Apium plants: Beyond simple food and phytopharmacological applications

Apium plants belong to the Apiaceae family and are included among plants that have been in use in traditional medicine for thousands of years worldwide, including in the Mediterranean, as well as the tropical and subtropical regions of Asia and Africa. Some highlighted medical benefits include prevention of coronary and vascular diseases. Their phytochemical constituents consist of bergapten, flavonoids, glycosides, furanocoumarins, furocoumarin, limonene, psoralen, xanthotoxin, and selinene. Some of their pharmacological properties include anticancer, antioxidant, antimicrobial, antifungal, nematocidal, anti-rheumatism, antiasthma, anti-bronchitis, hepatoprotective, appetizer, anticonvulsant, antispasmodic, breast milk inducer, anti-jaundice, antihypertensive, anti-dysmenorrhea, prevention of cardiovascular diseases, and spermatogenesis induction. The present review summarizes data on ecology, botany, cultivation, habitat, medicinal use, phytochemical composition, preclinical and clinical pharmacological efficacy of Apium plants and provides future direction on how to take full advantage of Apium plants for the optimal benefit to mankind.N. Martins would like to thank the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT-Portugal) for the strategic project ref. UID/BIM/04293/2013 and “NORTE2020-Northern Regional Operational Program” (NORTE-01-0145-FEDER-000012)

Ability of sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) micelles to increase the antioxidant activity of \u3b1-tocopherol

As emulsifiers become saturated on the surface of an emulsion droplet, any additional emulsifier migrates to the aqueous phase. Continuous phase surfactants have been shown to increase \u3b1-tocopherol efficacy, but it is unclear if this is the result of chemical or physical effects. The addition of \u3b1-tocopherol to an oil-in-water emulsion after homogenization resulted in a 70% increase of \u3b1-tocopherol in the continuous phase when sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) was at levels that were greater than the SDS critical micelle concentration. Conversely, when \u3b1-tocopherol was dissolved in the lipid before emulsification, continuous phase SDS concentrations did not increase. When SDS concentration led to an increase in the aqueous phase \u3b1-tocopherol, the oxidative stability of oil-in-water emulsions increased. Data indicated that the increased antioxidant activity was the result of surfactant micelles being able to decrease the prooxidant activity of \u3b1-tocopherol. Considering these results, surfactant micelles could be an important tool to increase the effectiveness of \u3b1-tocopherol

Ability of Sodium Dodecyl Sulfate (SDS) Micelles to Increase the Antioxidant Activity of α-Tocopherol

As emulsifiers become saturated on the surface of an emulsion droplet, any additional emulsifier migrates to the aqueous phase. Continuous phase surfactants have been shown to increase α-tocopherol efficacy, but it is unclear if this is the result of chemical or physical effects. The addition of α-tocopherol to an oil-in-water emulsion after homogenization resulted in a 70% increase of α-tocopherol in the continuous phase when sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) was at levels that were greater than the SDS critical micelle concentration. Conversely, when α-tocopherol was dissolved in the lipid before emulsification, continuous phase SDS concentrations did not increase. When SDS concentration led to an increase in the aqueous phase α-tocopherol, the oxidative stability of oil-in-water emulsions increased. Data indicated that the increased antioxidant activity was the result of surfactant micelles being able to decrease the prooxidant activity of α-tocopherol. Considering these results, surfactant micelles could be an important tool to increase the effectiveness of α-tocopherol

Apium plants: Beyond simple food and phytopharmacological applications

Apium plants belong to the Apiaceae family and are included among plants that have been in use in traditional medicine for thousands of years worldwide, including in the Mediterranean, as well as the tropical and subtropical regions of Asia and Africa. Some highlighted medical benefits include prevention of coronary and vascular diseases. Their phytochemical constituents consist of bergapten, flavonoids, glycosides, furanocoumarins, furocoumarin, limonene, psoralen, xanthotoxin, and selinene. Some of their pharmacological properties include anticancer, antioxidant, antimicrobial, antifungal, nematocidal, anti-rheumatism, antiasthma, anti-bronchitis, hepatoprotective, appetizer, anticonvulsant, antispasmodic, breast milk inducer, anti-jaundice, antihypertensive, anti-dysmenorrhea, prevention of cardiovascular diseases, and spermatogenesis induction. The present review summarizes data on ecology, botany, cultivation, habitat, medicinal use, phytochemical composition, preclinical and clinical pharmacological efficacy of Apium plants and provides future direction on how to take full advantage of Apium plants for the optimal benefit to mankind. © 2019 by the authors

Characterization of Acanthosicyos horridus and Citrullus lanatus seed oils: two melon seed oils from Namibia used in food and cosmetics applications

The physicochemical characteristics, fatty acid,tocopherol, stigmasterol, b-sitosterol, and 1 HNMR profiles of Citrullus lanatus and Acanthosicyos horridus melon seed oils were determined and compared among different extraction methods (cold pressing, traditional, and Soxhlet). The oil content was 40.2 ± 3.45 and 37.8 ± 7.26% for C. lanatus and A. horridus, respectively. Significant differences (p\0.05) were observed among the different extraction methods in the characteristics studied. Physicochemical characteristics of the melon seed oils were saponification value, 180.48–189.86 mg KOH/g oil; iodine value, 108.27–118.62 g I2/100 g oil; acid value, 0.643–1.63 mg KOH/g oil; peroxide value; 1.69–2.98 mequiv/kg oil; specific gravity, 0.901–0.922; and refractive indices, 1.4676–1.4726. The dominant tocopherol was c-tocopherol with total tocopherol in the range 27.61–74.39 mg/100 g. The dominant fatty acid was linoleic acid in the range 52.57–56.96%. The favorable oil yield, physicochemical characteristics, tocopherol, and fatty acid composition have the potential to replace or improve major commercial vegetable oils and to be used for various applications in the food industry and nutritive medicines