable source of antioxidants.

Structural and Physiological Traits of Compound Leaves of Ceratonia siliqua Trees Grown in Urban and Suburban Ambient Conditions

Ceratonia siliqua L. (carob tree) is an endemic plant to the eastern Mediterranean region. In the present study, anatomical and physiological traits of successively grown compound leaves (i.e., the first, third, fifth and seventh leaves) of C. siliqua were investigated in an attempt to evaluate their growth under urban and suburban environmental conditions. Chlorophyll and phenolic content, as well as the specific leaf area of the compound leaves were determined. Structural traits of leaflets (i.e., thickness of palisade and spongy parenchyma, abaxial and adaxial epidermis, as well as abaxial and adaxial periclinal wall) were also investigated in expanding and fully expanded leaflets. Fully expanded leaflets from urban sites exhibited increased thickness of the lamina and the palisade parenchyma, while the thickness of the spongy parenchyma was thicker in suburban specimens. The palisade tissue was less extended than the spongy tissue in expanding leaflets, while the opposite held true for the expanded leaflets. Moreover, the thickness of the adaxial and the abaxial epidermises, as well as the adaxial and abaxial periclinal wall were higher in suburban leaflets. The chlorophyll content increased concomitantly with the specific leaf area (SLA) of both expanding and expanded leaflets, and strong positive correlations were detected, while the phenolic content declined with the increased SLA of expanding and expanded leaflets. It is noteworthy that the SLA of expanding leaflets in the suburban site was comparable to the SLA of expanded leaflets experiencing air pollution in urban sites; the size and the mass of leaf blades of C. siliqua possess adaptive features to air pollution. These results, linked to the functional structure of expanding and expanded successive foliar tissues, provide valuable assessment information coordinated with an adaptive process and yield of carob trees exposed to the considered ambient conditions, which have not hitherto been published.

Ceratonia siliqua leaves ethanol extracts exert anti-nociceptive and anti-inflammatory effects

Background

Ceratonia siliqua L. (Leguminosae) has neuroprotective, mutagenic, hypotensive, anti-bacterial, hypoglycaemic, and anti-inflammatory effects through extracts from its leaves. Therefore, the aim of this study is to assess the anti-nociceptive activity of ethanol extracts of Ceratonia siliqua leaves.

Methods

Ethanol extract of Ceratonia siliqua leaves were studied using well-established animal models of inflammation and pain. A hot plate latency assay (55 °C) was used to assess the analgesic effect of 10, 31.6, 100, and 316 mg/kg doses of ethanol extracts in addition to paw licking time in early and late phase using a formalin-induced paw licking assay test. Paw oedema induction using carrageenan and cotton pellet granuloma assays were used to assess the anti-inflammatory effect of 10, 31.6, 100, and 316 mg/kg doses of ethanol extract.

Results

The ethanol extract of Ceratonia siliqua leaves reduces paw licking time in early and late phase after formalin injection. The same effect was also observed when the hotplate test was performed. Ethanol extract of Ceratonia siliqua leaves caused dose dependent inhibition in paw oedema after the injection of carrageenan and cotton pellet granuloma in mice. These effects were not antagonized when opioid receptors were blocked by naloxone (5 mg/kg). The preliminary phytochemical analysis of the ethanol extract of Ceratonia siliqua leaves showed the presence of tannins, alkaloids, flavonoids and terpenoids.

Conclusion

The present data indicate that ethanol extract of Ceratonia siliqua leaves might possess anti-inflammatory and anti-nociception properties and should be considered for further therapeutic research.