Antioxidant activity applying an improved ABTS radical cation decolorization assay.

Co-Planar Stereotaxic Atlas of the Human Brain—3-Dimensional Proportional System: An Approach to Cerebral Imaging, J. Talairach, P. Tournoux. Georg Thieme Verlag, New York (1988), 122 pp., 130 figs. DM 268

The use of and search for drugs and dietary supplements derived from plants have accelerated in recent years. Ethnopharmacologists, botanists, microbiologists, and natural-products chemists are combing the Earth for phytochemicals and “leads” which could be developed for treatment of infectious diseases. While 25 to 50% of current pharmaceuticals are derived from plants, none are used as antimicrobials. Traditional healers have long used plants to prevent or cure infectious conditions; Western medicine is trying to duplicate their successes. Plants are rich in a wide variety of secondary metabolites, such as tannins, terpenoids, alkaloids, and flavonoids, which have been found in vitro to have antimicrobial properties. This review attempts to summarize the current status of botanical screening efforts, as well as in vivo studies of their effectiveness and toxicity. The structure and antimicrobial properties of phytochemicals are also addressed. Since many of these compounds are currently available as unregulated botanical preparations and their use by the public is increasing rapidly, clinicians need to consider the consequences of patients self-medicating with these preparations.

Plant Products as Antimicrobial Agents

http://www.dietcan.net/docs/Polifenoles%20en%20alimentos%20y%20biodisponibilidad.pdf

Polyphenols: food sources and bioavailability

This review summarizes the multifaceted aspects of antioxidants and the basic kinetic models of inhibited autoxidation and analyzes the chemical principles of antioxidant capacity assays. Depending upon the reactions involved, these assays can roughly be classified into two types:  assays based on hydrogen atom transfer (HAT) reactions and assays based on electron transfer (ET). The majority of HAT-based assays apply a competitive reaction scheme, in which antioxidant and substrate compete for thermally generated peroxyl radicals through the decomposition of azo compounds. These assays include inhibition of induced low-density lipoprotein autoxidation, oxygen radical absorbance capacity (ORAC), total radical trapping antioxidant parameter (TRAP), and crocin bleaching assays. ET-based assays measure the capacity of an antioxidant in the reduction of an oxidant, which changes color when reduced. The degree of color change is correlated with the sample's antioxidant concentrations. ET-based assays include th...

The Chemistry behind Antioxidant Capacity Assays

Background Clinical trial registration has become a valuable tool that can be used to track the status and nature of trials conducted on a specific topic. This approach has been applied to many areas of research, but less is known about the characteristics and trends over time of clinical trials focused on diet and health. The aim of this study was to analyze diet-related clinical trials registered on the National Institute of Health “ClinicalTrials.gov” web platform in the last 10 years, to list and describe their characteristics, and to identify possible gaps to be filled in the future research. Methods A search was performed on the ClinicalTrials.gov database. Intervention studies registered from January 2010 to December 2020, conducted on adults, with a follow-up of ≥2 weeks, evaluating the impact of different diets on all outcomes except those assessed with scales or questionnaires were considered. Results At the end of the selection process, a total of 1,016 registered clinical trials were identified and included in the analysis. The most investigated dietary approaches were balanced diets (n = 381 trials), followed by those based on a modification of macronutrients (n = 288) and time-restricted feeding and intermittent fasting diets (n = 140). The main measured outcomes included anthropometric parameters and body composition (57.8%), glycemic control parameters (49.7%), lipid parameters (40.1%), inflammatory markers (29.1%), and blood pressure and/or heart rate (24.5%). A growing body of studies also focused on microbiota and host metabolism (17.8%). Most studies had a duration of less than 12 weeks (~60%), and more than 90% of studies enrolled volunteers with overweight/obesity or other diseases. Regarding aging, only 21 studies focused only on older adults. Conclusion The number of studies investigating the relationship between diet and health has increased over the years. Despite the growing interest in the topic, there are some gaps, such as the limited duration of most trials, the underrepresentation of some population groups, and the limited number of studies for some diets that, although popular in the population, lack robust scientific evidence.

/pdf/diet-and-health-from-registered-trials-on-clinicaltrials-gov-3k1myrun.pdf

DIet and Health From reGIstered Trials on ClinicalTrials.gov: The DIGIT Study

Gli studi funzionali con PET e fMRI hanno dimostrato zone di attivazione nella corteccia motorio-sensoriale primaria ipsilaterale, che appare spazialmente piu estesa nell'emisfero dominante durante il movimento delle dita.Questo studio analizza la presenza e la distribuzione spaziale controlaterale, bilaterale ed ipsilaterale della rappresentazione motoria di entrambi gli emisferi con RM ecoplanare.L'esame RM funzionale ha dimostrato differenti popolazioni neuronali con caratteristiche funzioni specifiche in zone anatomicamente definite. Non si e osservata rappresentazione del movimento puramente monolaterale; la componente ipsilaterale di attivazione corticale sembra riflettere una popolazione neuronale attivata durante movimenti sia della mano destra che sinistra, con estensione maggiore nell'emisfero dominante.Questa popolazione bilaterale e presumibilmente coinvolta nella pianificazione del movimento. Una popolazione secondaria, attivata solo durante il movimento controlaterale, e stata identificata i...

Aree corticali di rappresentazione bilaterale dei movimenti della mano

Editorial: The role of front-of-pack labeling in making informed and healthy food choices

EDITORIAL article Front. Nutr., 03 February 2022Sec. Nutritional Epidemiology Volume 9 - 2022 | https://doi.org/10.3389/fnut.2022.843302 

/pdf/editorial-edible-insects-from-farm-to-fork-1osfhc4k.pdf

Mauro Serafini

Papers

DIet and Health From reGIstered Trials on ClinicalTrials.gov: The DIGIT Study

Aree corticali di rappresentazione bilaterale dei movimenti della mano

Editorial: The role of front-of-pack labeling in making informed and healthy food choices

Editorial: Edible Insects: From Farm to Fork

A new sensitive and specific hplc method for measuring polyphenol plasma and urinary levels after green tea ingestion