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Foods are complex biosystems made up of a wide variety of compounds. Some of them, such as nutrients and bioactive compounds (bioactives), contribute to supporting body functions and bring important health benefits; others, such as food additives, are involved in processing techniques and contribute to improving sensory attributes and ensuring food safety. Also, there are antinutrients in foods that affect food bioefficiency and contaminants that increase the risk of toxicity. The bioefficiency of food is evaluated with bioavailability which represents the amount of nutrients or bioactives from the consumed food reaching the organs and tissues where they exert their biological activity. Oral bioavailability is the result of some physicochemical and biological processes in which food is involved such as liberation, absorption, distribution, metabolism, and elimination (LADME). In this paper, a general presentation of the factors influencing oral bioavailability of nutrients and bioactives as well as the in vitro techniques for evaluating bioaccessibility and is provided. In this context, a critical analysis of the effects of physiological factors related to the characteristics of the gastrointestinal tract (GIT) on oral bioavailability is discussed, such as pH, chemical composition, volumes of gastrointestinal (GI) fluids, transit time, enzymatic activity, mechanical processes, and so on, and the pharmacokinetics factors including BAC and solubility of bioactives, their transport across the cell membrane, their biodistribution and metabolism. The impact of matrix and food processing on the BAC of bioactives is also explained. The researchers' recent concerns for improving oral bioavailability of nutrients and food bioactives using both traditional techniques, for example, thermal treatments, mechanical processes, soaking, germination and fermentation, as well as food nanotechnologies, such as loading of bioactives in different colloidal delivery systems (CDSs), is also highlighted. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The production of bioactive peptides (BPs) usually involves the enzymatic hydrolysis stage during which one or more proteases are used to break down the parental protein into shorter fragments. In this review, efforts were made to focus on using pepsin as a unique protease capable of generating BPs. We started with the description of BPs and proteases prior to the unraveling of pepsin's properties and immobilization for the production of BPs. The peptic hydrolysis of food-derived proteins to generate BPs with biological functions, e.g. antioxidative, ACE-inhibitory, metal-binding, antidiabetic, anti-inflammatory, and antimicrobial activities from vegetable, fish, seafood, whey, casein, blood plasma, and egg proteins, among other unconventional protein sources were discussed. The review concluded with BPs used in developing food products for their techno-functional properties such as emulsifying, water, and fat-holding capacities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Saffron "Crocus sativus" is a plant of the Iridaceae family. Its therapeutic virtues have been known since antiquity; it is used in traditional medicine and culinary preparations. It is also known for its use in cosmetics because of its beneficial pharmacological activities for human skin. In particular, saffron tepals are the main by-product of saffron processing; they contain several bioactive compounds such as mineral agents, anthocyanins, monoterpenoids, carotenoids, flavonoids, and flavonols (kaempferol). This review aims to describe the different properties of saffron flower tepals, including their botanical characteristics, phytochemical composition, biological activities, and cosmetology and perfumery uses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Gut microbiota (GMB) in humans plays a crucial role in health and diseases. Diet can regulate the composition and function of GMB which are associated with different human diseases. Dietary fibers can induce different health benefits through stimulation of beneficial GMB. β-glucans (BGs) as dietary fibers have gained much interest due to their various functional properties. They can have therapeutic roles on gut health based on modulation of GMB, intestinal fermentation, production of different metabolites, and so on. There is an increasing interest in food industries in commercial application of BG as a bioactive substance into food formulations. The aim of this review is considering the metabolizing of BGs by GMB, effects of BGs on the variation of GMB population, influence of BGs on the gut infections, prebiotic effects of BGs in the gut, in vivo and in vitro fermentation of BGs and effects of processing on BG fermentability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present study aimed at characterizing the phenolic composition of the aqueous extract from Anabasis articulata and its biological properties, in terms of in vitro antioxidant, enzyme inhibitory, and in vivo anti-inflammatory effects. The phytocomplex was investigated by HPLC-DAD analysis, whereas total phenolics, tannins and flavonoids using spectrophotometric methods. The antioxidant property of the extract was determined applying four assays (i.e. total antioxidant capacity, reducing power, DPPH, and β-carotene-linoleic acid bleaching). The enzymatic inhibitory function was evaluated against tyrosinase and acetylcholinesterase, whereas toxicological and anti-inflammatory aspects through in vivo evaluations. More in detail, twenty-one specific phenolic compounds were successfully detected, identified, and quantified in the plant extract, which showed considerable antioxidant potential. The aqueous preparation also revealed a high anti-tyrosinase and anti-acetylcholinesterase activity. In particular, an in-silico prediction analysis, by molecular docking approach, was performed to understand which plant metabolite from A. articulata could be potentially responsible for acetylcholinesterase inhibition, favoring the identification of putative new compounds useful for the treatment of neurodegenerative diseases. All the present evidence could partially explain and justify the therapeutic efficacy of the Algerian traditional medicine linked to the application of A. articulata aqueous extract. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Fennel (Foeniculum vulgare Mill), a member of the Apiaceae family (Umbelliferaceae), is a hardy and perennial herb, with grooved stems, intermittent leaves, petiole with sheath, usually bisexual flower and yellow umbrella. Although fennel is a typical aromatic plant generally considered native to the Mediterranean shores, it has become widespread in many regions of the world and has long been used as a medicinal and culinary herb. The aim of this review is to collect recent information from the literature on the chemical composition, functional properties and toxicology of fennel. Collected data show the efficacy of this plant in various in vitro and in vivo pharmacological studies including antibacterial, antifungal, antiviral, antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, antimutagenic, antinociceptive, hepatoprotective, bronchodilatory, and memory enhancing activities. It has also been shown to be effective on infantile colic, dysmenorrhea, polycystic ovarian syndrome and milk production. This review also aims to identify gaps in the literature that require to be filled by future research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Plant protein components contribute positively to human well-being as they modulate the immune status of a consumer, especially when the enzymatic method is employed in order to release their bioactive peptides. These peptides are derived from plant-based foods such as soy, wheat, barley, rye, oats, rice, corn, sorghum, and millet, the famous staple foods around the world. Since these peptides are crucial to functional food among other key industries, the present study endeavored to scout for relevant information within the past three decades, using the Web of Science, Scopus, and Google search engines. In this review, first, the core of immunomodulation and types of immunomodulatory agents will be discussed, followed by the production of plant-based immunomodulatory peptides and their immunomodulatory mechanisms in cells, animals, and humans are also studied. Finally, applications and challenges associated with plant-based immunomodulatory peptides are put forward. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]