Planted forests are increasing in many upland regions worldwide, but knowledge about their potential effects on algal communities of catchment lakes is relatively unknown. Here, the effects of afforestation were investigated using palaeolimnology at six upland lake sites in the north-west of Ireland subject to different extents of forest plantation cover (4-64% of catchment area). (210) Pb-dated sediment cores were analysed for carotenoid pigments from algae, stable isotopes of bulk carbon (δ(13) C) and nitrogen (δ(15) N), and C/N ratios. In lakes with >50% of their catchment area covered by plantations, there were two- to sixfold increases in pigments from cryptophytes (alloxanthin) and significant but lower increases (39-116%) in those from colonial cyanobacteria (canthaxanthin), but no response from biomarkers of total algal abundance (β-carotene). In contrast, lakes in catchments with <20% afforestation exhibited no consistent response to forestry practices, although all lakes exhibited fluctuations in pigments and geochemical variables due to peat cutting and upland grazing prior to forest plantation. Taken together, patterns suggest that increases in cyanobacteria and cryptophyte abundance reflect a combination of mineral and nutrient enrichment associated with forest fertilization and organic matter influx which may have facilitated growth of mixotrophic taxa. This study demonstrates that planted forests can alter the abundance and community structure of algae in upland humic lakes of Ireland and Northern Ireland, despite long histories of prior catchment disturbance.
Saffron, Crocus sativus (Iridaceae), is a perennial herb, which earned its popularity as both medicine and spice. It is an inhabitant of different mountainous regions of Asia Minor to Greece, Western Asia, Egypt, and India. The benefits of saffron as an antidepressant are well-documented. Almost 150 volatile and nonvolatile compounds are obtained from the chemical analysis of this plant. Fewer than 50 constituents elucidated and identified so far showed phytochemical characteristics. The major bioactive compounds identified are safranal, crocin, and picrocrocin, which are responsible for its aroma as well as its bitter taste. This review is an attempt to encompass the methods of analysis and pharmacodynamic and pharmacokinetic properties of saffron followed by its efficacious and safe potential.
Osteoarthritis is a degenerative joint disease which primarily affects the articular cartilage and subchondral bones. Since there is an underlying localized inflammatory component in the pathogenesis of osteoarthritis, compounds like tocotrienol with anti-inflammatory properties may be able to retard its progression. This study aimed to determine the effects of oral tocotrienol supplementation on the articular cartilage and subchondral bone in a rat model of osteoarthritis induced by monosodium iodoacetate (MIA). Thirty male Sprague-Dawley rats (three-month-old) were randomized into five groups. Four groups were induced with osteoarthritis (single injection of MIA at week 0) and another served as the sham group. Three of the four groups with osteoarthritis were supplemented with annatto tocotrienol at 50, 100 and 150 mg/kg/day orally for five weeks. At week 5, all rats were sacrificed, and their tibial-femoral joints were harvested for analysis. The results indicated that the groups which received annatto tocotrienol at 100 and 150 mg/kg/day had lower histological scores and cartilage remodeling markers. Annatto tocotrienol at 150 mg/kg/day significantly lowered the osteocalcin levels and osteoclast surface of subchondral bone. In conclusion, annatto tocotrienol may potentially retard the progression of osteoarthritis. Future studies to confirm its mechanism of joint protection should be performed.
Three species of Malaysian edible seaweed (Eucheuma denticulatum, Sargassum polycystum and Caulerpa lentillifera) were analyzed for their carotenoid composition using a combination of high-performance thin layer chromatography (HPTLC) and ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography-electrospray ionization-tandem mass spectrometry (UHPLC-ESI-MS/MS), while the antioxidant capacities were determined by 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) and oxygen radical absorbance capacity (ORAC) assays. The HPTLC analysis exhibited a distinct carotenoid pattern among the three seaweed groups. The UHPLC-ESI-MS/MS analysis showed fucoxanthin as the major carotenoid present in S. polycystum while lutein and zeaxanthin in E. denticulatum. For C. lentillifera, β-carotene and canthaxanthin were the major carotenoids. Some of the carotenoids, such as rubixanthin, dinoxanthin, diatoxanthin and antheraxanthin, were also tentatively detected in E. denticulatum and S. polycystum. For antioxidant activity, S. polycystum (20 %) and E. denticulatum (1128 μmol TE/g) showed the highest activity in the DPPH and ORAC assays, respectively. The findings suggest the three edible varieties of seaweeds may provide a good dietary source with a potential to reduce antioxidative stress.
Pumpkin (Cucurbita maxima) is a vegetable crop which is commonly consumed as vegetables or incorporated into food products. Pumpkin flesh was reported abundant with carotenoid compounds includes α-carotene, β-carotene, β-cryptoxanthin, lutein and zeaxanthin. As this antioxidant related to the colour pigment, these nutrients highly potential to be in other parts of pumpkin such as peel and seed. Therefore, the aim of this was to determine the total lutein content in different parts of pumpkin and their antioxidant properties. The pumpkin would be collected and evaluated at the commercial maturity stage (60% to fully orange-yellow of fruit peel). The presence of the lutein properties using DPPH, FRAP and ABTS assays in different parts of pumpkin was tested by using microplate spectrophotometer and analysed statistically with SPSS version 20. Among of all pumpkin fruit parts, flesh presented the highest concentration of potential lutein extracts, followed by peel and seed, respectively. On the contrary, potential lutein extracts from the pumpkin peel had the highest antioxidant activity in terms of DPPH, FRAP and ABTS assays when compared to the lutein extracts in flesh and seeds. This study indicates that the potential lutein from Cucurbita maxima especially peel may be the alternative to be used as both natural antioxidants in food products due to increasing demand for natural food preservatives. Therefore, this study may act as a source for others to further study to optimize the usage of pumpkin by-products
Tocotrienol has been shown to prevent bone loss in animal models of postmenopausal osteoporosis, but the low oral bioavailability might limit its use. A self-emulsifying drug delivery system (SEDDS) could increase the bioavailability of tocotrienol. However, evidence of this system in improving the skeletal effects of tocotrienol is scanty. This study aims to evaluate the therapeutic efficacy of annatto tocotrienol with SEDDS in a rat model of postmenopausal bone loss. Ten-month-old female Sprague Dawley rats were randomized into six groups. The baseline group was euthanatized at the onset of the study. Four other groups underwent ovariectomy to induce estrogen deficiency. The sham underwent similar surgery procedure, but their ovaries were retained. Eight weeks after surgery, the ovariectomized rats received one of the four different regimens orally daily: (a) SEDDS, (b) annatto tocotrienol [60 mg/kg body weight (b.w.)] without SEDDS, (c) annatto-tocotrienol (60 mg/kg b.w.) with SEDDS, (d) raloxifene (1 mg/kg b.w.). After eight weeks of treatment, blood was collected for the measurement of delta-tocotrienol level and oxidative stress markers. The rats were euthanized and their bones were harvested for the evaluation of the bone microstructure, calcium content and strength. Circulating delta-tocotrienol level was significantly higher in rats receiving annatto tocotrienol with SEDDS compared to the group receiving unformulated annatto-tocotrienol (p
Microalgae can produce various natural products such as pigments, enzymes, unique fatty acids and vitamin that benefit humans. The objective of the study is to study the bioaccessibility of carotenoids (β-carotene and lycopene) and vitamin E (α- and β-tocopherol) of Nannochloropsis oculata and Chaetoceros calcitrans. Analyses were carried out for both the powdered forms of N. oculata and C. calcitrans, and the dried extract forms of N. oculata and C. calcitrans. In vitro digestion method together with RP-HPLC was used to determine the bioaccessibility of carotenoids and vitamin E for both forms of microalgae. Powdered form of N. oculata had the highest bioaccessibility of β-carotene (28.0 ± 0.6 g kg-1), followed by dried extract N. oculata (21.5 ± 1.1 g kg-1), dried extract C. calcitrans (16.9 ± 0.1 g kg-1), and powdered C. calcitrans (15.6 ± 0.1 g kg-1). For lycopene, dried extract of N. oculata had the highest bioaccessibility of lycopene (42.6 ± 1.1 g kg-1), followed by dried extract C. calcitrans (41.9 ± 0.6 g kg-1), powdered C. calcitrans (39.7 ± 0.1 g kg-1) and powdered N. oculata (32.6 ± 0.7 g kg-1). Dried extract C. calcitrans had the highest bioaccessibility of α-tocopherol (72.1 ± 1.2 g kg-1). However, β-tocopherol was not detected in both dried extract and powdered form of C. calcitrans. In conclusion, all samples in their dried extract forms were found to have significantly higher bioaccessibilities than their powdered forms. This may be due to the disruption of the food matrix contributing to a higher bioaccessibility of nutrients shown by the dried extract forms.
Staphylococcus kloosii, an orange pigment-producing bacterium, was isolated from the respiratory tree of Holothuria (Mertensiothuria) leucospilota (Brandt 1835) from Teluk Nipah, Pangkor Island, Perak, Malaysia. This report is the first documentation of this Gram-positive strain, referred to as Strain 68 in Malaysia. A partial 16S ribosomal RNA gene sequence of the mesophilic strain has been registered with GenBank (National Center for Biotechnology Information, US National Library of Medicine) with accession number JX102547. Phylogenetic analysis using the neighbour-joining method further supported the identification of Strain 68 as S. kloosii. The circular strain produced orange pigments on tryptone glucose yeast extract agar (TGYEA) and in nutrient broth (NB) at approximately pH 7. The visible spectra of ethanolic and methanolic pigment extracts of the bacterial strain were considered identical with λmax at 426, 447 and 475 nm and λmax at 426, 445 and 473 nm, respectively. Both visible spectra resemble the visible spectra of lutein, which is a commercial carotenoid; however, further analyses are required to confirm the identity of this pigment. The methanolic extracts of the intracellular pigments comprised at least three pigment compounds: an orange pigment compound (major compound), a yellow pigment compound (the least polar) and a pink pigment compound (the most polar). These findings are the first documentation of the pigment composition of S. kloosii as no such record could be found to date.
The work entails a novel strategy of formulating the lycopene loaded whey protein isolate nanoparticles (LYC-WPI-NPs) solely using the rational blend of biomacromolecule without using equipment-intensive techniques. The LYC-WPI-NPs were fabricated as a substantial drug delivery platform, with maximum entrapment, spatial and controlled release manners, exceptional plasma concentration, and perspective for discrepancy delivery of therapeutics. Prepared nano-formulations were measured in ultra-fine size (100-350 nm) with sphere-shaped. The percent lycopene entrapment of prepared LYC-WPI-NPs was estimated in the range to 50 and 65%. In vitro percent cumulative release study demonstrated deaden and extended release i.e. approximately 75% following 16th h. The in vitro percent cell survival (cytotoxicity study) of prepared nanoparticles was evaluated against MCF-7 breast cancer cells by MTT based colorimetric assay. Sub-cellular localization of lycopene when delivered by LYC-WPI-NPs was assessed by HPLC (high performance liquid chromatography). The WPI-NPs enhance the oral bioavailability of lycopene by controlling its release from nano-formulation and facilitating its absorption through lymphatic pathways. Prophylactic anticancer efficacy of LYC-WPI-NPs was evaluated thereafter on experimentally induced breast cancer animal model. Conclusively, it may quite reasonable that lycopene loaded protein nanoparticles are competent to improve the biopharmaceutical attributes of lycopene and demonstrated prophylactic anticancer activity, decrease tumor proliferation and increase the survival rate of treated animals, thus signifying their feasible usefulness in cancer therapeutic and intervention.
Green leafy vegetables are good sources of carotenoids. Generally, food composition databases related to raw foods are available, but data on cooked foods in Malaysia are still lacking. Since carotenoids are prone to degradation during cooking processes, the present study was undertaken to evaluate the extent of nutrient loss in vegetables subjected to two conventional cooking methods, which were boiling and stir-frying with cooking durations of 4 and 8 minutes. The vegetables selected were Chinese cabbage (Brassica Pekinensis var. cephalata), swamp cabbage (Ipomoea aquatica), spinach (Spinacia oleracea), Ceylon spinach (Basella rubra), red spinach (Amaranthus gangeticus), white spinach (Amaranthus viridis) and tapioca shoots (Manihot utilissima). Percentage losses of nutrients after cooking treatment were calculated based on retention factors. Results obtained showed that stir-frying had reduced lutein content for all vegetables ranging from 8-89% while the effect of boiling for lutein varied (0-428%) with different vegetables at both cooking durations of 4 and 8 min. Boiling for 8 min increased retention of β carotene in all vegetables ranging from 18-380% except for Chinese cabbage and spinach compared with 4 min, while stir-frying generally increased the retention of β-carotene for all vegetables 2-3 times except for spinach. Cooked vegetables have variations in carotenoids composition brought by varying cooking conditions (time and temperature), type of vegetables and the interaction between cooking methods and type of vegetables.
Although Malaysia is one of the important pineapple fruit producing and exporting country, the production of MD-2 pineapple fruit only started in 2009. Pineapple fruit has been harvested at different ripening stages for different markets. The information on Malaysian grown MD-2 pineapple fruit quality is lacking. Therefore this work was carried out with the aim to determine physicochemical quality, antioxidant compounds and activity of MD-2 pineapple fruit at five ripening stages. Ripening stage affected physicochemical quality of MD-2 pineapple fruit. Soluble solids concentration of MD-2 pineapple fruit increased from 15.41 to 18.02% SSC when fruit ripened from stage 1 to 4 and no significant difference was found in fruit between stage 4 and 5. The ascorbic acid content decreased while total carotenoids content increased as ripening stage advanced. The total phenolic content of both 80% methanol and water extraction solvents increased significantly as fruit ripened from stage 1 to 3 and reduced as fruit ripened to stage 5. The antioxidant activity of MD-2 pineapple fruit as assayed using DPPH, FRAP and ABTS showed similar trend as total phenolic content. These results suggest that ripening stage affect MD-2 pineapple fruit quality and nutritional values.
Studies were conducted to assess the percutaneous absorption of the triacyglycerols (TAGs), tocols and carotenoids present in crude and refined palm oil. In vitro experiments using upright Franz diffusion cells were employed to investigate the permeability of these compounds across full thickness human skin and into the receptor solution. Cetrimide, a cationic surfactant was chosen to be used as a solubilising agent in the receptor phase with an optimum concentration of 3.0 mg/mL and was able to provide sink conditions throughout the permeation. TAGs, tocols and carotenoids all permeated human skin from crude palm oil (CPO), whereas only TAGs permeated when refined palm oil (RPO) was used. Of the TAGs, oleic acid-containing TAGs was preferentially absorbed despite palmitic acid being the most prevalent fatty acid (FA) in TAGs. Tocols in the form of α-T3 showed the highest permeation followed by γ-T3, α-T and the lowest permeation was observed for δ-T3. Carotenoids (α-carotene and β-carotene) also showed an appreciable amount of permeation from CPO.
Microalgae are important biological resources that have a wide range of biotechnological
applications. Due to their high nutritional value, microalgae such as Spirulina and Chlorella are being mass cultured for health food. A variety of high-value products including polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA), pigments such as carotenoids and phycobiliproteins, and bioactive compounds are useful as nutraceuticals and pharmaceuticals, as well as for industrial applications. In terms of environmental biotechnology, microalgae are useful for bioremediation of agro-industrial wastewater, and as a biological tool for assessment and monitoring of environmental toxicants such as heavy metals, pesticides and pharmaceuticals. In recent years, microalgae have attracted much interest due to their potential use as feedstock for biodiesel production. In Malaysia, there has been active research on microalgal biotechnology for the past 30 years, tapping into the potential of our
rich microalgal resources for high-value products and applications in wastewater treatment and assessment of environmental toxicants. A culture collection of microalgae has been established, and this serves as an important resource for microalgal biotechnology
research. Microalgal biotechnology should continue to be regarded as a priority area of research in this country.
Oil palm (Elaeis guineensis Jacq.) fronds (OPF) are the most abundant oil palm solid wastes that are generated during oil palm agriculture and harvest. Palm oil and some other palm wastes have been reported to contain high concentrations of carotenoids with vital bioactive properties. However, the extraction and quantification of carotenoids from OPF have not been reported. In this study, ultrasonic-assisted extraction, HPLC-FLD for quantification, and response surface methodology (RSM) for optimization of β-carotene, lutein, and zeaxanthin from OPF extracts were investigated. The effects of extraction temperature (X1: 30-70°C), extraction time (X2: 10-50 min), and solvent-sample ratio (X3: 10-50 mL/g) on the recovery of β-carotene (Y1), lutein (Y2), and zeaxanthin (Y3) were investigated using three-level Box-Behnken design (BBD) experiment. At a desirability of 1, the optimum extraction conditions for β-carotene (30.14°C, 37.11 min, and 23.18 mL/g), lutein (30.00°C, 39.09 min, and 19.24 mL/g), and zeaxanthin (30.09°C, 36.76 min, and 22.38 mL/g) yielded carotenoid concentrations of 17.95 μg/g dry weight (DW), 261.99 μg/g DW, and 29.99 μg/g DW, respectively.
This study investigated the recovery of phytochemical antioxidants in Dacryodes rostrata fruit using different extraction solvents. The effects of solvent of varying polarities with sequential extraction method on the recovery of phenolics, flavonoids, carotenoids and anthocyanins from different parts of the fruit (seed, pulp and peel) were determined. Their antioxidant activities were further determined using DPPH radical, ferric reducing antioxidant power (FRAP), hydroxyl radical scavenging, superoxide anion radical scavenging and phosphomolybdenum method. Dacryodes Rostrata seed had the highest total phenolic content with 50% ethanol as the most efficient extraction solvent. The highest total flavonoid content was obtained in ethyl acetate extract of fruit pulp, whereas peel extracted with hexane and 50% ethanol was the highest in total carotenoid content and total anthocyanin content, respectively. The seed extracted with 50% ethanol exhibited the strongest DPPH radical scavenging activity. Iron chelating activity measured by FRAP assay was the best in seed extracts, particularly in those polar extracts derived from water and 50% ethanol. Antioxidant activities of 50% ethanol extract of D. rostrata seed was the highest when determined by FRAP and phosphomolydenum assays. However, the influence of extraction solvents is not distinctly shown by hydroxyl radical and superoxide anion radical scavenging activities. This is the first report on the effect of various extraction solvents on the recovery of phytochemicals in D. rostrata fruit parts and the seed of D. rostrata is a potential source of polar antioxidants.
Thirty-six adult male SD rats, weighing 200-250 g were used in this study. Dietary obesity was induced by feeding high-fat diet (HFD) for 12 weeks. One group of animal (n=6) served as normal control which received normal diet from the beginning to the end of the study. The other 30 male obese animals induced by HFD were randomly divided into five experimental groups: The group which received high-fat diet considered as a negative control and the other four groups were treated with saffron extract and crocin in low and high dosages of 40 and 80 mg/kg for 8 weeks. At the end of treatment period, kidney and pancreas were removed and stained with hematoxylin and eosin (H&E). There were significant histopathological changes, such as tubular degenerative, vascular congestion and interstitial inflammation in the kidney and extensive pancreatic adipose tissue infiltration in high-fat diet rats group when compared with normal control. The results showed less significant histopathological changes of the kidney and also moderate pancreatic adipose tissue infiltration in the groups treated with crocin. Interestingly saffron extract dose-independently displayed significant renal protective effect while a significant decrease in pancreatic adipose tissue infiltration was observed in obese rat treated with high dose of saffron extract (80 mg/kg). From these results, it can be concluded that consumption of saffron extract reduced the untoward effects of high-fat diet in kidney and pancreas of high-fat diet induced obese rats.
Effect of various cooking methods on antioxidant content and radical scavenging activity of pumpkin was evaluated. Pumpkin (Cucurbita moschata) was boiled and stir-fried for 2, 4 and 6 minutes respectively. Beta-carotene and lycopene were determined using HPLC and total phenolics measured using Folin-Ciocalteu method. The free radical scavenging activity of the samples was determined using 1, 1-diphenyl-2 picrylhydrazyl assay. Interestingly, result of the study showed an increase in both beta-carotene (2 to 4 times) and lycopene (17 to 40 times) content of pumpkin after cooking for 2, 4 and 6 minutes. However, the treatment resulted in 18 to 54% losses of total phenolics content of the pumpkin. Nevertheless, the free radical scavenging activity exhibited by cooked pumpkins was found to be high, in the range of 81.1% to 94.6% with IC50 of 1.41 to 1.62 mg ml-1
.
Bioactive compounds from plant sources are generally categorized as natural antioxidants with well-known health benefits. The health-promoting characteristics of natural antioxidants include anti-inflammatory, anti-diabetic, and hepatic effects as well as free radical scavenging. Herein, a comprehensive and comparative review are presented about the effects of conventional (thermal and mechanical) and relatively new (non-thermal) processing methods on phytochemicals and discussed the importance of implementing the use of those methods that could be of very helpful retaining the quality of the bioactive compounds in plant-based foods. Plant-based foods rich in phenolics, vitamin C, carotenoids, and other compounds undergo a range of processing operations before they are consumed. Most of these methods involve thermal treatments of fruits, stems, leaves, and roots. These techniques have varying effects on bioactive compounds and their activities, and the magnitude of these effects depends on process parameters such as temperature, time, and the food matrix. Thermal processing can be detrimental to bioactive compounds while nonthermal procedures may not cause significant deterioration of important health-promoting phytochemicals and in some cases can improve their bio-activity and bio-availability. The detrimental effects of conventional processing on the quality of natural antioxidants have been compared to the effects of innovative nonthermal food treatments such as gamma and ultraviolet irradiation, ultraviolet light, pulsed electric fields, and high hydrostatic pressure.
Pepper of the Capsicum species is a common ingredient in various food preparations by different cultures worldwide. The Capsicum is recognised by its five main domesticated species, namely Capsicum annuum, C. baccatum, C. chinense, C. frutescens and C. pubescens. The genetic diversity in Capsicum offers fruits in wide ranges of morphology and carotenoid profile. Carotenoids enhance the value of pepper from a nutritional standpoint, despite being commonly prized for the pharmacologically active pungent capsaicinoids. Carotenoids of pepper comprise mainly of the unique, powerful and highly stable capsanthin and capsoroubin, together with β-carotene, β-cryptoxanthin, lutein, zeaxanthin, antheraxanthin and violaxanthin. These carotenoids are present at diverse profile and varying levels, biosynthetically connected to the fruit maturity stages. This review describes the health-promoting functional attributes of the carotenoids that are mainly associated with their excellent role as lipophilic antioxidants. Capsicum as a great source of carotenoids is discussed in the aspects of main domesticated species, biosynthesis, pigment profile, antioxidant activity and safety. Findings from a number of in vitro, in vivo and clinical studies provided appreciable evidence on the protective effects of pepper's carotenoids against degenerative diseases. Hence, pepper with its functional carotenoids might be recommended in health-promoting and disease preventing strategies.
Dendrobium Sabin Blue is an important orchid hybrid that has been grown extensively as cut flower, potted plant and is also popular for its deep purplish blue flowers. The most efficient long term conservation method of this hybrid is through cryopreservation. Cryopreservation involving the vitrification method consists of explants exposure to highly concentrated cryoprotective solution followed by freezing rapidly in liquid nitrogen. However, these treatments involved highly concentrated cryoprotectant that could incur toxicity to the explants. Hence, cryopreservation protocol requires biochemical analyses in understanding the damages or injuries occurred during cryopreservation treatments. In this study, biochemical analyses revealed a general reduction in chlorophyll, carotenoid and porphyrin content to 0.40 µg/g F W (thawing stage), 31.50 µg/g F W unloading stage and 2230.41 µg/g F W (thawing stage), respectively in comparison to the control treatments. In addition, increased level in proline content were obtained at different cryopreservation stages with highest level (5.42 µmole/g F W) recorded at the PVS2 dehydration stage. Fluctuated outcomes were obtained in catalase (CAT), ascorbate peroxidase (APX) and peroxidase (POX) enzyme activities in PLBs exposed to different cryopreservation stages. Lowest values recorded for CAT enzyme activity were obtained at the dehydration stage (3.94 U/g). Lowest POX enzyme activities were obtained at the dehydration (122.36 U/g) and growth recovery (106.40 U/g) stages. Additionally, lowest APX enzyme activities values were recorded at the thawing (7.47 U/g) and unloading (7.28 U/g) stages. These have contributed to low regeneration of Dendrobium Sabin Blue protocorm like bodies (PLBs) following cryopreservation. Hence, in the future experimental design, exogenous antioxidant could be included in the cryopreservation procedures to improve the existing protocol.