Frequent anthocyanin consumption improves health and prevents diseases due to its antioxidant activity. Exposure of some plants to high concentrations of heavy metals may increase anthocyanin concentration and thus improve their food quality. This study determined the effect of Cu spraying on hibiscus (Hibiscus sabdariffa L.) leaves at various dosages and number of doses on anthocyanin content, physical and chemical characteristics, and calyces yield. For this purpose, hibiscus genotype Reina Roja was grown under rainfed conditions. During the vegetative stage, Cu was sprayed two, four or six times with 150, 300 and 450 mg L-1. The results indicate that four and six sprayings with 150, 300 and 450 mg Cu L-1 reduced dry calyces yield. Two sprayings at either Cu dosage did not modify calyces yield. Added Cu increased significantly anthocyanin content and titratable acidity and decreased ascorbic acid content in the calyces. Anthocyanin content increased the most (57 and 44%) when Cu was sprayed six times at 300 and 450 mg L-1. The data suggests that two sprayings with 150 mg Cu L-1 could improve nutritional quality of hibiscus extracts without affecting dry calyces yield.

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Effect of foliar copper application on yield and anthocyanin concentration in Hibiscus sabdariffa calyces - Aplicación foliar de cobre sobre el rendimiento y concentración de antocianinas en cálices de Hibiscus sabdariffa

Diabetes is currently a global health problem that is already reported as an epidemic. This metabolic disease, characterized by a disturbance in the carbohydrate, protein, and lipid metabolism, is often accompanied by disorders of several organs. Its treatment is expensive and often difficult to control. Therefore, it seems necessary to search for new drugs and solutions to facilitate therapy and reduce treatment costs. Herbal medicines are becoming more and more popular. Hibiscus sabdariffa (roselle) is a plant that grows wild in a tropical climate. It has been used in folk medicine for thousands of years. Thanks to the numerous active compounds, including polyphenols, polysaccharides, organic acids, or pectins, it is reported to exhibit hypoglycemic, antioxidant, hypotensive, and anti-lipidemic activities and numerous indirect effects that are related to them. The aim of this review was to update the knowledge about the therapeutic effects of roselle in diabetes and its comorbidities based on in vitro, animal, and human studies. After a careful analysis of the scientific literature, it can be stated that roselle is a promising product that can be used either on its own or as an addition to the conventional treatment regimens to prevent or treat diabetes and its accompanying diseases.

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Hibiscus sabdariffa in Diabetes Prevention and Treatment—Does It Work? An Evidence-Based Review

This review article seeks to systematically identify appropriate ways to measure the consumption behavior of organic fruits. The systematic review of the literature was performed according to the criteria of the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines, and the eligibility criteria were declared through the PICOS (population, interventions, comparators, outcomes, and study) tool based on 277 article records scientiometrically identified in both the Journal Citation Report databases from Web of Science. The literature review stages determined a reduced set of articles that presented valid and reliable measurement scales that covered determinant constructs in organic fruit consumer behavior (OFCB). The measurement scale with the best results reported within the screened articles covered the constructs related to health, fear, environment, effort, and economy, allowing it to serve as a reference instrument in further studies on food consumer behavior.

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How to Measure Organic Fruit Consumer Behavior: A Systematic Review

Uncontrolled use of antibiotics has resulted in the emergence of resistant bacteria. It has necessitated the evaluation of antibacterial activities and phylo-diversity of Aloe vera (also called Aloe barbadensis) plants as antimicrobial agent in Nigeria. Biotyped enteric bacilli of 251 strains obtained from fecal samples of patients with various gastro-intestinal complications are profiled for antibiogram. Resistant biotypes were assayed for susceptibility to Aloe vera latex and further evaluated for time-kill kinetics and phylo-diversity. More than 30% of enteric bacilli, including Citrobacter freundii, Escherichia coli and Proteus mirabilis were resistant to cotrimoxazole, ciprofloxacin, and tetracycline respectively at MIC >16 µg/ml (p=0.004). Aloe vera latex significantly inhibited 39.5% resistant enteric biotypes with a significant average reduction of the viable count at 1xMIC and 2xMIC to less than 3.0 Log10CFU/mL after 24 hours. Flavonoids, alkaloids, terpenoids and anthraquinine in anti-enteric sap significantly correlated and regressed with antibacterial activity (p<0.05), while two of the antimicrobial Aloe vera plants showed phylogenetic relatedness with other homologous. Anti-bacteria efficacy of some Nigerian Aloe vera latex could provide alternative therapy, while its phylo-diversity and genomic profiling would offer a promising avenue for identification and development of antimicrobial agents as drug candidates for natural antibiotics.

Antibacterial kinetics and phylogenetic analysis of Aloe vera plants

The drug resistance of bacterial pathogens causes considerable morbidity and death globally, hence there is a crucial necessity for the development of effective antibacterial medicines to address the antibacterial resistance issue. The bioprepared zinc oxide nanoparticles (ZnO-NPs) were prepared utilizing the flower extract of Hibiscus sabdariffa and then characterized using different physicochemical techniques. The antibacterial effectiveness of the bioprepared ZnO-NPs and their synergism with fosfomycin were evaluated using disk diffusion assay against the concerned pathogens. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) investigation of the bioprepared ZnO-NPs showed that their average particle size was 18.93 ± 2.65 nm. Escherichia coli expressed the highest sensitivity to the bioinspired ZnO-NPs with a suppressive zone of 22.54 ± 1.26 nm at a concentration of 50 µg/disk, whereas the maximum synergistic effect of the bioinspired ZnO-NPs with fosfomycin was noticed against Klebsiella pneumoniae strain with synergism ratio of 100.29%. In conclusion, the bioinspired ZnO-NPs demonstrated significant antibacterial and synergistic efficacy with fosfomycin against the concerned nosocomial bacterial pathogens, highlighting the potential of using the ZnO NPs-fosfomycin combination for effective control of nosocomial infections in intensive care units (ICUs) and health care settings. Furthermore, the biogenic ZnO-NPs’ potential antibacterial action against food pathogens such as Salmonella typhimurium and E. coli indicates their potential usage in food packaging applications.

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Synergistic Antibacterial Proficiency of Green Bioformulated Zinc Oxide Nanoparticles with Potential Fosfomycin Synergism against Nosocomial Bacterial Pathogens

Roselle (Hibiscus sabdariffa L.), as an edible flower, has long provided an array of positive effects on human health. This benefit is a result of phenolic compounds that are naturally present mainly in the calyx. Plentiful medicinal remedies and functional foods based on this flower are available worldwide, as supported by the studies of phenolic compounds in recent decades. This paper aims to provide a comprehensive review of the composition, biological activity, and beneficial effects on human health of phenolic compounds in roselle. This review was performed in accordance with the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines. A structured search in the published literature for phenolics compositions in roselle was required prior to the evaluation on the validity of the reported analytical methods. Reliable identification and quantification of phenolic compounds in roselle can be achieved by employing the proper extraction and separation methods. With ample alternative analytical methods discussed here, this review provided an aid for comprehending and selecting the most appropriate method for a particular study. The applications of the analytical methods highlighted indicated that phenolic acids, flavonoids, and their derivatives have been identified and quantified in roselle with a range of biological activities and beneficial effects on human health. It was also disclosed that the composition and concentration of phenolic compounds in roselle vary due to the growth factors, cultivars, and environmental influence. Finally, apart from the research progress carried out with roselle during the last ten years, this review also proposed relevant future works.

Methodologies in the Analysis of Phenolic Compounds in Roselle (Hibiscus sabdariffa L.): Composition, Biological Activity, and Beneficial Effects on Human Health

Manikharda

Papers

Methodologies in the Analysis of Phenolic Compounds in Roselle (Hibiscus sabdariffa L.): Composition, Biological Activity, and Beneficial Effects on Human Health