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Featured Reviews on Phytochemicals and Human Health
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Featured Reviews on Phytochemicals and Human Health

A special issue of Nutrients (ISSN 2072-6643). This special issue belongs to the section "Phytochemicals and Human Health".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (15 January 2023) | Viewed by 29895

Special Issue Editor

Dr. Maria Dolores del Castillo

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Food Bioscience Group, Department of Bioactivity and Food Analysis, Institute of Food Science Research (CIAL), Spanish National Research Council (CSIC), The Autonoma University of Madrid (UAM), Nicolás Cabrera 9, 28049 Madrid, Spain
Interests: bioactive compounds; diet; dietary fiber; food processing and health; food quality and safety; functional foods; human nutrition and health; novel ingredients and foods; food waste recovery into healthy ingredients
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Vegetables, fruits and botanicals are part of the human daily diet worldwide. A balanced diet composed mainly of vegetables and fruits (five servings per day) is healthy and sustainable. Hydration with water and plant beverages without added sugar is also healthy. Nutrients and bioactive compounds, also called phytochemicals, composing these foods and beverages contribute to their health-promoting properties. However, the relationship between the structure and function, digestibility, bioaccessibility, bioavailability, and mechanism of action of their individual components, as well as the effects of food matrix and processing on their role in health and disease are not completely understood.

Food processing generates many wastes or by-products which are a sustainable source of phytochemicals, with tremendous potential for global nutrition security. In the last two decades, a great deal of research has been done in this field, but has not been able to authorize health claims for these products. Plant by-products represent an environmental problem worldwide. Therefore, their conversion into innovative products is necessary for achieving a sustainable food chain.

Traditional plant foods from developing countries are welcome by the developed countries to complete a healthy nutrition profile. Innovative foodstuffs for sustainable health combining edible plants with different nature (fruits, vegetables and medicinal plants) can ensure healthy nutrition for all. The transfer of knowledge between different societies with different eating habits, and from traditional medicine to the food industry, is mandatory for achieving a nutritious, safe, healthy and sustainable diet. To achieve this goal, it is also important to work in a multidisciplinary environment. The attraction of consumers to novel foods and beverages drives the development of products satisfying their demands, which includes the design of new formulations by applying the co-creation and bio-economy concepts. These products are targeted to possess high sensorial quality, and to be nutritious with particular health-promoting properties. The production of food supplements also is a challenge for the food industry, and should be faced in collaboration with health professionals. 

In the present Special Issue, we welcome narrative and systematic reviews on any of the aspects discussed above for extending the knowledge of the impact of phytochemicals and those products enriched with them (botanicals, raw foods, processed foods, functional foods, food supplements, vegetable powders, plant by-products, medicinal plants) in human health and disease.

Dr. Maria Dolores del Castillo
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. Nutrients 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

  • absorption
  • aging
  • bioaccessibility
  • bioactivity
  • bioavailability
  • bioeconomy
  • carbohydrate metabolism
  • cardiovascular diseases
  • chronic diseases
  • chronobiology
  • co-creation
  • communicable diseases
  • COVID-19
  • diabetes
  • dietary fiber effect
  • digestion
  • disease
  • emotional heath
  • food processing
  • food safety
  • food supplements
  • foodomics
  • formulation
  • gastrointestinal health
  • glycation
  • gut–brain axis
  • health
  • health claims
  • health-promoting properties
  • holistic health
  • hormonal function
  • hypertension
  • legislation
  • lipid metabolism
  • mechanism of action
  • mental health
  • metabolic syndrome
  • metabolism
  • microbiome
  • narrative review
  • non-communicable diseases
  • novel foods
  • nutrition claims
  • nutrition security
  • obesity
  • physical activity
  • physical health
  • physiology
  • physiopathology
  • phytochemicals
  • phytochemomics
  • plant beverages
  • plant extracts
  • plant powders
  • plant by-products
  • sensorial quality
  • sleeping quality
  • structure and function
  • sustainability
  • systematic review
  • toxicology
  • traditional foods

Published Papers (7 papers)

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Review

21 pages, 1545 KiB  
Review
Underlying Mechanisms of Brain Aging and Neurodegenerative Diseases as Potential Targets for Preventive or Therapeutic Strategies Using Phytochemicals
by Hamid Mostafavi Abdolmaleky and Jin-Rong Zhou
Nutrients 2023, 15(15), 3456; https://doi.org/10.3390/nu15153456 - 04 Aug 2023
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 3438
Abstract
During aging, several tissues and biological systems undergo a progressive decline in function, leading to age-associated diseases such as neurodegenerative, inflammatory, metabolic, and cardiovascular diseases and cancer. In this review, we focus on the molecular underpinning of senescence and neurodegeneration related to age-associated [...] Read more.
During aging, several tissues and biological systems undergo a progressive decline in function, leading to age-associated diseases such as neurodegenerative, inflammatory, metabolic, and cardiovascular diseases and cancer. In this review, we focus on the molecular underpinning of senescence and neurodegeneration related to age-associated brain diseases, in particular, Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s diseases, along with introducing nutrients or phytochemicals that modulate age-associated molecular dysfunctions, potentially offering preventive or therapeutic benefits. Based on current knowledge, the dysregulation of microglia genes and neuroinflammation, telomere attrition, neuronal stem cell degradation, vascular system dysfunction, reactive oxygen species, loss of chromosome X inactivation in females, and gut microbiome dysbiosis have been seen to play pivotal roles in neurodegeneration in an interactive manner. There are several phytochemicals (e.g., curcumin, EGCG, fucoidan, galangin, astin C, apigenin, resveratrol, phytic acid, acacetin, daucosterol, silibinin, sulforaphane, withaferin A, and betulinic acid) that modulate the dysfunction of one or several key genes (e.g., TREM2, C3, C3aR1, TNFA, NF-kb, TGFB1&2, SIRT1&6, HMGB1, and STING) affected in the aged brain. Although phytochemicals have shown promise in slowing down the progression of age-related brain diseases, more studies to identify their efficacy, alone or in combinations, in preclinical systems can help to design novel nutritional strategies for the management of neurodegenerative diseases in humans. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Featured Reviews on Phytochemicals and Human Health)
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31 pages, 6062 KiB  
Review
Systematic Review on the Metabolic Interest of Glucosinolates and Their Bioactive Derivatives for Human Health
by Antonio Costa-Pérez, Vanesa Núñez-Gómez, Nieves Baenas, Giuseppe Di Pede, Mariem Achour, Claudine Manach, Pedro Mena, Daniele Del Rio, Cristina García-Viguera, Diego A. Moreno and Raúl Domínguez-Perles
Nutrients 2023, 15(6), 1424; https://doi.org/10.3390/nu15061424 - 15 Mar 2023
Cited by 10 | Viewed by 3190
Abstract
In the last decade, most of the evidence on the clinical benefits of including cruciferous foods in the diet has been focused on the content of glucosinolates (GSL) and their corresponding isothiocyanates (ITC), and mercapturic acid pathway metabolites, based on their capacity to [...] Read more.
In the last decade, most of the evidence on the clinical benefits of including cruciferous foods in the diet has been focused on the content of glucosinolates (GSL) and their corresponding isothiocyanates (ITC), and mercapturic acid pathway metabolites, based on their capacity to modulate clinical, biochemical, and molecular parameters. The present systematic review summarizes findings of human studies regarding the metabolism and bioavailability of GSL and ITC, providing a comprehensive analysis that will help guide future research studies and facilitate the consultation of the latest advances in this booming and less profusely researched area of GSL for food and health. The literature search was carried out in Scopus, PubMed and the Web of Science, under the criteria of including publications centered on human subjects and the use of Brassicaceae foods in different formulations (including extracts, beverages, and tablets), as significant sources of bioactive compounds, in different types of subjects, and against certain diseases. Twenty-eight human intervention studies met inclusion criteria, which were classified into three groups depending on the dietary source. This review summarizes recent studies that provided interesting contributions, but also uncovered the many potential venues for future research on the benefits of consuming cruciferous foods in our health and well-being. The research will continue to support the inclusion of GSL-rich foods and products for multiple preventive and active programs in nutrition and well-being. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Featured Reviews on Phytochemicals and Human Health)
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28 pages, 1024 KiB  
Review
Sustainable Production of Ajuga Bioactive Metabolites Using Cell Culture Technologies: A Review
by Elena Popova, Maria Titova, Marat Tynykulov, Rano P. Zakirova, Irina Kulichenko, Olga Prudnikova and Alexander Nosov
Nutrients 2023, 15(5), 1246; https://doi.org/10.3390/nu15051246 - 01 Mar 2023
Cited by 4 | Viewed by 2209
Abstract
The genus Ajuga (Lamiaceae) is rich in medicinally important species with biological activities ranging from anti-inflammatory, antitumor, neuroprotective, and antidiabetic to antibacterial, antiviral, cytotoxic, and insecticidal effects. Every species contains a unique and complex mixture of bioactive metabolites—phytoecdysteroids (PEs), iridoid glycosides, withanolides, neo-clerodane [...] Read more.
The genus Ajuga (Lamiaceae) is rich in medicinally important species with biological activities ranging from anti-inflammatory, antitumor, neuroprotective, and antidiabetic to antibacterial, antiviral, cytotoxic, and insecticidal effects. Every species contains a unique and complex mixture of bioactive metabolites—phytoecdysteroids (PEs), iridoid glycosides, withanolides, neo-clerodane terpenoids, flavonoids, phenolics, and other chemicals with high therapeutic potential. Phytoecdysteroids, the main compounds of interest, are natural anabolic and adaptogenic agents that are widely used as components of dietary supplements. Wild plants remain the main source of Ajuga bioactive metabolites, particularly PEs, which leads to frequent overexploitation of their natural resources. Cell culture biotechnologies offer a sustainable approach to the production of vegetative biomass and individual phytochemicals specific for Ajuga genus. Cell cultures developed from eight Ajuga taxa were capable of producing PEs, a variety of phenolics and flavonoids, anthocyanins, volatile compounds, phenyletanoid glycosides, iridoids, and fatty acids, and demonstrated antioxidant, antimicrobial, and anti-inflammatory activities. The most abundant PEs in the cell cultures was 20-hydroxyecdysone, followed by turkesterone and cyasterone. The PE content in the cell cultures was comparable or higher than in wild or greenhouse plants, in vitro-grown shoots, and root cultures. Elicitation with methyl jasmonate (50–125 µM) or mevalonate and induced mutagenesis were the most effective strategies that stimulated cell culture biosynthetic capacity. This review summarizes the current progress in cell culture application for the production of pharmacologically important Ajuga metabolites, discusses various approaches to improve the compound yield, and highlights the potential directions for future interventions. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Featured Reviews on Phytochemicals and Human Health)
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18 pages, 1279 KiB  
Review
Tea Plant (Camellia sinensis): A Current Update on Use in Diabetes, Obesity, and Cardiovascular Disease
by James Michael Brimson, Mani Iyer Prasanth, Kishoree Krishna Kumaree, Premrutai Thitilertdecha, Dicson Sheeja Malar, Tewin Tencomnao and Anchalee Prasansuklab
Nutrients 2023, 15(1), 37; https://doi.org/10.3390/nu15010037 - 21 Dec 2022
Cited by 14 | Viewed by 5146
Abstract
The tea plant (C. sinensis) has traditionally been consumed worldwide as “tea” for its many health benefits, with the potential for the prevention and therapy of various conditions. Regardless of its long history, the use of tea plants in modern times [...] Read more.
The tea plant (C. sinensis) has traditionally been consumed worldwide as “tea” for its many health benefits, with the potential for the prevention and therapy of various conditions. Regardless of its long history, the use of tea plants in modern times seems not to have changed much, as the beverage remains the most popular form. This review aimed to compile scientific information about the role and action of tea plants, as well as their status concerning clinical applications, based on the currently available evidence, with a focus on metabolic syndrome, mainly covering obesity, diabetes, and cardiovascular disease. It has been recognized that these diseases pose a significant threat to public health, and the development of effective treatment and prevention strategies is necessary but still challenging. In this article, the potential benefits of tea plants and their derived bioactive components (such as epigallocatechin-3-gallate) as anti-obesity, anti-diabetic, and anti-cardiovascular agents are clearly shown and emphasized, along with their mechanisms of action. However, according to the status of the clinical translation of tea plants, particularly in drug development, more substantial efforts in well-designed, randomized, controlled trials are required to expand their applications in treating the three major metabolic disorders and avoiding the toxicity caused by overconsumption. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Featured Reviews on Phytochemicals and Human Health)
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Graphical abstract

36 pages, 2057 KiB  
Review
Nutritional Composition and Bioactive Compounds of Native Brazilian Fruits of the Arecaceae Family and Its Potential Applications for Health Promotion
by Rômulo Alves Morais, Gerson Lopes Teixeira, Sandra Regina Salvador Ferreira, Alejandro Cifuentes and Jane Mara Block
Nutrients 2022, 14(19), 4009; https://doi.org/10.3390/nu14194009 - 27 Sep 2022
Cited by 10 | Viewed by 3516
Abstract
The fruits from the Arecaceae family, although being rich in bioactive compounds with potential benefits to health, have been underexplored. Studies on their composition, bioactive compounds, and effects of their consumption on health are also scarce. This review presents the composition of macro- [...] Read more.
The fruits from the Arecaceae family, although being rich in bioactive compounds with potential benefits to health, have been underexplored. Studies on their composition, bioactive compounds, and effects of their consumption on health are also scarce. This review presents the composition of macro- and micronutrients, and bioactive compounds of fruits of the Arecaceae family such as bacaba, patawa, juçara, açaí, buriti, buritirana, and butiá. The potential use and reported effects of its consumption on health are also presented. The knowledge of these underutilized fruits is important to encourage production, commercialization, processing, and consumption. It can also stimulate their full use and improve the economy and social condition of the population where these fruits are found. Furthermore, it may help in future research on the composition, health effects, and new product development. Arecaceae fruits presented in this review are currently used as raw materials for producing beverages, candies, jams, popsicles, ice creams, energy drinks, and edible oils. The reported studies show that they are rich in phenolic compounds, carotenoids, anthocyanins, tocopherols, minerals, vitamins, amino acids, and fatty acids. Moreover, the consumption of these compounds has been associated with anti-inflammatory, antiproliferative, antiobesity, and cardioprotective effects. These fruits have potential to be used in food, pharmaceutical, and cosmetic industries. Despite their potential, some of them, such as buritirana and butiá, have been little explored and limited research has been conducted on their composition, biological effects, and applications. Therefore, more detailed investigations on the composition and mechanism of action based on in vitro and/or in vivo studies are needed for fruits from the Arecaceae family. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Featured Reviews on Phytochemicals and Human Health)
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Graphical abstract

35 pages, 1446 KiB  
Review
Metabolism and Bioavailability of Olive Bioactive Constituents Based on In Vitro, In Vivo and Human Studies
by Theodora Nikou, Maria Eleni Sakavitsi, Evangelos Kalampokis and Maria Halabalaki
Nutrients 2022, 14(18), 3773; https://doi.org/10.3390/nu14183773 - 13 Sep 2022
Cited by 21 | Viewed by 3015
Abstract
Consumption of olive products has been established as a health-promoting dietary pattern due to their high content in compounds with eminent pharmacological properties and well-described bioactivities. However, their metabolism has not yet been fully described. The present critical review aimed to gather all [...] Read more.
Consumption of olive products has been established as a health-promoting dietary pattern due to their high content in compounds with eminent pharmacological properties and well-described bioactivities. However, their metabolism has not yet been fully described. The present critical review aimed to gather all scientific data of the past two decades regarding the absorption and metabolism of the foremost olive compounds, specifically of the phenylalcohols hydroxytyrosol (HTyr) and tyrosol (Tyr) and the secoiridoids oleacein (Olea), oleocanthal (Oleo) and oleuropein (Oleu). A meticulous record of the in vitro assays and in vivo (animals and humans) studies of the characteristic olive compounds was cited, and a critical discussion on their bioavailability and metabolism was performed taking into account data from their gut microbial metabolism. The existing critical review summarizes the existing knowledge regarding the bioavailability and metabolism of olive-characteristic phenylalchohols and secoiridoids and spotlights the lack of data for specific chemical groups and compounds. Critical observations and conclusions were derived from correlating structure with bioavailability data, while results from in vitro, animal and human studies were compared and discussed, giving significant insight to the future design of research approaches for the total bioavailability and metabolism exploration thereof. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Featured Reviews on Phytochemicals and Human Health)
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Graphical abstract

27 pages, 616 KiB  
Review
Carica papaya Leaf Juice for Dengue: A Scoping Review
by Bee Ping Teh, Norzahirah Binti Ahmad, Saharuddin Bin Mohamad, Terence Yew Chin Tan, Mohd Ridzuan Bin Mohd Abd Razak, Adlin Binti Afzan and Ami Fazlin Binti Syed Mohamed
Nutrients 2022, 14(8), 1584; https://doi.org/10.3390/nu14081584 - 11 Apr 2022
Cited by 8 | Viewed by 8176
Abstract
The potential therapeutic effect of Carica papaya leaf juice has attracted wide interest from the public and scientists in relieving dengue related manifestations. Currently, there is a lack of evaluated evidence on its juice form. Therefore, this scoping review aims to critically appraise [...] Read more.
The potential therapeutic effect of Carica papaya leaf juice has attracted wide interest from the public and scientists in relieving dengue related manifestations. Currently, there is a lack of evaluated evidence on its juice form. Therefore, this scoping review aims to critically appraise the available scientific evidence related to the efficacy of C. papaya leaf juice in dengue. A systematic search was performed using predetermined keywords on two electronic databases (PubMed and Google Scholar). Searched results were identified, screened and appraised to establish the association between C. papaya and alleviating dengue associated conditions. A total of 28 articles (ethnobotanical information: three, in vitro studies: three, ex vivo studies: one, in vivo study: 13, clinical studies: 10) were included for descriptive analysis, which covered study characteristics, juice preparation/formulations, study outcomes, and toxicity findings. Other than larvicidal activity, this review also reveals two medicinal potentials of C. papaya leaf juice on dengue infection, namely anti-thrombocytopenic and immunomodulatory effects. C. papaya leaf juice has the potential to be a new drug candidate against dengue disease safely and effectively. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Featured Reviews on Phytochemicals and Human Health)
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