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Background/Objectives: Polyphenols offer an array of health benefits that can contribute to well-being. Nevertheless, their bioactivity can be compromised due to their low bioavailability. Encapsulation has been explored as a strategy to enhance the stability and bioavailability of polyphenols. During encapsulation, polyphenols are protected from degradation by a wall material that acts as a protective coating. This coating shields the polyphenols from the harsh physiological conditions of digestion, ensuring their delivery to the intestine. However, the majority of evidence, particularly regarding bioavailability after digestion, is derived from in vitro studies. While these studies provide valuable preliminary insights, they cannot definitively confirm the effects in vivo due to their inability to accurately replicate physiological conditions and the complex gut microbial ecosystem. Consequently, this review seeks to evaluate the current evidence from in vivo human studies to elucidate the efficacy of encapsulation in improving polyphenols' bioavailability. Results and conclusions: Current clinical evidence on the impact of encapsulation on polyphenol bioavailability is primarily focused on polyphenols derived from grape pomace, cocoa, and bilberries, as well as individual polyphenols such as fisetin, hesperidin, and curcumin. Encapsulation has been an effective technique in improving the bioavailability of individual polyphenols like hesperidin, fisetin, and curcumin. However, this approach has not yielded consistent results when applied to groups of polyphenols, such as bilberry anthocyanins or cocoa phenolic acids. Encapsulation by micellization has shown promising results in improving the bioavailability of curcumin in a nutraceutical context. Further studies are needed to explore the bioavailability of encapsulated polyphenols, especially in the functional food context. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nuts are dry, single-seeded fruits with a combination of beneficial compounds that aid in disease prevention and treatment. The aims of this research are to evaluate the total antioxidant activity (AI) by ferric reducing antioxidant power (FRAP) assay, fatty acids by acid-catalyzed esterification method, and minerals by inductively coupled plasma optical emission (ICP-OE) spectrometer in hazelnuts, pistachios, and almond seeds and skins. Considering total AI, the results demonstrated that the highest activity was found in hazelnut and pistachio skin. The results considering minerals demonstrated that manganese, zinc, and iron levels are high in almond and hazelnut skins, copper is dominant in pistachio skin and hazelnut seed, and selenium is high in pistachio and almond skins and seed. Finally, the results showed palmitic acid is present in almond skin and pistachio seed, palmitoleic acid is high in almond and pistachio skins, and stearic acid is present in almond and hazelnut skins. Oleic acid was found in hazelnut seeds and their skin, linoleic acid in almond skin and pistachio seeds, and α-linolenic acid in almond and pistachio skins. In conclusion, hazelnut, pistachio, and almond skins are a great source of antioxidants, minerals, and healthy fatty acids, making them useful for nutraceutical development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Deep learning approaches play a crucial role in computer-aided diagnosis systems to support clinical decision-making. However, developing such automated solutions is challenging due to the limited availability of annotated medical data. In this study, we proposed a novel and computationally efficient deep learning approach to leverage small data for learning generalizable and domain invariant representations in different medical imaging applications such as malaria, diabetic retinopathy, and tuberculosis. We refer to our approach as Incremental Modular Network Synthesis (IMNS), and the resulting CNNs as Incremental Modular Networks (IMNets). Our IMNS approach is to use small network modules that we call SubNets which are capable of generating salient features for a particular problem. Then, we build up ever larger and more powerful networks by combining these SubNets in different configurations. At each stage, only one new SubNet module undergoes learning updates. This reduces the computational resource requirements for training and aids in network optimization. We compare IMNets against classic and state-of-the-art deep learning architectures such as AlexNet, ResNet-50, Inception v3, DenseNet-201, and NasNet for the various experiments conducted in this study. Our proposed IMNS design leads to high average classification accuracies of 97.0%, 97.9%, and 88.6% for malaria, diabetic retinopathy, and tuberculosis, respectively. Our modular design for deep learning achieves the state-of-the-art performance in the scenarios tested. The IMNets produced here have a relatively low computational complexity compared to traditional deep learning architectures. The largest IMNet tested here has 0.95 M of the learnable parameters and 0.08 G of the floating-point multiply–add (MAdd) operations. The simpler IMNets train faster, have lower memory requirements, and process images faster than the benchmark methods tested. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Saffron is a valued herb, obtained from the stigmas of the C. sativus Linn (Iridaceae), with therapeutic effects. It has been described in pharmacopoeias to be variously acting, including as an anti-depressant, anti-carcinogen, and stimulant agent. The therapeutic effects of saffron are harbored in its bioactive molecules, notably crocins, the subject of this paper. Crocins have been demonstrated to act as a monoamine oxidase type A and B inhibitor. Furthermore, saffron petal extracts have experimentally been shown to impact contractile response in electrical field stimulation. Other research suggests that saffron also inhibits the reuptake of monoamines, exhibits N-methyl-d-aspartate antagonism, and improves brain-derived neurotrophic factor signaling. A host of experimental studies found saffron/crocin to be similarly effective as fluoxetine and imipramine in the treatment of depression disorders. Saffron and crocins propose a natural solution to combat depressive disorders. However, some hurdles, such as stability and delivery, need to be overcome. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This review aims to define the effectiveness of the ketogenic diet (KD) for the management of sarcopenic obesity. As the combination of sarcopenia and obesity appears to have multiple negative metabolic effects, this narrative review discusses the effects of the ketogenic diet as a possible synergic intervention to decrease visceral adipose tissue (VAT) and fatty infiltration of the liver as well as modulate and improve the gut microbiota, inflammation and body composition. The results of this review support the evidence that the KD improves metabolic health and expands adipose tissue γδ T cells that are important for glycaemia control during obesity. The KD is also a therapeutic option for individuals with sarcopenic obesity due to its positive effect on VAT, adipose tissue, cytokines such as blood biochemistry, gut microbiota, and body composition. However, the long-term effect of a KD on these outcomes requires further investigations before general recommendations can be made. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]