Nowadays, obesity, metabolic syndrome, and other chronic diseases including cardiovascular
disease, stroke, diabetes, cancers, immune disorders, and chronic respiratory disease
are becoming the leading causes of global morbidity and mortality. Diet pattern and
physical exercise have been found to be the most important factors impacting on these
chronic diseases. Because they are preventable, modifications in diet and lifestyle
habits are currently recognized as promising strategies to prevent and/or treat these
diseases. In addition to their content in essential nutrients, foods contain a wide
range of bioactive compounds. In the last years, the number of studies evaluating
the physiological activities of food-derived bioactives has markedly increased. Cell
culture, animal models, and human trials are being performed to demonstrate the benefits
of foods on health and to identify and characterize the responsible compounds. Therefore,
the present special issue summarizes the most recent advances on bioactive compounds
derived from food making them to be recognized as promising strategies in prevention,
auxiliary therapy, or even cure of different chronic diseases of the 21st century.
The selected papers represent a novel and many-facet knowledge, which we have the
pleasure of sharing with the readers.
In a paper entitled “Delphinidin-Rich Maqui Berry Extract (Delphinol®) Lowers Fasting
and Postprandial Glycemia and Insulinemia in Prediabetic Individuals during Oral Glucose
Tolerance Tests,” J. L. Alvarado et al. investigate the effect of a delphinidin-rich
extract obtained from maqui berry and known as Delphinol on glucose metabolism in
prediabetic humans challenged with pure glucose. These authors demonstrate, for the
first time, the ability of Delphinol to simultaneously reduce fasting blood glucose
and insulin levels in patients when administered in a single dose. These effects are
suggested to be mediated through multiple mechanisms including inhibition of intestinal
glucose transporters, an incretin-modulating effect on insulin secretion, and improvement
of the insulin sensitivity in target tissues.
In the last years, the number of patients suffering of neuropathic pain, defined as
pain caused by a lesion or disease of the somatosensory nervous system, has increased
rapidly. However, to date, drugs used to alleviate this pain are not completely effective
and provokes undesired side effects, such as tolerance and physical dependence. In
the paper entitled “Food-Derived Natural Compounds for Pain Relief in Neuropathic
Pain,” E. Y. Lim and Y. T. Kim summarize the processes implicated in the etiology
and progress of neuropathic pain and the potential benefits of C-C motif chemokine
receptor 2 (CCR2) antagonists for treatment of this chronic disorder. In addition,
plant food-derived compounds that have demonstrated in animal models to be useful
for neuropathic pain alleviation are described in detail.
Skeletal muscle injury is a common clinical issue that can be caused by several conditions
including direct trauma, prolonged training, ischemia, or myotoxins. Food-derived
peptides and amino acids may function as anti-inflammatory agents as illustrated in
the original research work entitled “Shrimp Protein Hydrolysate Modulates the Timing
of Proinflammatory Macrophages in Bupivacaine-Injured Skeletal Muscles in Rats” by
J. Dort et al. This study provides information on the in vivo effects of shrimp protein
hydrolysate consumption on chemically injured rat skeletal muscle. Protein hydrolysate
feeding improved resolution of inflammation in skeletal muscles through modulation
of proinflammatory macrophages accumulation that can induce a generalized beneficial
effect on muscle regeneration.
Skin suffers inappropriate ultraviolet (UV) exposure causing dermal photo-damage and
photo-aging, resulting in partial inflammation, redness, swelling, and tissue damage.
In a paper entitled “Djulis (Chenopodium formosanum Koidz.) Water Extract and Its
Bioactive Components Ameliorate Dermal Damage in UVB-Irradiated Skin Models,” Y.-H.
Hong and coworkers pointed that Djulis treatment protected skin HaCaT cells against
UV-induced inflammation, oxidative stress, and increased the cell viability. By an
in vivo study, it was also demonstrated that administration of the extract exerted
protection against UV challenge in skin of mice. In addition, the authors found that
the contributive compounds of Djulis are mainly rutin and chlorogenic acid.
The rising challenge of bacterial resistance to antibiotics has promoted the need
for the development of natural products with antibacterial and antioxidant activity
to effectively manage many infectious diseases. The study “Antibacterial and Antioxidant
Properties of the Leaves and Stem Essential Oils of Jatropha gossypifolia L.,” by
S. O. Okoh et al. proposes the use of leaves and stem essential oils of the medicinal
plant Jatropha gossypifolia as a potential therapeutic agent for the treatment of
microbial infections. This study provided a detailed characterization of the fatty
acid composition of essential oils and described their antiradical and antibacterial
properties indicating their potential therapeutic uses in the prevention or treatment
of infectious diseases.
In a paper entitled “DHA and EPA Content and Fatty Acid Profile of 39 Food Fishes
from India,” B. P. Mohanty and coworkers demonstrated that fish is an important source
of polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) and has a unique advantage. Docosahexaenoic
acid (DHA) and eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) are present in high concentration in sea
creatures with high fat composition and play important roles in fetal brain development,
lipid metabolism, cognitive support, preventing atherosclerosis, dementia, and immune
disorders. This article reported that 39 fish species from India, especially Tenualosa
ilisha, Sardinella longiceps, Nemopterus japonicus, and Anabas testudineus, are rich
sources of DHA and EPA. Promotion of these species as DHA fish sources would enhance
their utility in public health nutrition.
Hypoglycemic effect of the main antidiabetic compound in mulberry latex, the glucose
analogue 1-deoxynojirimycin, is well-known to be due to inhibition of intestinal α-glucosidase.
Further understanding of 1-deoxynojirimycin glucose lowering effects were examined
in the study “An Evaluation of 1-Deoxynojirimycin Oral Administration in Eri Silkworm
through Fat Body Metabolomics Based on 1H Nuclear Magnetic Resonance” by C. Wen et
al. NMR-based metabonomics analysis of the Eri silkworms fat body indicated that 1-deoxynojirimycin
has a positive impact on the reverse energy metabolism. These results reinforce the
evidence for the therapeutic application of 1-deoxynojirimycin as food supplement,
ingredient, or nutraceutical in diabetes.
In a paper entitled “Roe Protein Hydrolysates of Giant Grouper (Epinephelus lanceolatus)
Inhibit Cell Proliferation of Oral Cancer Cells Involving Apoptosis and Oxidative
Stress,” J.-I. Yang et al. evaluated the impact of ultrafiltrated roe hydrolyzates
obtained from giant grouper (Epinephelus lanceolatus) on proliferation of oral cancer
Ca9-22 and CAL 27 cells. In addition, they induced apoptotic characters such as morphology
change, accumulation of cells in sub-G1 phase, and Annexin V positive expression.
These effects together with the ability of roe protein hydrolyzates to induce reactive
oxygen species and superoxide generation and mitochondrial depolarization make it
a promising therapy against oral cancer.