Food and Food Supplements with Hypocholesterolemic Effects, 2009, Vol: 1(1) Pp. 15-24
Ruitang Deng
[Abstract] [Full Text Article]


Plant Sterols and Stanols as Cholesterol-Lowering Ingredients in Functional Foods, 2009, Vol: 1(1) Pp. 1-14
Afaf Kamal-Eldin and Ali Moazzami
[Abstract] [Full Text Article]


Improving Carotenoids and Amino-Acids in Cassava, 2009, Vol: 1(1) Pp. 32-38
Nagib M.A. Nassar, Osmindo P. Junior, Marcelo V. Sousa and Rodomiro Ortiz
[Abstract] [Full Text Article]


Recent Patents for Sodium Reduction in Foods, 2009, Vol: 1(1) Pp. 80-86
Fidel Toldrá and José M. Barat
[Abstract] [Full Text Article]


Isolation and Boactivities of Furfuran Type Lignan Compounds from Edible Plants, 2009, Vol: 1(1) Pp. 87-95
Dai-Eun Sok, Hui S. Cui and Mee R. Kim
[Abstract] [Full Text Article]


Galactolipids as Potential Health Promoting Compounds in Vegetable Foods, 2009, Vol: 1(1) Pp. 50-58
Lars P. Christensen
[Abstract] [Full Text Article]


Recent Patents on Vitamin C: Opportunities for Crop Improvement and Single-Step Biological Manufacture, 2009, Vol: 1(1) Pp. 39-49
Robert D. Hancock
[Abstract] [Full Text Article]


Patented Techniques for the Extraction and Isolation of Secoisolariciresinol Diglucoside from Flaxseed, 2009, Vol: 1(1) Pp. 25-31
Farah S. Hosseinian and Trust Beta
[Abstract] [Full Text Article]


Patent Selections, 2009, Vol: 1(1) Pp. 96-99


Carrying Capacity in Agriculture: Environmental Significance and Some Related Patents, 2009, Vol: 1(2) Pp. 100-103
Alexandre M. da Silva
[Abstract] [Purchase Article]




Abstracts


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Food and Food Supplements with Hypocholesterolemic Effects, 2009, Vol: 1(1)
Ruitang Deng

Hypercholesterolemia is a predominant risk factor for atherosclerosis and associated coronary and cerebrovascular diseases. Control of cholesterol levels through therapeutic drugs, notably statins, have significantly reduced the risk for developing atherosclerosis and associated cardiovascular diseases. However, adverse effects associated with therapeutic drugs warrant to find other alternative approaches for managing hypercholesterolemia, especially for those with borderline cholesterol levels. Food supplements have increasingly become attractive alternatives to prevent or treat hypercholesterolemia and reduce the risk for cardiovascular diseases. This review summarized current patents on food supplements with claims of hypocholesterolemic effects. They can be mainly divided into four categories based on the active ingredients in the supplements: 1) plant sterols or stanols; 2) fiber or polysaccharides; 3) microorganism-derived; and 4) soy protein and phytoestrogens. The efficacy, mechanisms of action and potential side effects are reviewed for each of the four categories. The hypocholesterolemic effects of plant sterols, fiber, Monascus products and soy protein preparations have been consistently demonstrated in clinical trails whereas the efficacy of some probiotic bacteria and phytoestrogens-containing supplements remains to be established. Accumulative clinical data show that plant sterols, fiber, soy protein and phytoestrogen are generally considered safe and cause no obvious side effects. However, additional clinical studies are required to establish the safety profiles of certain probiotic bacteria as food supplements.


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Plant Sterols and Stanols as Cholesterol-Lowering Ingredients in Functional Foods, 2009, Vol: 1(1)
Afaf Kamal-Eldin and Ali Moazzami

This article reviews developments related to the use of plant sterols and stanols as cholesterol-lowering ingredients in foods and nutraceuticals preparations. Plant sterols and stanols are extracted from the deodorizer distillates of vegetable oil refining and from tall oil, a by-product of paper pulping industry. Plant sterols/stanols inhibit cholesterol absorption possibly by competitively inhibiting its incorporation into the mixed micelles in the small intestine although other mechanisms can not be excluded. Daily consumption of 1-2 grams of plant sterols or stanols was shown to cause 10-20% reduction in low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL cholesterol). Combinations of plant sterols/stanols with certain lipid-lowering ingredients were shown to potentate their cholesterol-lowering effects and, in some cases, add triacylglycerol-lowering effects. In this article, patents based information is also discussed.


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Improving Carotenoids and Amino-Acids in Cassava, 2009, Vol: 1(1)
Nagib M.A. Nassar, Osmindo P. Junior, Marcelo V. Sousa and Rodomiro Ortiz

More than 800 million people in tropics and sub tropics use cassava as food. However, its roots are poor in protein content (0.7-2%). Amino acids such as lysine and methionine are also low, and some research reports indicate the absence of methionine in cassava edible roots. By inter-specific hybridization it was possible to increase true protein in cassava roots measured by amino acid contents. The amino acid profiles of a common cassava cultivar and an inter-specific hybrid, namely ICB 300, were determined using the computerized amino acid analyzer Hitachi L-8500. The inter-specific hybrid has 10-fold lysine and 3-fold methionine than common cassava cultivar: lysine content was 0.010 g per 100 g in the common cassava cultivar while it reached 0.098 in the inter-specific hybrid. Methionine in the common cassava cultivar was 0.014 g per 100 g whereas it reached 0.041 g per 100 g in the inter-specific hybrid. Total amino acid content in the common cassava cultivar was 0.254 g per 100 g viz. a viz. 1.664 g per 100 g in the inter-specific hybrid. The genetic variability of the profile and quantity of amino acids indicate the feasibility of selecting inter-specific hybrids that are rich in both crude protein and amino acids. Carotenoid content could be improved in cassava edible roots by selecting cultivars rich in carotenoids. In Brazil, the center of cassava origin, cassava landraces have acquired through their domestication a large diversity in relation to many economic traits such as high content of carotenoids and excellent palatability among other characters. One of these clones, which has been grown by indigenous farmers in Brazil and available at the University of Brasília genebank, showed a high level of lycopene content (5 mg/kg viz. a viz. zero in common cultivars, and 12-20 mg/kg in tomato-a lycopene-rich vegetable). The cassava landrace UnB 400 had a high content of β-carotene (up to 4 mg/kg). This article also discusses relevant patents to the main subject of this research.


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Recent Patents for Sodium Reduction in Foods, 2009, Vol: 1(1)
Fidel Toldrá and José M. Barat

There are many foods containing variable amounts of sodium chloride in their formulation, sometimes its content is relatively large and has strong contribution to the salt dietary intake. Some of these foods belong to usual products like bakery, butchery and dairy foods, ready meals, sauces, snacks, etc. There is a clear increasing trend in the number of patents towards a lower salt content in foods as demanded by consumers and medical associations. Different approaches have been proposed, most of them by replacement with other salts and addition of other substances to keep the sensory quality. The recent patents for sodium reductions and its applications in foods are reviewed in this manuscript.


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Isolation and Boactivities of Furfuran Type Lignan Compounds from Edible Plants, 2009, Vol: 1(1)
Dai-Eun Sok, Hui S. Cui and Mee R. Kim

Lignans constitute a group of phytochemicals, which are produced by oxidative dimerization of two phenylpropanoid units. Furfuran type lignans such as secoisolariciresinol, matairesinol, lariciresinol or pinoresinol are widely distributed in edible plants, and most of those dietary lignans are metabolized by the gut microflora to enterolactone and enterodiol, also known as enterolignans, traditionally classified as phytoestrogens. The rich sources of lignans are flaxseed, sesame seeds, cereal products, and Brassica vegetables. There is a growing interest in biological functions of lignans from edible plants, since a higher intake of edible plants containing lignans is known to reduce the incidence of certain chronic diseases. This review deals with the isolation and preparation of furfuran type lignans from edible plants, and their bioactivities such as anticancer, antioxidant, cardiovasculoprotective, neuroprotective, and anti-inflammatory activities, so that recent informations about bioactive lignans from edible plants may be available for the development of potential functional food agents. In this article, patents based information is also discussed.


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Galactolipids as Potential Health Promoting Compounds in Vegetable Foods, 2009, Vol: 1(1)
Lars P. Christensen

Galactolipids are a class of compounds widely found in the plant kingdom, including edible plants, and are an important part of the cell membranes. Galactolipids in plants consists mainly of monogalactosyldiacylglycerols and digalactosyldiacylglycerols containing one or two saturated and/or unsaturated fatty acids linked to the glycerol moiety. Several galactolipids have been shown to possess in vitro and/or in vivo anti-tumor promoting activity and anti-inflammatory activity. Recently, it has been demonstrated that the galactolipid, 1,2-di-O-α-linolenoyl-3-O-β-D-galactopyranosyl-sn-glycerol (1), may be important for the anti-inflammatory activity of dog rose (Rosa canina), a medicinal plant with documented effect on anti-inflammatory diseases such as arthritis. This galactolipid also occurs in relative high concentrations in certain legumes (e.g., common bean, pea), leaf vegetables (e.g., kale, leek, parsley, perilla and spinach), stem vegetables (e.g., asparagus, broccoli, brussels sprouts), and fruit vegetables (e.g., chilli, bell pepper, pumpkin). Furthermore, compound 1 has been isolated from spinach and several medicinal plants by bioassay-guided fractionation as a galactolipid with possible cancer preventive effects. In this review, the bioactivity of galactolipids is discussed and their potential role in human diet as important nutraceuticals. Moreover, recent patents on the bioactivity of specific galactolipids and inventions making use of this knowledge are presented and discussed.


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Recent Patents on Vitamin C: Opportunities for Crop Improvement and Single-Step Biological Manufacture, 2009, Vol: 1(1)
Robert D. Hancock

Vitamin C is an essential human nutrient obtained primarily from plant foods. Despite the necessity of the vitamin for human health and the essential role that it plays in plant stress resistance, it is only in the last decade that an understanding of its biosynthesis in plants has emerged. These fundamental discoveries present for the first time the opportunity to manipulate crop plants for improved human nutrition and enhanced agronomic performance and are discussed in relation to recent patents protecting aspects of vitamin C synthesis and degradation in plants.

Vitamin C has a wide range of medicinal and industrial uses resulting in an annual market exceeding US$600 million. In recent years, there has been strong competition in vitamin C markets as a result of emerging Chinese producers and one response has been increased investment in research and development for the biological manufacture of the vitamin. Knowledge of the plant biosynthetic pathway has provided novel opportunities for the synthesis of vitamin C in yeasts, although successes have been limited to date. A more promising route is the direct synthesis of vitamin C in acetic acid bacteria and significant research and development has gone into the genetic improvement of appropriate strains.


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Patented Techniques for the Extraction and Isolation of Secoisolariciresinol Diglucoside from Flaxseed, 2009, Vol: 1(1)
Farah S. Hosseinian and Trust Beta

Plant lignans are phenolic compounds generally containing a dibenzylbutane skeleton. Secoisolariciresinol diglucoside (SDG) is the major lignan found in flaxseed. SDG is known to have antioxidant and anticancer properties. SDG can potentially be used as a natural antioxidant in foods thereby preventing further oxidation reactions and thus enhance the shelf life of foods. This article reviews the patents that are concerned with the extraction of SDG from flaxseed, the richest plant source of lignans. Most of the patented techniques for the extraction, isolation, and purification of SDG are conducted on defatted flaxseed and whole flaxseed. Flaxseed hull is potentially a good starting material. Furthermore, most methods use aliphatic alcohols (methanol, ethanol, isopropanol, butanol) to extract the complexed form of SDG. Combinations of these solvents are commonly used with water. Alkaline hydrolysis liberates SDG from its complexed form. SDG is enriched by a process involving either liquid-liquid partitioning or passing the aqueous phase through anion exchange resins or C18 resins. The SDG is recovered after evaporation of the water. Analytical HPLC coupled with mass spectrometry is performed to determine the quantity and purity of the extracted SDG.


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Carrying Capacity in Agriculture: Environmental Significance and Some Related Patents, 2009, Vol: 1(2)
Alexandre M. da Silva

Agriculture is one of the most important and possibly the oldest economic activity developed by humans. This activity was developed extensively and is becoming more and more dependent on development of technologies. The goal of this manuscript was examining some patents related to technologies developed for improving crop yields. Such patents are mainly related to more efficient formulations of agrochemicals and management techniques of plants, cattle and natural resources. A brief comment is carried out about bioprospection and related problems, relating, for example the case of Cupuaçu. The article is concluded mentioning that the development of policies and management strategies that increase agricultural yield and simultaneously preserve or conserve natural resources should also be prioritized, because certainly this is the only way we have to get the real sustainability and to improve life quality abroad the world.