Herbs with Antidepressant Effects
Scott Mendelson in Herbal Treatment of Major Depression, 2019
Avena sativa, or the common oat, is a member of the grass family. It is native to Europe, Asia, and northwest Africa, and has been cultivated for thousands of years as a food grain. It is the same oat as in oatmeal, though for medicinal purposes, it is harvested earlier, when the seeds are green, in the so-called “milky stage”. It is perhaps too common and simple to be seen as a serious herbal treatment. However, it contains a variety of flavonoids, flavonolignans, triterpenoid saponins, sterols, and tocols, as well as the somewhat unique indole alkaloids, the avenanthramides. Flavonoids isolated from Avena sativa include apigenin, luteolin, caffeic, p-coumaric, and ferulic acids.1 Traditionally, Avena sativa has been used as a stimulant, antispasmodic, antitumor, diuretic, and neurotonic.2
Nutraceutical Herbs and Insulin Resistance
Robert E.C. Wildman, Richard S. Bruno in Handbook of Nutraceuticals and Functional Foods, 2019
Oats, which are considered unique among the cereals, belong to the Poaceae family and are known as “Jai” or “Javi” in the Indian subcontinent. In the mid-1980s, oats were recognized as a healthy food, helping prevent heart disease, and then became more popular in human nutrition. The common oat (Avena sativa) is the most important crop among the cultivated oats. Oats are suitable for human consumption as oatmeal, rolled oats, and other oat-enriched products. Recent studies in food and nutrition have revealed the importance of the various components of oats, such as dietary fiber, especially β-glucan, minerals, and other nutrients.19 Oats and oat-enriched products have been proven to control blood glucose concentrations and to be helpful in the treatment of diabetes. Several studies have suggested that oats and oat-enriched diets can significantly decrease insulin responses, FPG, and PPG in overweight and type 2 diabetic subjects,20–25 which is mainly attributed to the markedly functional properties and enormous importance of β-glucan in human nutrition. β-glucan is a kind of high-molecular-weight polysaccharide exhibiting high viscosity at relatively low concentrations, which can reduce mixing of the food with digestive enzymes and delay gastric emptying. Increased viscosity also retards the absorption of glucose.
Introduction and Method
Christopher Cumo in Ancestral Diets and Nutrition, 2020
Endorsement of animal products also comes by the circuitous route of attacking gluten, a group of over one hundred proteins in wheat (Triticum monococcum, T. dicoccon, T. aestivum, and T. durum), rye (Secale cereale), barley (Hordeum vulgare), and triticale (Triticale hexaploide).46 Although oats (Avena sativa) lack gluten, they may acquire it if processed at a facility that handles other grains. For this reason, those who eschew gluten must avoid most breads, pastas, and other grain products. Lacking gluten, animal products are safe options. The Celiac Disease Foundation in Woodland Hills, California, includes meat, poultry, or seafood daily in a week’s sample menu.47
A 1% colloidal oatmeal OTC cream is clinically effective for the management of mild to moderate atopic dermatitis in Black or African American children
Published in Journal of Dermatological Treatment, 2023
Toni Anne Lisante, Menas Kizoulis, Christopher Nuñez, Corey L. Hartman
Colloidal oatmeal (Avena sativa), composed of various phytochemicals (27), is a safe and effective ingredient in a variety of skin care products (28,29) and is the only over-the-counter (OTC) skin protectant indicated by the US Food & Drug Administration for the treatment of eczema symptoms (30). Despite the higher prevalence of AD in children with skin of color, there is a lack of clinical evidence for the use of colloidal oatmeal in this population. Oatmeal contains a variety of lipids that help restore the skin barrier by promoting epidermal differentiation, lipid synthesis, and ceramide processing, and reducing transepidermal water loss (27). Furthermore, colloidal oatmeal helps normalize the skin pH, which also enhances the barrier function of the skin (27–29).
Safety evaluation of an oat grain alkaloid gramine by genotoxicity assays
Published in Drug and Chemical Toxicology, 2018
Manash Pratim Pathak, Rudragoud S. Policegoudra, Danswrang Goyary, Aparoop Das, Santa Mandal, Srijita Chakraborti, Nilutpal Sharma Bora, Johirul Islam, Pompy Patowary, P. Srinivas Raju, Pronobesh Chattopadhyay
Oat (Avena sativa L., Family: Gramineae) is a cereal widely grown worldwide and is distinct among other grains due to its multifunctional characteristics and nutritional profile (Coffman 1977, Collins 1986, Russell et al.1990, Suttie 2004, Butt et al.2008). Oat and its by-products are traditionally been used as foods as well as for the treatment of diabetes, cardiovascular disorders, and various other disorders (Othman et al.2011). Cai et al. (2012) reported fungi-fermented oats as one of the most effective component which could be potentially used for dietary therapy of obesity that may inhibit pancreatic lipase. Moreover, children consuming oatmeal possess lower risk of having central adiposity and being obese (O’Neil et al.2015).
A Combination of Moringin and Avenanthramide 2f Inhibits the Proliferation of Hep3B Liver Cancer Cells Inducing Intrinsic and Extrinsic Apoptosis
Published in Nutrition and Cancer, 2018
Elena Antonini, Renato Iori, Paolino Ninfali, Emanuele Salvatore Scarpa
Another group of phytochemicals able to induce the extrinsic apoptotic pathway are the avenanthramides (AVNs), the soluble amino-polyphenols exclusively found in oats (Avena sativa L.) among cereals (16). There are several AVN forms, but the three most abundant are: AVN 2p, AVN 2f, and AVN 2c, containing p-coumaric, ferulic and caffeic acids, respectively (17). AVNs are bioavailable in humans (18) and possess antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and in vitro antiproliferative properties (8,19,20). In particular, we have shown that the antiproliferative effects of AVN 2f (Fig. 1b) against CaCo-2 and HepG2 cancer cells occurs through an extrinsic pathway (8).
Related Knowledge Centers
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- Gluten
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- Nutrient
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- Wheat
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