Current Drug Metabolism - Volume 15, Issue 1, 2014

Anthocyanins are the largest group of water-soluble pigments in the plant kingdom. As with other polyphenols, they express antioxidant activity in vivo. Anthocyanins are associated with reduced risk of some several diseases, such as atherosclerosis and diabetes. Their beneficial health effects depend on the efficiency of their absorption. The intake of anthocyanins from the gastrointestinal lumen into the blood is likely to occur t Read More

Green tea is one of the most popular beverages around the world. For several decades, numerous epidemiological, preclinical and clinical studies have demonstrated that green tea polyphenols (GTPs), especially epigallocatechin-3-gallate (EGCG) have cancer-preventing effects on various cancers. In this review, we present inhibition of carcinogenesis in different animal models by GTPs or EGCG, including prostate cancer, bl Read More

The development of food fortified with polyphenols and polyphenol-rich foods represents a novel approach to prevent or attenuate type 2 diabetes. It has been reported that type 2 diabetes may affect the pharmacokinetics of various drugs in several animal models. There is powerful evidence linking dietary polyphenols consumption with the risk factors defining type 2 diabetes, even if some opposite results occurred. This mini- Read More

Tea is an infusion of the leaves of the Camellia sinensis plant and is the most widely consumed beverage in the world after water. The main chemical components in teas are phenolic compounds (tea polyphenols, mainly tea catechins). A large number of in vitro and in vivo scientific studies have supported that the tea polyphenols can provide a number of health benefits such as, reducing the incidence of coronary he Read More

At present, dietary polyphenols are popular with consumers because regular consumption of polyphenol-rich foods is likely to be beneficial for human health. However, administrated polyphenols are extensively metabolized in the digestive tract or some other parts before reaching the target organs. Additionally, some of the polyphenols are photosensitive, easily oxidized and are in unfavorable forms. Therefore, a lot of Read More

Flavonoids are naturally occurring polyphenols, which are widely taken in diets, supplements and herbal medicines. Epidemiological studies have shown a flavonoid-rich diet is associated with the decrease in incidence of a range of diseases. Pharmacological evidences also reveal flavonoids display anti-oxidant, anti-allergic, anti-cancer, anti-inflammatory, anti-microbial and anti-diarrheal activities. Therefore, it is critical to stu Read More

Several epidemiological studies throughout the years have suggested that polyphenols from fruits and vegetables promote health and reduce the risk of certain chronic and neurodegenerative diseases. Yet, it has been proved to be extremely difficult to quantitatively establish the benefit afforded by polyphenols, principally due to the limited understanding of the extent of its absorption and metabolic fate. Pharmacokinetic Read More

The biochemical activities of plant flavonoids and stilbenoids point to many health-related applications, hampered however by a low bioavailability associated with rapid metabolic modification. A possible approach to overcome this obstacle is the development of prodrugs. In this review we provide some background information and summarize the efforts made so far to obtain suitable precursors of the two best known mode Read More

Significant advances have been achieved during the past decade concerning the metabolism of polyphenol compounds in vitro, but scarce data has been presented about what really happens in vivo. Many studies on polyphenols to date have focused on the bioactivity of one specific molecule in aglycone form, often at supraphysiological doses, whereas foods contain complex, often poorly characterized mixtures with multiple ad Read More

Diabetes mellitus is one of the most serious diseases in the world. The degree of glycated plasma proteins is increased in diabetics compared to non-diabetic subjects. This mini-review focuses on the influence of glycation of human serum albumin (HSA) in diabetes on the binding interaction with dietary polyphenols. The non-enzymatic glycation of HSA leads to a conformational change in HSA, which in turn influences the liga Read More

Flavonoids are natural polyphenols that can be found in many vegetables, citric fruits and dietary supplements and are widely consumed worldwide in the human diet. Over the past 30 years, studies have demonstrated that these compounds present significant biological activities, and their antioxidant properties may be responsible for the prevention of many diseases such as neurodegeneration, atherosclerosis, tumor gene Read More