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The Role of Culinary Herbs and Spices in the Prevention...
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The Role of Culinary Herbs and Spices in the Prevention and Management Chronic Non-communicable Diseases

A special issue of Molecules (ISSN 1420-3049). This special issue belongs to the section "Natural Products Chemistry".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 July 2022) | Viewed by 7645

Special Issue Editors

Prof. Dr. Oluwafemi Oguntibeju

E-Mail Website1 Website2
Guest Editor
Department of Biomedical Sciences, Faculty of Health and Wellness Sciences, Cape Peninsula University of Technology, P.O. Box 1906, Bellville 7535, South Africa
Interests: antioxidants; oxidative stress; phytochemical; free radical biology
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Prof. Dr. Elizabeth Opara

E-Mail Website1 Website2
Guest Editor
School of Human Sciences, London Metropolitan University, London N7 8DB, UK
Interests: herbs; spices; medicinal plants; bioactivity; phytochemicals
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. Pariyarath Sangeetha Thondre

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Oxford Brookes Centre for Nutrition and Health, Faculty of Health and Life Sciences, Oxford Brookes University, Oxford OX3 0BP, UK
Interests: dietary fibre; carbohydrate functional foods; glycemic response; prediabetes
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

In addition to being used globally in the preparation of food for the enhancement of flavor, culinary herbs and spices are emerging as foods identified as possessing compounds (e.g., polyphenols) with properties purported to be beneficial in the prevention and management of chronic noncommunicable diseases, including cardiovascular and neurodegenerative diseases, type 2 diabetes, metabolic syndrome, and certain cancers. However, establishing their actual benefits—preventative, and therapeutic potential—continues to be challenging. This Special Issue aims to bring together research from around the world, which endeavors to provide further clarity to the significance of the bioactive properties of these foods in the context of non-communicable disease prevention and treatment and informs and communicates the direction in which future research needs to go to address the challenges of establishing their efficacy.

Prof. Dr. Oluwafemi Oguntibeju
Prof. Dr. Elizabeth Opara
Dr. Pariyarath Sangeetha Thondre
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Molecules is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2700 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • culinary
  • herbs
  • spices
  • bioactive compounds
  • non-communicable disease

Published Papers (3 papers)

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Research

16 pages, 4545 KiB  
Article
Curcumin-Loaded Microspheres Are Effective in Preventing Oxidative Stress and Intestinal Inflammatory Abnormalities in Experimental Ulcerative Colitis in Rats
by Dana Hales, Dana-Maria Muntean, Maria Adriana Neag, Béla Kiss, Maria-Georgia Ștefan, Lucia Ruxandra Tefas, Ioan Tomuță, Alina Sesărman, Ioana-Adela Rațiu and Alina Porfire
Molecules 2022, 27(17), 5680; https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules27175680 - 02 Sep 2022
Cited by 6 | Viewed by 1973
Abstract
Curcumin’s role in the treatment of ulcerative colitis (UC) has been proven by numerous studies, but its preventive administration, with the aim of reducing the remission episodes that are characteristic of this disease, must be further investigated. This study investigates the effects of [...] Read more.
Curcumin’s role in the treatment of ulcerative colitis (UC) has been proven by numerous studies, but its preventive administration, with the aim of reducing the remission episodes that are characteristic of this disease, must be further investigated. This study investigates the effects of a novel curcumin-loaded polymeric microparticulate oral-drug-delivery system for colon targeting (Col-CUR-MPs) in an experimental model of UC. Male Wistar rats (n = 40) were divided into five groups (n = 8), which were treated daily by oral gavage for seven days with a 2% aqueous solution of carboxymethylcellulose sodium salt (CMCNa) (healthy and disease control), free curcumin powder (reference), Col-CUR-MPs (test) and prednisolone (reference) prior to UC induction by the intrarectal administration of acetic acid (AA), followed by animal sacrification and blood and colonic samples’ collection on the eighth day. Col-CUR-MPs exhibited an important preventive effect in the severity degree of oxidative stress that resulted following AA intrarectal administration, which was proved by the highest catalase (CAT) and total antioxidant capacity (TAC) levels and the lowest nitrites/nitrates (NOx), total oxidative status (TOS) and oxidative stress index (OSI) levels. Biochemical parameter analysis was supported by histopathological assessment, confirming the significant anti-inflammatory and antioxidant effects of this novel colon-specific delivery system in AA-induced rat models of UC. Thus, this study offers encouraging perspectives regarding the preventive administration of curcumin in the form of a drug delivery system for colon targeting. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue The Role of Culinary Herbs and Spices in the Prevention and Management Chronic Non-communicable Diseases)
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14 pages, 1202 KiB  
Article
Nutritional Profiling, Phytochemical Composition and Antidiabetic Potential of Taraxacum officinale, an Underutilized Herb
by Imtiyaz Murtaza, Omi Laila, Iqra Drabu, Ajaz Ahmad, Wafa Charifi, Simona M. Popescu and Sheikh Mansoor
Molecules 2022, 27(17), 5380; https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules27175380 - 24 Aug 2022
Cited by 6 | Viewed by 2086
Abstract
Taraxacum officinale (T. officinale), a wild vegetable with a number of health claims, has been mostly ignored and unexplored. The study aims to compare the nutritional, phytochemical as well as antidiabetic potential of fresh as well as shade-dried leaves of T. officinale, [...] Read more.
Taraxacum officinale (T. officinale), a wild vegetable with a number of health claims, has been mostly ignored and unexplored. The study aims to compare the nutritional, phytochemical as well as antidiabetic potential of fresh as well as shade-dried leaves of T. officinale, in order to recommend its best form as a dietary antidiabetic product. The results revealed that as compared to fresh leaves, the shade-dried leaves, in addition to possessing higher levels of carbohydrates, crude protein, crude fat, crude fiber, etc., also contain appreciable amounts of total phenols (5833.12 ± 4.222 mg/100), total flavonoids (188.84 ± 0.019 mg/100 g), ascorbic acid (34.70 ± 0.026 mg/100 g), β-carotene (3.88 ± 1.473 mg/100 g) and total chlorophyll (239.51 ± 0.015 mg/100 g) antioxidants. The study revealed the presence of medicinally important antidiabetic flavonoid quercetin present in T. officinale leaves. Among the three solvent systems used, the aqueous extract of shade-dried T. officinale leaves comparatively demonstrated potent antidiabetic activity under in vitro conditions in a dose-dependent manner via targeting α-amylase and α-glucosidase, the two potent enzymes of carbohydrate metabolism. Therefore, in addition to being a nutritious herb, the shade-dried leaves of T. officinale have great potential to suppress post-prandial glucose rise and can be better exploited through clinical trials to be used as a dietary intervention for better management of diabetes. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue The Role of Culinary Herbs and Spices in the Prevention and Management Chronic Non-communicable Diseases)
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7 pages, 389 KiB  
Article
In Vitro Alpha-Glucosidase Inhibitory Activity and the Isolation of Luteolin from the Flower of Gymnanthemum amygdalinum (Delile) Sch. Bip ex Walp.
by Sheppriola Vonia, Rika Hartati and Muhamad Insanu
Molecules 2022, 27(7), 2132; https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules27072132 - 25 Mar 2022
Cited by 10 | Viewed by 2938
Abstract
Diabetes mellitus is a major health issue that has posed a significant challenge over the years. Gymnanthemum amygdalinum is a well-known plant that can be potentially used to treat this disease. Therefore, this study aimed to evaluate the inhibitory effect of its root, [...] Read more.
Diabetes mellitus is a major health issue that has posed a significant challenge over the years. Gymnanthemum amygdalinum is a well-known plant that can be potentially used to treat this disease. Therefore, this study aimed to evaluate the inhibitory effect of its root, stem bark, leaves, and flower extracts on alpha-glucosidase using an in vitro inhibition assay to isolate the bioactive compounds and determine their levels in the samples. The air-dried plant parts were extracted by maceration using methanol. The results showed that the flower extract had the greatest inhibitory effect (IC50 47.29 ± 1.12 µg/mL), followed by the leaves, roots, and stem bark. The methanolic flower extract was further fractionated with different solvents, and the ethyl acetate fraction showed the strongest activity (IC50 19.24 ± 0.12 µg/mL). Meanwhile, acarbose was used as a positive control (IC50 73.36 ± 3.05 µg/mL). Characterization based on UV, 1H-, and 13C-NMR established that the ethyl acetate fraction yielded two flavonoid compounds, namely, luteolin and 2-(3,4-dihydroxyphenyl)-5,7-dihydroxy-3-methoxy-4H-chromen-4-on, which had IC50 values of 6.53 ± 0.16 µg/mL and 39.95 ± 1.59 µg/mL, respectively. The luteolin levels in the crude drug, methanolic extract, and ethyl acetate fraction were 3.4 ± 0.2 mg (0.3%), 32.4 ± 0.8 mg (3.2%), and 68.9 ± 3.4 mg (6.9%) per 1 g samples, respectively. These results indicated that the G. amygdalinum flower extract exerted potent inhibitory alpha-glucosidase activity. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue The Role of Culinary Herbs and Spices in the Prevention and Management Chronic Non-communicable Diseases)
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