Flavonoids As Nutraceuticals

Therapeutic, Probiotic and Unconventional Foods compiles the most recent, interesting and innovative research on unconventional and therapeutic foods, highlighting their role in improving health and life quality, their implications on safety, and their industrial and economic impact. The book focuses on probiotic foods, addressing the benefits and challenges associated with probiotic and prebiotic use. It then explores the most recently investigated and well-recognized nutraceutical and medicinal foods and the food products and ingredients that have both an impact on human health and a potential therapeutic effect. The third and final section explores unconventional foods and discusses intriguing and debated foods and food sources. While research has been conducted on the beneficial biological effects of probiotics and therapeutic food, the use of these foods remains controversial. To overcome the suspicion of the use of alternative, homeopathic and traditional products as therapy, this book reveals and discusses the most recent and scientifically sound and confirmed aspects of the research. Compiles the most recent, interesting and innovative research on unconventional and therapeutic foods Highlights the role of unconventional and therapeutic foods in improving health and life quality Discusses the implications of unconventional and therapeutic foods on safety Presents the industrial and economic impact of unconventional and therapeutic foods

Flavonoids are well-known plant metabolites that have extraordinary properties that can be used for treating health issues. The pharmaceutical importance of flavonoids is due to their anti-depressant, anti-viral, anti-inflammatory, and antioxidant capacities. They are also of great importance when it comes to neuroprotection, cardiovascular disorders, and many types of cancer. Flavonoids are also easily available and produce less harmful side effects than some conventional therapeutics. This new volume examines the growing use of flavonoids for prevention and treatment of diseases and discusses their beneficial mechanisms. Chapters in the volume address diverse uses as anti-aging tools, as anti-inflammatory agents, for treating pregnancy-induced disorders, as a promising tool to combat infection of Covid-19, etc. The book explores their specific therapeutic antiviral potentials, the gene expression by flavonoids, and the role of flavonoids in agriculture.

This is the only book of its kind to provide an overview of the science of flavonoids in plants.

Revised and expanded throughout, this blue-ribbon reference emphasizes the latest developments in the identification, utilization, and analysis of flavonoids for the prevention of disease and maintenance of good health-examining the processes involved in the absorption, metabolism, distribution, and excretion of these compounds and the impact of biotransformation on flavonoid function.

In response to the recent upsurge of interest in the therapeutic potential of medicinal plants, with their promising phenolic compounds, this new book offers an important overview of advances in the applications of flavonoids for health. The book explores the nutritional and pharmacological properties of polyphenols and flavonoids, including their ability to prevent the start and development of diseases and how they aid in the management of several chronic pathological illnesses, including cancer, diabetes, cardiovascular disease, neuro-degenerative illness and aging, pregnancy-induced disorders, and others. Also discussed in depth are the properties, classes, and degrees that formulate a phenolic compound and which subsequently supports the development of drugs/products with health benefits.

This book presents an overview of the latest advances and developments in plant biotechnology. The respective chapters explore emerging areas of plant biotechnology such as RNAi technology, fermentation technology, genetic engineering, nanoparticles and their applications, climate resilient crops, bio-films, bio-plastic, bio-remediation, flavonoids, antioxidants etc. All chapters were written by respected experts and address the latest developments in plant biotechnology that are of industrial importance, especially with regard to crop yields and post-harvest strategies. As such, the book offers a valuable guide for students, educators and researchers in all disciplines of the life sciences, agricultural sciences, medicine, and biotechnology at universities, research institutions and biotechnology companies.

Flavonoids are known to have positive effects on human and animal health and are employed for disease therapy and chemoprevention.This book presents recent advances of polyphenol (flavonoids) derivatives for the management and prevention of diseases. It summarizes the classification of flavonoids and explores their potential as immunity-boosting compounds for mental health, for prevention of cardiovascular illnesses, for their antimicrobial and anti-inflammatory uses, for their use in vasodilation, for their use in dermatology and cosmetic preparation, and more. The various methods of flavonoid extraction are addressed, including the main parameters involved in extraction, such as temperature, solvent used, sample quantity, time for extraction, etc. The book also looks at the role of flavonoids in sustainable agriculture.

Flavonoids are ubiquitously present in plant-based foods and natural health products. The molecule of flavonoids is characterized by a 15-carbon skeleton of C6–C3–C6, with the different structural configuration of subclasses. The major subclasses of flavonoids with health-promotional properties are the flavanols or catechins (e.g., epigallocatechin 3-gallate from green tea), the flavones (e.g., apigenin from celery), the flavonols (e.g., quercetin glycosides from apples, berries, and onion), the flavanones (e.g., naringenin from citrus), the anthocyanins (e.g., cyanidin-3-O-glucoside from berries), and the isoflavones (e.g., genistein from soya beans). Scientific evidence has strongly shown that regular intake of dietary flavonoids in efficacious amounts reduces the risk of oxidative stress- and chronic inflammation-mediated pathogenesis of human diseases such as cardiovascular disease, certain cancers, and neurological disorders. The physiological benefits of dietary flavonoids have been demonstrated to be due to multiple mechanisms of action, including regulating redox homeostasis, epigenetic regulations, activation of survival genes and signaling pathways, regulation of mitochondrial function and bioenergetics, and modulation of inflammation response. The role of flavonoids on gut microbiota and the impact of microbial metabolites of flavonoids on optimal health has begun to unravel. The complex physiological modulations of flavonoid molecules are due to their structural diversity. However, some flavonoids are not absorbed well, and their bioavailability could be enhanced through structural modifications and applications of nanotechnology, such as encapsulation. This Special Issue consists of four review articles on flavonoids and 15 original research articles, which cover the latest findings on the role of dietary flavonoids and their derivatives in disease prevention and treatment.

Flavonoids are abundant secondary metabolites found in plants and fungi that have various roles in these organisms, including pigmentation, cell signalling, plant defence and inter-organism communication. Due to their abundance in nature, flavonoids are also important components of the human diet, and the last four decades have seen an intense study focused on the structure characterization of flavonoids and on their roles in mammal metabolism. This book reviews most of the well-established activities of flavonoids, and we also present more recent research studies on the area of flavonoids, including the chemical aspects of structure characterization of flavonoids, the biosynthesis of flavonoids in model plants as well as their role in abiotic stress situations and in agriculture, the role of flavonoids in metabolism and health and their importance in foods, from consumption to their use as bioactive components.

Functional Foods, Nutraceuticals and Degenerative Disease Prevention is a compilation of different segments of functional foods and nutraceuticals focusing on their mechanism of action in the human body leading to disease prevention. Numerous chapters deal with different functional foods in terms of their efficacy, highlighting the mechanism of action of their ingredients. The book focuses on the biochemistry and molecular biology of the disease prevention process rather than simply compiling the benefits of functional foods and nutraceuticals. Aimed primarily at an audience comprised of researchers, industry professionals, food scientists, medical professionals and graduate level students, Functional Foods, Nutraceuticals and Degenerative Disease Prevention offers a mechanism-based interpretation for the effect of nutraceuticals within the human body. Ultimately, the discussion of the biological effects of a variety of functional foods will provide a wholesome approach to the maintenance of health through judicious choice of functional foods.