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Free Radicals and Antioxidants
Published in Chuong Pham-Huy, Bruno Pham Huy, Food and Lifestyle in Health and Disease, 2022
Chuong Pham-Huy, Bruno Pham Huy
Flavanols or flavan-3-ols are often commonly called catechins. They are known as the major building blocks of tannins (150). They constitute a greatly complex group of polyphenols in the range from the monomeric flavan-3-ols (e.g., catechin, epicatechin, epigallocatechin, epigallocatechin gallate) to oligomeric proanthocyanidins (OPC) known as condensed tannins, while theaflavins and thearubigins are the dimers of gallocatechins and are formed during the preparation of black tea by fermentation. Flavanols are abundant in tea leaves, cocoa, chocolate, honey, red wine, grapes, apples, persimmon, apricots, peach, kiwi, blackberry and cereals (147–149, 162). Many in vitro animal and human studies have reported that green tea or its catechins may prevent cancer development, reduce cholesterol levels and hypertension, protect against neurodegenerative diseases, improve dental health, and more. Although the antioxidant potential of green tea is evident, the results from clinical and epidemiological studies of the relationship between green tea and prevention of these diseases in humans are mixed (162).
Effects of Food Processing, Storage, and Cooking on Nutrients in Plant-Based Foods
Published in Nicole M. Farmer, Andres Victor Ardisson Korat, Cooking for Health and Disease Prevention, 2022
Flavonols include quercetin, kaempferol, and myricetin and are present in fruits and vegetables such as apples, blueberries, grapes, broccoli, kale, leeks, and onions (Blumberg & Milbury, 2006). Flavanols are present in many fruits and seeds including apricots, apples, and grapes and are present in foods such as tea and chocolate. The primary forms of flavanols are catechin, epicatechin and epigallocatechin which tend to be relatively stable to various cooking methods. Flavones are found in celery, parsley, and cereals and in the rinds of citrus fruits. Flavanones are found in citrus fruits, primarily in the membrane structure and peel. Isoflavones are characteristically found in legumes including soy and are stable to cooking and processing, which is reflected in high levels found in soy products such as tofu, tempeh, and soy flours (Figures 2.8 and 2.9).
The Potential of Food Nutrients in the Prevention and Amelioration of Cognitive Dysfunction Caused by Neurodegenerative Diseases
Published in Abhai Kumar, Debasis Bagchi, Antioxidants and Functional Foods for Neurodegenerative Disorders, 2021
Flavanol is a member of the flavonoid family and acts in a variety of ways in vivo. The flavanol quercetin improves learning ability as well as memory impairment. Plant-derived flavanols (-) such as epicatechin cross the blood–brain barrier and increase synaptic spine density, angiogenesis, and hippocampus-dependent memory.
Small ubiquitin-related modifier (SUMO)ylation of SIRT1 mediates (-)-epicatechin inhibited- differentiation of cardiac fibroblasts into myofibroblasts
Published in Pharmaceutical Biology, 2022
Yingchun Luo, Jing Lu, Zeng Wang, Lu Wang, Guodong Wu, Yuanyuan Guo, Zengxiang Dong
A diet rich in flavanols has a protective effect on cardiovascular health and function as an antioxidant and anti-inflammatory (Yamazaki et al. 2010; Wu et al. 2017; Kang et al. 2020; Leyva-Soto et al. 2021). EPI is extracted from the flavanol-rich plant and has been validated as a dietary supplement in mitigating vascular inflammation and oxidative stress. EPI treatment has been confirmed that can protect the heart against myocardial ischaemia induced-cardiac injury and protect the cardiovascular through reducing arginase expression and increasing NOS expression (Li et al. 2018; Ortiz-Vilchis et al. 2018; MacRae et al. 2019). Furthermore, EGCG treatment could ameliorate cardiac hypertrophy and fibrosis (Cai et al. 2013; Muhammed et al. 2018). In our present study, EPI was verified to improve heart function and reduce HW/BW ratio to protect the heart against cardiac fibrosis by the TAC mouse model. Furthermore, H&E and Masson staining results show the cardiovascular protective effect of EPI. The immunohistochemical analysis results show that the SIRT1 protein expression in the hearts of the TAC mice is upregulated by EPI treatment. EPI treatment decreased the protein level of cardiac fibrosis biomarkers such as COLI, COLIII, and α-SMA. Therefore, EPI blocked TAC or Ang II-induced myofibroblasts transformation and collagen synthesis.
Flavonoid-rich fraction of Lasianthera africana leaves alleviates hepatotoxicity induced by carbon tetrachloride in Wistar rats
Published in Drug and Chemical Toxicology, 2022
Daniel Emmanuel Ekpo, Parker Elijah Joshua, Arome Solomon Odiba, Okwesilieze Fred Chiletugo Nwodo
Although liver injury is a major cause of death worldwide, therapeutic interventions targeted at protecting the hepatocytes from damage or repair of damaged hepatocytes are largely limited. Recently, advancement in scientific research has pave the way for the isolation of bioactive phytochemicals with pharmacological effects, which are now used as potential therapeutic agents (Farghali et al. 2015). Extracts from medicinal plants contain different phytochemical compounds including flavonoids as well as other polyphenolic compounds which confer therapeutic effects due to their antioxidative stress properties. Flavonoids are antioxidant phytochemical compounds, consisting of flavones, flavanone, flavanols, flavonols, and flavanonols, which make up a large group of plant secondary metabolites (Chua et al. 2011). They make up an essential part of human diet and are ubiquitous in vegetables, nuts, flowers, seeds, stem, fruits, tea, and wine (Sandhar et al. 2011). Flavonoids in particular are known for their anti-inflammatory and anti-mutagenic properties, as well as their capacity to modulate key cellular enzyme activities (Panche et al. 2016). They also show very good antioxidant (Procházková et al. 2011), anticancer (Souza et al. 2018) and hepatoprotective effects (Zhang et al. 2018), and function as scavengers for free radicals by rapid donation of hydrogen atoms (Kumar and Pandey 2013).
Flavanol-rich lychee fruit extract substantially reduces progressive cognitive and molecular deficits in a triple-transgenic animal model of Alzheimer disease
Published in Nutritional Neuroscience, 2021
Xiao Chen, Benhong Xu, Luling Nie, Kaiwu He, Li Zhou, Xinfeng Huang, Peter Spencer, Xifei Yang, Jianjun Liu
Among the therapeutic approaches under active study are phytochemical preparations rich in anti-oxidant flavan-3-ols or flavanols, which are claimed to promote healthy brain aging and reduce cognitive deterioration in clinical trials [1–8]. However, many such interventions used primary flavanol plant extracts (i.e. fruit juice) from the plants in which the flavanol was highly polymerized and therefore difficult to estimate among the various components. Oligonol, a commercial oligomeric flavanols product prepare from lychee fruit (Litchi sinensis) and green tea (Camellia sinensis) which is also reported to have positive physiological effects relevant to cognitive impairment in rodent models of senescence and AD [9–13], may serve a superior alternative. While a comprehensive review concluded there was experimental animal evidence to suggest that flavanols may delay the onset of AD through a number of different mechanisms [14], the purported positive effects and molecular mechanisms of Oligonol treatment need to be evaluated with a definitive animal model of AD.