Search

Pomegranate is a fruit bearing-plant that is well known for its medicinal properties. Pomegranate is a good source of phenolic acids, tannins, and flavonoids. Pomegranate juice and by-products have attracted the scientific interest due to their potential health benefits. Currently, the medical community has showed great interest in exploiting pomegranate potential as a protective agent against several human diseases including cancer. This is demonstrated by the fact that there are more than 800 reports in the literature reporting pomegranate's anticancer properties. This review is an update on the research outcomes of pomegranate's potential against different types of human diseases, emphasizing on cancer. In addition, perspectives of potential applications of pomegranate, as a natural additive aiming to improve the quality of animal products, are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Simple Summary: The valorization of grape byproducts appears to be a sustainable bioeconomic strategy that could promote the substitution of synthetic with natural antioxidant compounds in the food and feed industry. The nutritional physiology of broiler chickens requires special attention to the interactions between nutrients and antioxidant mechanisms since the stressor signals of factory farming could impair the immune status, resulting in detrimental effects on broilers' performance. The objective of this study was to assess the inclusion of grape byproducts (grape pomace, wine lees, and stem extract) on the transcriptional profiling of genes regulating the immune system in the liver, bursa of Fabricius, and spleen. The dietary supplementation of grape byproducts rich in polyphenolic compounds decreased the mRNA levels of the predominant pro-inflammatory receptor in the liver, while in the spleen, the stem extract diet upregulated the aforementioned receptor. Upregulation of interleukin 8 was observed in the bursa of Fabricius and spleen of the stems extract-fed broilers. Although grape byproducts depicting a sustainable source of bioactive compounds with vast antioxidant potential, there were unveiled preliminary insights for immune stimulation at the transcriptional level. The valorization of vinification byproducts portrays a promising bioprocess for the enrichment of animals' diet with bioactive compounds, such as polyphenols, which could regulate the immune response. Therefore, the impact of dietary grounded grape pomace (GGP), wine lees extract (WYC), and grape stem extract (PE) on the relative transcript level of immune related genes of broiler chickens were examined. Two hundred forty, one-day-old as hatched (male/female) chicks (Ross 308) were allocated to four dietary groups, with four replicate pens each with 15 birds. Birds were fed either a basal diet (CON) or the basal diet supplemented with 2.5% GGP, or 0.2% WYC, or 0.1% PE for 42 d. The relative expression of immune-related genes was investigated using a real-time PCR platform. The mRNA levels of Toll-like Receptor 4 (TLR4) were downregulated (p = 0.039) in the liver of broilers fed the GGP-containing diet compared to the CON, while in the spleen of PE-fed broilers, TLR4 was significantly upregulated (p = 0.043). The mRNA levels of interleukin 8 (IL8) tended to upregulate (p = 0.099) in the bursa of Fabricius and were significantly increased (p = 0.036) in the spleen of broilers fed the PE diet. Vinification byproducts depict a promising sustainable source of polyphenols for the poultry feed industry, but more research is needed under field conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Vinification by-products display great potential for utilization as feed additives rich in antioxidant compounds. Thus, the effect of dietary ground grape pomace (GGP), wine lees extract rich in yeast cell walls (WYC), and grape stem extracts (PE) on the relative expression of several genes involved in liver oxidative mechanisms and the oxidative status of the blood and breast muscle of broiler chickens was investigated. In total, 240 one-day-old as hatched chicks (Ross 308) were assigned to four treatments, with four replicate pens and 15 birds in each pen. Birds were fed either a basal diet (CON) or a basal diet supplemented with 25 g/kg GGP, or 2 g/kg WYC, or 1 g starch including 100 mg pure stem extract/kg (PE) for 42 days. The polyphenolic content of vinification by-products was determined using an LC-MS/MS library indicating as prevailing compounds procyanidin B1 and B2, gallic acid, caftaric acid, (+)-catechin, quercetin, and trans-resveratrol. Body weight and feed consumption were not significantly affected. The relative transcript level of GPX1 and SOD1 tended to increase in the liver of WYC-fed broilers, while NOX2 tended to decrease in the PE group. SOD activity in blood plasma was significantly increased in WYC and PE compared to the CON group. The total antioxidant capacity measured with FRAP assay showed significantly higher values in the breast muscle of PE-fed broilers, while the malondialdehyde concentration was significantly decreased in both WYC- and PE-fed broilers compared to the CON group. The exploitation of vinification by-products as feed additives appears to be a promising strategy to improve waste valorization and supply animals with bioactive molecules capable of improving animals' oxidative status and products' oxidative stability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The objective of the present study was to investigate the effect of the natural flavonoid quercetin dietary supplementation on the alteration of egg metallome by applying the basic principles of elemental metabolomics. One hundred and ninety-two laying hens were allocated into 4 treatment groups: the control (C) group that was fed with a commercial basal diet and the other experimental groups that were offered the same diet further supplemented with quercetin at 200, 400 and 800 mg per kg of feed (Q2, Q4 and Q8 group, respectively) for 28 days. The diets contained the same vitamin and mineral premix, thus all birds received the same amount of elements since no differences on feed intake existed. The egg elemental profile consisted of As, Ca, Cd, Co, Cr, Cu, Fe, Mg, Mn, Mo, Ni, Pb, Sb, Se, Sr, V, Zn and was determined using inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS). Quercetin supplementation altered the elemental profile. Most notably, quercetin altered the element concentrations predominantly in egg shell and albumen. It increased the concentration of Sb while reduced that of Cr and Se in both egg shell and albumen. Moreover, it increased As, Cd in albumen and V in yolk, while compared to the control, reduced As, Cd, Cr, Cu and V and also raised Ca, Fe, Mg and Ni in egg shell. The presence of quercetin led to differentiation of the deposition of certain trace minerals in egg compartments compared to that of hens fed a basal diet, possibly indicating that tailor made eggs for specific nutritional and health requirements could be created in the future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The basic principles of elemental metabolomics were applied to investigate whether alteration of egg metallome could be achieved after two flavonoids addition, namely hesperidin and naringin in diets of laying hens. A total of 72 hens were divided into six groups: Control (C) (basal diet), E1 (750 mg hesperidin/kg diet), E2 (1500 mg hesperidin/kg diet), N1 (750 mg naringin/kg diet), N2 (1500 mg naringin/kg diet), and VE (200 mg vitamin E/kg diet). The same diet was provided to birds of all treatments, with the exception of added supplements. The diets had the same vitamin and mineral premix; thus, all birds received the same number of elements because no differences on feed intake existed. The egg elemental profile consisted of As, Ca, Cd, Co, Cr, Cu, Fe, Mg, Mn, Mo, Ni, Pb, Sb, Se, Sr, V, Zn, and was determined using ICP-MS. Flavonoid supplementation altered the elemental profile. Most notably, in both albumen and yolk, hesperidin increased Ni, Pb, and Sr concentration while it decreased that of Co and Sb. Naringin increased Cd, Cr, Cu, Ni, and V and lowered the concentration of Co and Sb in both yolk and albumen. Vitamin E supplementation, in comparison to the control, decreased Co in both albumen and yolk and also raised Sb in albumen. Flavonoid presence led to the differences in deposition of certain trace minerals in egg compared to that of hens fed a basal diet or a diet with vitamin E supplementation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]