.H. Wu, J.H.Y. Appel, L.J. Creager, M.A. Kris-Etherton, P.M. Miller, M. Rimm, E.B. Rudel, L.L. Robinson, J.G. Stone, N.J. Van Horn, L.V. 2017 Dietary fats and cardiovascular disease: A presidential advisory from the American Heart Association Circulation
cardiovascular disease ( Li et al., 2015 ; Wang et al., 2013 ). Species within the genus Salvia are also exploited for food, spices, cosmetics, and ornamental purposes ( Neugebauerová et al., 2015 ; Wang et al., 2011 ). The dried roots of S. miltiorrhiza
most people think because it disables and kills by substantially raising the risk of cardiovascular disease, cholesterol, hypertension, osteoarthritis, stroke, type II diabetes, specific forms of cancer, and other diseases ( CDC, 2007 ; Weisberg, 2002
Lycopene is a pigment that imparts a red or red–orange color to some fruits and vegetables. This carotenoid has been extensively studied over the last 10 years because of its potent antioxidant activity and medical evidence that dietary intake can reduce the incidence of cardiovascular disease and some cancers. The purpose of this review is to provide researchers in the areas of horticulture and food science a current summary of available information on lycopene in plants, stabilization and extraction, and potential health benefits as delineated in current medical studies.
There has been a nationwide explosion of interest in consumption of red wine following a “60 Minutes” television segment entitled “The French Paradox.” The paradox was due to the fact the French consume more fat, smoke more, and exercise less than Americans and still have fewer heart attacks. A study of 12,000 male British doctors showed that moderate drinkers had the lowest death rates and the lowest vascular death rates compared to nondrinkers or heavy drinkers. The consumption of wine has been shown to provide healthful benefits, such as reducing cholesterol and decreasing cardiovascular disease. A comprehensive literature review of the latest scientific information on this subject is presented in this review.
Small fruit are rich in several types of phytochemicals, vitamins, and minerals. These compounds have health functional properties that may protect humans from cardiovascular disease and certain cancers. Several of these phytochemicals, such as dietary fiber, anthocyanins, and polyphenolics, also contribute to small fruit quality. Other components contribute to appearance and taste. Nonvolatile organic acids contribute to the perceived sourness of small fruit and changes in levels can alter visual color by affecting cellular pH and anthocyanin structure. The soluble sugars glucose, fructose, and sucrose contribute directly to the perceived sweetness of the fruit and provide carbohydrates for other metabolic functions such as phenolic and ascorbic acid synthesis.
The concept of “Functional Foods” is becoming a commonly used term in discussions of human nutrition. Consumer awareness of natural food constituents and their role in cancer and cardiovascular disease prevention has done much to increase health consciousness with respect to plant products. The Plants and Human Health Program of the Boyce Thompson Institute uses molecular techniques to create transgenic plants with modified food composition; our goal is to devise strategies for production of pharmaceuticals or “nutraceuticals” in plants. Our initial focus has been genes encoding the antigenic proteins of human infectious agents such as hepatitis B and the causal agents of diarrheal disease. Areas of research include; 1) methods to increase production of foreign proteins in transgenic plants, and 2) utilization of engineered edible plant tissues for animal feeding studies. We have found that transgenic foods orally immunize test animals; these findings portend many new and exciting possibilities for plant medicinal chemistry.
Raw onion extract contains organosulfur compounds that prevent aggregation of platelets in human blood plasma and influence onion pungency. An increase in antiplatelet activity has the potential of reducing cardiovascular diseases. Accumulating organosulfur compounds directly influences pyruvic acid concentrations and may determine antiplatelet activity. Organosulfur compounds are volatile and may change concentration during storage. A study was conducted to evaluate antiplatelet activity, pyruvic acid content, and percent solids during cold storage. Two low-pungency lines (8155B and Exhibition) and two high-pungency (W420B and W434B) lines were grown in replicated plots at two Wisconsin locations in 1994 and 1995. Bulbs were evaluated for antiplatelet activity, percent solids, and pyruvic acid content at 40-day intervals after onion harvest. We found significant differences for antiplatelet activity and pyruvic acid content among dates of sampling and lines. Averaged over lines antiplatelet activity increased by 73% and 29% over 160 days in storage during the 1994–95 and 1995–96 storage seasons, respectively. Mean pyruvic acid concentrations increased 27% for the 1994–95 storage season and decreased 27.5% for the 1995–96 storage season. There were no significant changes for solids during storage for both years. These data indicate that antiplatelet activity increases during storage, which may be beneficial for human health. Since onions are often stored for long periods of time before sale, an increase in antiplatelet activity may be an added benefit for this crop.
Carotenoids are important phytochemical components of our diet and have gained recent attention as important nutritive compounds found mainly in fruits and vegetables with red, orange, and yellow hues. Lycopene is often cited as being inversely correlated with the occurrence of various cancers, in lowering rates of cardiovascular disease, and improving other various other immune responses. Antioxidant activity, specifically oxidative radical quenching power, is the putative rationale for carotenoids' involvement in disease risk reduction. It is unlikely, however, that carotenoid content and antioxidant capacity are directly correlated in the whole food since there are other antioxidants present in watermelon, such as various free amino acids. A total measure of antioxidant potential may prove to be a useful tool for measuring watermelon nutritional value and implementing pursuant breeding goals. One assay that has gained recent popularity is the oxygen radical absorbance capacity (ORAC) assay. ORAC includes two assays that separate lipophylic and hydrophilic antioxidants. Currently, most ORAC protocols use isolated compounds or freeze-dried fruit or vegetable samples. Here, the application of a standard hexane-type extraction method, which is more amenable to whole food carotenoid-containing samples, was investigated as a candidate extraction method for the ORAC assay. Variants of this method as well as of the standard ORAC extraction were compared for extraction efficiency. Finally, ORAC values were correlated with carotenoid content and shown to hold a loose negative correlation. Possible reasons for this are considered and discussed.
Control of muscadine diseases is necessary to minimize yield loss and is especially important for highest quality if the berries are to be marketed fresh. Throughout the 1998 growing season, vines of five muscadine cultivars (`Noble', `Summit', `Cowart', `Higgins', and `Carlos') were treated under a systematic disease control spray program; four fungicides registered for use on grapes were applied sequentially at 10- to 20-day intervals from early bloom until just before harvest. Control plants received no fungicide. The objectives of the study were to determine the effects of the spray schedule on foliage and berry diseases and to study the relationship between disease incidence and resveratrol content of the berries. Resveratrol is a phytoalexin and has been favorably implicated in cardiovascular disease and certain cancer processes. Foliar diseases were rated visually twice during the season. Berry disease ratings were made at harvest. All fungal foliage and berry diseases were significantly reduced by the fungicide treatments. Resveratrol concentrations were determined separately on berry skins, seed and pulp/juice by GC/MS. Overall, resveratrol levels in berry skins from unsprayed vines were much higher than those of sprayed vines. Concentrations varied by cultivar and within cultivar by treatment. The relationship of skin concentration and total disease score or scores of specific diseases has not been established. Seed resveratrol concentrations differed by cultivar but were not affected by the fungicide treatments. Mean concentration of seed was lower than that of skins. Accumulation of resveratrol in juice/pulp was much lower than in skins and seeds.