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Nutrients
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Positive Effects of Phytonutrients on Human Health
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Positive Effects of Phytonutrients on Human Health

A special issue of Nutrients (ISSN 2072-6643). This special issue belongs to the section "Phytochemicals and Human Health".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (20 December 2023) | Viewed by 8135

Special Issue Editor

Dr. Jessica E. Radcliffe

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
1. Clinical Trials Unit, Grampians Health, Ballarat, Australia
2. Department of Sport, Exercise and Nutrition Sciences, La Trobe University, Bundoora, Australia
Interests: phytonutrients; non-communicable disease; clinical trials; nutritional epidemiology
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Phytonutrients are found mostly in fruits and vegetables and include carotenoids, polyphenols, and phytosterols. Current research on phytonutrients shows that many provide positive effects on human health.

Whilst there are already many published studies on these health benefits, there are still many unexplored aspects of the benefits of phytonutrients, such as dose, duration, form of delivery required, and population effects, particularly for a clinically significant benefit in humans worldwide.  Additionally, data are missing on which phytonutrients may be beneficial for preventive measures or treatment strategies alone and which phytonutrients may provide both health benefits.

This Special Issue is intended to gather contributions from basic to clinical researchers working in the field of phytonutrients to gain further insights on the benefits of phytonutrients. We also strive to gain further knowledge on what is required to reach clinically significant improvements in human health with regard to the prevention and treatment of disease states.

We therefore invite you to submit your latest original research or review articles to this Special Issue.

Dr. Jessica E. Radcliffe
Guest Editor

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. Nutrients 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 2900 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

  • phytonutrient
  • phytochemical
  • observational study
  • clinical trial

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Published Papers (2 papers)

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18 pages, 1194 KiB  
Article
Neuroimaging Insights: Kava’s (Piper methysticum) Effect on Dorsal Anterior Cingulate Cortex GABA in Generalized Anxiety Disorder
by Karen Savage, Jerome Sarris, Matthew Hughes, Chad A. Bousman, Susan Rossell, Andrew Scholey, Con Stough and Chao Suo
Nutrients 2023, 15(21), 4586; https://doi.org/10.3390/nu15214586 - 28 Oct 2023
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1914
Abstract
Generalised Anxiety Disorder (GAD) is a prevalent, chronic mental health disorder. The measurement of regional brain gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) offers insight into its role in anxiety and is a potential biomarker for treatment response. Research literature suggests Piper methysticum (Kava) is efficacious as [...] Read more.
Generalised Anxiety Disorder (GAD) is a prevalent, chronic mental health disorder. The measurement of regional brain gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) offers insight into its role in anxiety and is a potential biomarker for treatment response. Research literature suggests Piper methysticum (Kava) is efficacious as an anxiety treatment, but no study has assessed its effects on central GABA levels. This study investigated dorsal anterior cingulate (dACC) GABA levels in 37 adult participants with GAD. GABA was measured using proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy (1H-MRS) at baseline and following an eight-week administration of Kava (standardised to 120 mg kavalactones twice daily) (n = 20) or placebo (n = 17). This study was part of the Kava for the Treatment of GAD (KGAD; ClinicalTrials.gov: NCT02219880), a 16-week intervention study. Compared with the placebo group, the Kava group had a significant reduction in dACC GABA (p = 0.049) at eight weeks. Baseline anxiety scores on the HAM-A were positively correlated with GABA levels but were not significantly related to treatment. Central GABA reductions following Kava treatment may signal an inhibitory effect, which, if considered efficacious, suggests that GABA levels are modulated by Kava, independent of reported anxiety symptoms. dACC GABA patterns suggest a functional role of higher levels in clinical anxiety but warrants further research for symptom benefit. Findings suggest that dACC GABA levels previously un-examined in GAD could serve as a biomarker for diagnosis and treatment response. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Positive Effects of Phytonutrients on Human Health)
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Review

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46 pages, 3100 KiB  
Review
Not All Maca Is Created Equal: A Review of Colors, Nutrition, Phytochemicals, and Clinical Uses
by Deanna M. Minich, Kim Ross, James Frame, Mona Fahoum, Wendy Warner and Henry O. Meissner
Nutrients 2024, 16(4), 530; https://doi.org/10.3390/nu16040530 - 14 Feb 2024
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 5815
Abstract
Maca (Lepidium meyenii, Lepidium peruvianum) is part of the Brassicaceae family and grows at high altitudes in the Peruvian Andes mountain range (3500–5000 m). Historically, it has been used as a nutrient-dense food and for its medicinal properties, primarily in [...] Read more.
Maca (Lepidium meyenii, Lepidium peruvianum) is part of the Brassicaceae family and grows at high altitudes in the Peruvian Andes mountain range (3500–5000 m). Historically, it has been used as a nutrient-dense food and for its medicinal properties, primarily in enhancing energy and fertility. Scientific research has validated these traditional uses and other clinical applications by elucidating maca’s mechanisms of action, nutrition, and phytochemical content. However, research over the last twenty years has identified up to seventeen different colors (phenotypes) of maca. The color, hypocotyl size, growing location, cultivation, and post-harvest processing methods can have a significant effect on the nutrition content, phytochemical profile, and clinical application. Yet, research differentiating the colors of maca and clinical applications remains limited. In this review, research on the nutrition, phytochemicals, and various colors of maca, including black, red, yellow (predominant colors), purple, gray (lesser-known colors), and any combination of colors, including proprietary formulations, will be discussed based on available preclinical and clinical trials. The gaps, deficiencies, and conflicts in the studies will be detailed, along with quality, safety, and efficacy criteria, highlighting the need for future research to specify all these factors of the maca used in publications. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Positive Effects of Phytonutrients on Human Health)
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