Current Bioactive Compounds - Volume 8, Issue 3, 2012

Guaiacol and 4-methylguaiacol are routinely used as markers to determine extent of smoke impact on winegrapes and wines. However, smoke contains a complex group of compounds that may contribute to smoke taint in winegrapes and wine. In this study, a gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) based analytical method was developed and validated for the profiling of various smoke taint compounds in wine Read More

Grape tannin content and composition studies have been limited to a few varieties. To determine whether grape tannin composition was generic or variety specific, we examined skin tannins in 36 cultivars. Tannins were analyzed by phloroglucinolysis and gel permeation chromatography (GPC). Concentration ranged from 1.3 (Malbec) to 15.6 mg/g fresh weight of skin (Red Emperor). Catechin terminal subunits ranged from 45.6 Read More

Agave has been used as a raw material for food and folklore medicinal purposes. Traditional processing involves the use of agave as a source of carbohydrate-rich syrups for direct use or as substrate to yield hydrolyzed fermented products and spirits. Agave plants can accumulate significant amounts of inulin, important molecule with prebiotic activity. The agave plant has been used to feed ruminants in arid areas where drou Read More

Olive biophenols affect the organoleptic and nutraceutical properties of fruits; therefore, it is an emerging research field. In addition, a plethora of health-promoting properties have been attributed to the phenolic content of olive fruits. The main biophenols can be divided into different sub-groups such as phenolic acids and alcohols, flavonoids, lignans and secoiridoids. The latter sub-group of biophenols is typical in olive fruit Read More

Flavonoids are a broad class of polyphenolic secondary metabolites widely dispersed throughout the plant kingdom and found in substantial levels in commonly consumed fruits, vegetables and beverages. These compounds have aroused considerable interest because of their potential beneficial biochemical and antioxidant effects on human health. The structures of flavonoids are characterized by a fifteen-carbon back Read More

The discovery of Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori), the curved or spiral shaped bacteria, as the main etiologic organism of chronic gastritis, peptic ulcer disease, and gastric cancer was one the most significant discoveries in gastroenterology of the twentieth century. Helicobacter infections promote infiltration of the gastric mucosa by neutrophils, macrophages, and T and B lymphocytes, and leaves the host prone to complications re Read More

Annona species have been used as a natural remedy for a variety of illnesses with antiparasitic, antispasmodic, antidiarrheal, antiulcer, sedative, analgesic, hypotensive, and vermifugal effects. These properties are due to the presence of a number of bioactive compounds on the leaves, fruit, seeds, and stem. The aim of this review is to show the main species of Annona, their medicinal properties and the chemical constituents Read More

Bioactivity of the cytoskeleton proteins such as actin, myosin and titin that have been extracted from the rabbit muscle was analyzed on plant misrospores as unicellular biosensors. The fibrillar forms of the proteins stimulated the germination of vegetative microspores from horsetail Equisetum arvense and generative (pollen) microspores from knight’s star Hippeastrum hybridum. In special experiments the proteins t Read More

The antifeedant activities of camptothecin 1 and its semisynthetic derivatives 2-12 were evaluated against an economically important pest, Spodoptera litura (Fabricius) (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae). Simple chemical conversions were carried out on the natural camptothecin obtained from a Chinese medicinal plant Camptotheca acuminate. These conversions focused on different functional modified sites in the camptothecin Read More