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Antimicrobial and Antioxidant Natural Compounds in Foods
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Antimicrobial and Antioxidant Natural Compounds in Foods

A special issue of Foods (ISSN 2304-8158). This special issue belongs to the section "Plant Foods".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (10 July 2023) | Viewed by 8212

Special Issue Editor

Dr. Francesca Mariani

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Institute Biological Systems, National Research Council, ISB-CNR, Strada Provinciale 35d, 9, Montelibretti, 00010 Rome, Italy
Interests: medicinal plants; antimicrobial effects; immune adjuvant properties; antitumor properties; wild edible plants

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The use of herbs for nourishment and cure arises from the beginning of human life on Earth. The development of extraction techniques in the 18th and 19th centuries with the aim of discovering bioactive compounds in plant matrices led to the previous strategy of the use of the whole phytocomplex becoming obsolete. However, in the last thirty years, we have witnessed a progressive revaluation and rediscovery of natural compounds both as phytotherapeutics and as healthy foods. In fact, the analysis of the metabolic compositions of different edible medicinal plants and the study of their biological properties are continuously generating new information about these plants’ antioxidant and antimicrobial properties. This Special Issue of Foods aims to collect original contributions on a wide variety of edible medicinal species, both cultivated and growing in the wild, the characterization of which is still incomplete.

Dr. Francesca Mariani
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Foods is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2900 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • medicinal plants
  • edible plants
  • antimicrobial properties
  • antioxidant properties
  • antitumoral properties
  • metabolic profile
  • natural products
  • healthy foods

Published Papers (3 papers)

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Research

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13 pages, 3232 KiB  
Article
Antibacterial Effects of Theaflavins against Staphylococcus aureus and Salmonella paratyphi B: Role of Environmental Factors and Food Matrices
by Jun Wang, Hongyan Shan, Ping Li, Yanan Liu, Xun Zhang, Jingguo Xu and Songnan Li
Foods 2023, 12(13), 2615; https://doi.org/10.3390/foods12132615 - 06 Jul 2023
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1005
Abstract
This study aimed to investigate the effects of different environmental factors (temperature, pH, and NaCl) and food matrices (skimmed milk powder, lecithin, and sucrose) on the antibacterial activity of theaflavins (TFs) against Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus) and Salmonella paratyphi B ( [...] Read more.
This study aimed to investigate the effects of different environmental factors (temperature, pH, and NaCl) and food matrices (skimmed milk powder, lecithin, and sucrose) on the antibacterial activity of theaflavins (TFs) against Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus) and Salmonella paratyphi B (S. paratyphi B). TFs showed a larger diameter of inhibition zone (DIZ, 12.58 ± 0.09 mm–16.36 ± 0.12 mm) value against S. aureus than that of S. paratyphi B (12.42 ± 0.43 mm–15.81 ± 0.24 mm) at the same concentration (2–10 mg/mL). When temperatures were 25–121 °C, the DIZ of TFs against both S. aureus and S. paratyphi B was not significantly different. As pH increased from 2 to 10, their DIZ values decreased significantly from 16.78 ± 0.23 mm to 13.43 ± 0.08 mm and 15.63 ± 0.42 mm to 12.18 ± 0.14 mm, respectively. Their DIZ values increased slightly as the NaCl concentration increased from 0.2 mol/L to 0.8 mol/L, while their DIZ values decreased significantly for skimmed milk powder concentrations in the range of 20–120 g/L. Regarding the concentrations of lecithin and sucrose were 2–12 g/L and 10–60 g/L, their DIZ values showed no significant change against S. paratyphi B, but an increased trend for S. aureus. Under the above different environmental factors and food matrices, TFs maintained excellent antibacterial activity against S. aureus and S. paratyphi B, providing a theoretical guidance for applying TFs as novel antibacterial additives in the food industry. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Antimicrobial and Antioxidant Natural Compounds in Foods)
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14 pages, 3312 KiB  
Article
In Vitro Antioxidant Activity of Areca Nut Polyphenol Extracts on RAW264.7 Cells
by Shuhan Yi, Luyan Zou, Zongjun Li, Kozue Sakao, Yuanliang Wang and De-Xing Hou
Foods 2022, 11(22), 3607; https://doi.org/10.3390/foods11223607 - 12 Nov 2022
Cited by 10 | Viewed by 1853
Abstract
Chewing areca nuts is a popular hobby in the Asian region, and areca nuts are rich in polyphenols, although some alkaloids are included. In this study, we explored the antioxidant activity of areca nut polyphenols (ANP) in lipopolysaccharides (LPS)-stimulated RAW264.7 cells. The results [...] Read more.
Chewing areca nuts is a popular hobby in the Asian region, and areca nuts are rich in polyphenols, although some alkaloids are included. In this study, we explored the antioxidant activity of areca nut polyphenols (ANP) in lipopolysaccharides (LPS)-stimulated RAW264.7 cells. The results revealed that ANP reduced the level of reactive oxygen species (ROS) in LPS-stimulated RAW264.7 cells and enhanced the expression of nuclear factor erythroid 2-related factor 2 (Nrf2) and heme oxygenase 1 (HO-1). RNA-seq analysis showed that ANP down-regulated the transcription of genes related to the cancer pathway at 160 μg/mL, and the inflammatory pathway as well as viral infection pathway at 320 μg/mL. The cellular signaling analysis further revealed that the expressions of these genes were regulated by the mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) pathway, and ANP downregulated the activation of the MAPK signaling pathway stimulated by LPS. Collectively, our findings showed that ANP inhibited the MAPK pathway and activated the Nrf2/HO-1 antioxidant pathways to reduce ROS generation induced by LPS. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Antimicrobial and Antioxidant Natural Compounds in Foods)
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Review

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34 pages, 2826 KiB  
Review
Helichrysum italicum: From Extraction, Distillation, and Encapsulation Techniques to Beneficial Health Effects
by Veronika Furlan and Urban Bren
Foods 2023, 12(4), 802; https://doi.org/10.3390/foods12040802 - 13 Feb 2023
Cited by 11 | Viewed by 4738
Abstract
Helichrysum italicum (family Asteraceae), due to its various beneficial health effects, represents an important plant in the traditional medicine of Mediterranean countries. Currently, there is a renewed interest in this medicinal plant, especially in investigations involving the isolation and identification of its bioactive [...] Read more.
Helichrysum italicum (family Asteraceae), due to its various beneficial health effects, represents an important plant in the traditional medicine of Mediterranean countries. Currently, there is a renewed interest in this medicinal plant, especially in investigations involving the isolation and identification of its bioactive compounds from extracts and essential oils, as well as in experimental validation of their pharmacological activities. In this paper, we review the current knowledge on the beneficial health effects of Helichrysum italicum extracts, essential oils, and their major bioactive polyphenolic compounds, ranging from antioxidative, anti-inflammatory, and anticarcinogenic activities to their antiviral, antimicrobial, insecticidal, and antiparasitic effects. This review also provides an overview of the most promising extraction and distillation techniques for obtaining high-quality extracts and essential oils from Helichrysum italicum, as well as methods for determining their antioxidative, antimicrobial, anti-inflammatory, and anticarcinogenic activities. Finally, new ideas for in silico studies of molecular mechanisms of bioactive polyphenols from Helichrysum italicum, together with novel suggestions for their improved bioavailability through diverse encapsulation techniques, are introduced. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Antimicrobial and Antioxidant Natural Compounds in Foods)
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