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Volatile compounds containing sulfur make very important contributions to the aromas associated with various foods, and often define the characteristic flavor of the food. Thiols are especially potent; some have the lowest aroma thresholds of any food odorant. In this review, we focused on 2-methyl-3-furanthiol (MFT) which is a potent meaty flavor. We summarized the natural occurrence of MFT in a variety of meat products, together with its common isolation and detection techniques. MFT is generated in food processing in different pathways, among which Maillard reaction between carbohydrates and cysteine is the most common. Other than that it can also be formed from thiamin degradation or enzymatic reactions. Being unstable, MFT readily reacts with different components in food systems including forming disulfides through radical reactions or interacting with melanoidins through ionic reactions. MFT also has good antioxidant activities, in both aqueous and organic systems and can protect from lipid peroxidation. The metabolism of MFT in rat liver is also discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The hepatoprotective activities of two different extracts, a hydroethanolic crude bulb extract (CB) and a steroidal glycoside-rich 1-butanol extract (BuOH), prepared from the bulbs of Easter lily (Lilium longiflorum Thunb.), were evaluated in a 24 week study in the female KK.Cg-A(y)/J Type 2 diabetic mouse model. Animals were divided into six groups (n = 16): control mice received Easter lily bulb extract-free drinking water together with a low- or high-fat diet (diabetic control); drinking water for the remaining groups was supplemented with CB extract (1%), BuOH extract (0.1 or 0.2%), and reference drug Metformin (0.001%), together with a high-fat diet. Both CB and BuOH extract treatment groups exhibited significantly improved liver function based on comparisons of triglycerides [diabetic 219 ± 34 mg/dL, CB 131 ± 27 mg/dL, BuOH(0.2%) 114 ± 35 mg/dL], CB total cholesterol (TC) (diabetic 196 ± 12 mg/dL, CB 159 ± 5 mg/dL), average liver mass [diabetic 2.96 ± 0.13 g, CB 2.58 ± 0.08 g, BuOH(0.1%) 2.48 ± 0.13 g], alanine transferase [diabetic 74 ± 5 units/L, CB 25 ± 1 units/L, BuOH(0.1%) 45 ± 1 units/L], and histological examinations. Glucose metabolism was improved only in CB, which was confirmed by oral glucose tolerance tests (OGTT) in diet-induced obese C57BL/6J mice exposed to CB extract. These data suggest that steroidal glycosides 1-5 might play a role in the hepatoprotective activity of the BuOH extracts, while the results of the TC measurements and OGTT study indicate that other constituents present in the CB extract are responsible for its hypocholesterolemic and hypoglycemic activity.

Nanochemoprevention by oral consumption was developed by the encapsulation of (-)-epigallocatechin-3-gallate (EGCG) with nanoparticles that were electrostatically assembled from bioactive caseinophosphopeptides and chitosan, which was highly biocompatible and able to enhance the bioavailability of EGCG., (This journal is © The Royal Society of Chemistry 2012)