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The purpose of this paper is to determine the antioxidant properties (capacity and component) of four non‐leafy vegetables. The correlation between the antioxidant capacity and its components of the studied vegetables was also assessed.

Winged beans, also known as four‐angled bean (Psophocarpus tetragonolobus), French bean (Phaseolus vulgaris), string bean (Vigna sinensis) and snow pea (Pisum sativum) were selected as samples from among the common non‐leafy vegetables consumed by Malaysians. These fresh vegetables were lyophilised and ground and their ethanolic extracts were prepared for antioxidant capacity assays and total phenolic, β‐carotene and ascorbic acid contents.

Among the vegetables, string beans showed the highest antioxidant capacity compared to the other vegetables studied (p < 0.05). The total phenolic, ascorbic acid and β‐carotene contents of snow peas were significantly higher (p < 0.05) than the other vegetables. There was a significant positive correlation between scavenging activity and antioxidant components studied. On the other hand, a negative correlation was found between antioxidant activity and its components of the studied vegetables.

Previous reports have indicated that vegetables contain high levels of antioxidants. However, data on antioxidant capacity of these non‐leafy vegetables are still lacking. This research paper shows the non‐leafy vegetables studied is a promising source of antioxidants with good antioxidant capacity. Beside that, along with the studied antioxidant components, other compounds in these vegetables could also contribute to their antioxidant capacity.

Coronary artery disease (CAD) is developed by an insufficient supply of oxygen-rich blood to the myocardium. Recent studies have shown that increased oxidative stress has implicated in the pathogenesis of coronary atherosclerosis. Anxiety and CAD have a mutual relationship, as the effect of long-lasting anxiety on atherosclerosis and CAD is well known. The purpose of this study is to investigate the relationship between dietary / serum total antioxidant capacity and CAD.

A total of 160 male patients were enrolled in this cross-sectional study. Diagnosis and analysis of angiograms were performed visually by a cardiologist. The subjects were categorized into CAD− (coronary artery obstruction <75 per cent) and CAD+ (coronary artery obstruction ≥ 75 per cent) groups. Anthropometric indices, blood pressure, blood sugar and lipid profile and physical activity (PA) were assessed. Information about anxiety was obtained by Spielberger questionnaire. Dietary total antioxidant capacity (TAC) was obtained by using a semi-quantitative food frequency questionnaire and an oxygen radical absorbance capacity of selected foods.

Mean of dietary TAC was significantly lower in CAD+ than CAD− group (P < 0.001). However, there was not any significant differences about serum TAC (P = 0.28). The mean of body mass index (BMI) (P = 0.04) and triglyceride (TG) level (P = 0.03) and the frequency of smoking (P = 0.03) were significantly higher in the CAD+ than the CAD− group. There was no significant relationship between CAD with apparent (P = 0.33) and hidden anxiety level (P = 0.16). Confounding factors such as smoking and medications were adjusted.

This study had certain limitations. Being a single center cross-sectional design does not permit analysis of causal relationships; the sample size was geographically limited. The authors could not exclude the medication of patients, which could affect the total antioxidant capacity levels. Measurement error in self-reported dietary consumption may results misclassification of exposure.

A diet high in total antioxidant capacity is inversely associated with CAD. Serum TAC does not vary between men with and without CAD when confounders including age, BMI, TG, smoking, SBP, DBP, energy intake, PA, HDL-C, LDL-C, T-C, FBS, family history of CAD, education and anxiety are taken into consideration.

High consumption of vegetables and fruits may play a major role in the prevention of CAD.

The study was approved by the ethics committee of Isfahan University of Medical Sciences (No:394888).

Neuromyelitis Optica Spectrum Disorder (NMOSD) is a rare disease with unknown risk factors. The role of oxidative stress and nutritional factors is imprecise in NMOSD development. Therefore, this paper aims to evaluate the effects of dietary total antioxidant capacity (TAC) on the odds of NMOSD.

Dietary TAC was determined in 70 definite NMOSD cases and 164 healthy controls in term of Ferric Reducing Antioxidant Power (FRAP) method. A validated 168-item semi-quantitative food frequency questionnaire (FFQ) was used for dietary assessment. Three multivariate regression models were applied to analyze the odds of NMOSD across the TAC quartiles.

A significant inverse association was found between dietary TAC and odds of being assigned to the NMOSD group in all three regression models. In the fully adjusted model ORs (95% CI) in the second, third and fourth quartiles of TAC vs the first quartile were as follows: 0.11 (0.04-0.29), 0.05 (0.01-0.16) and 0.01 (0.00-0.05), respectively. Odds of NMOSD also indicated a significant decreasing trend across the quartiles of dietary TAC (p-trend: <0.01). Total energy (p < 0.01) as well as consumption of vegetables (p < 0.01), whole grains (p < 0.01), tea and coffee (p < 0.01), legumes (p < 0.01) and poultry (p < 0.01) significantly increased through the TAC quartiles.

In the present study, a new hypothesis was proposed concerning the influence of dietary TAC on the odds of NMOSD. A diet rich in foods with high TAC can be effective in the modification of the NMOSD odds.

The purpose of this paper is to evaluate the antioxidant and type II diabetes related enzyme inhibition properties of phenolic extract from raw and traditionally processed Indian under‐utilized food legume grains, Bauhinia purpurea L. (purple camel's foot seeds).

The methanolic extract was prepared from the raw and traditionally processed seed samples and analyzed for total phenolic content. The antioxidant activity and type II diabetes related enzyme inhibition properties of methanolic extract and their relationship with phenolic content was demonstrated.

The methanolic extract of raw seed materials contained total free phenolic content of 14.45±1.62 g catechin equivalent/100 g extract DM. Encouraging levels of ferric reducing/antioxidant power (FRAP, 1203 mmol Fe[II]/mg extract), inhibition of ß‐carotene degradation (45.37 percent) and scavenging activity against DPPH (63.60 percent) and superoxide (42.14 percent) radicals were exhibited by the raw samples. Further, it also recorded 80.69 percent of α‐amylase and 63.74 percent of α‐glucosidase enzyme inhibition characteristics under in vitro starch digestion bioassay. Sprouting+oil‐frying caused an apparent increase on the total free phenolic content, antioxidant and free radical scavenging capacity, while soaking+cooking as well as open‐pan roasting treatments show diminishing effects.

Identification of suitable processing technique offered a good strategy to improve the phenolic content and health relevant functionality of B. purpurea seeds, which could be envisaged as a dietary ingredient in the formulation of supplementary foods with therapeutic value to manage type II diabetic patients.

The purpose of this paper was to determine and compare nutritional composition of different parts of citrus fruits, namely, Citrus aurantium (peel: albedo, flavedo and pulp: juice, pomace) . This study was conducted through three stages of fruit maturity (green, yellow and orange). Total polyphenols, flavonoids, β-carotene, total chlorophyll, ascorbic acid, acidity, total soluble solid and the minerals (Ca, Mg, Zn, Na, K, Fe, Mn Cu) were evaluated. Moreover, the relationship between the total polyphenol, flavonoids and the antioxidant activity was determined.

Total polyphenols were determined by the Folin-Ciocalteu method. Flavonoids were assessed by the aluminum chloride colorimetric method. Ca, Mg, Zn, Fe, Mn and Cu were measured using an atomic absorption spectrophotometer. K and Na contents were determined by using a flame photometer. Other nutritional composition was determined by volumetric method.

The result showed that the concentrations of antioxidants, total polyphenols, flavonoids, vitamin C, total chlorophyll, total acidity and antioxidant activity (DPPH%) decreased during the maturity of fruit while the value of pH and β-carotene increases. In addition, the concentrations of the most minerals decreased through the maturation of fruit except Na. Anova statistical analysis of all the studied chemical variables was shown significant differences between all the samples. The pH, total soluble solids, β-caroteniod: orange juice had the highest average while green juice had the lowest. Ascorbic acid, total acidity, total chlorophyll: green juice had the highest average while orange juice has the lowest. Total phenol, K, Mg, Fe, Cu, Mn: green flavedo had the highest average while orange juice had the lowest. Flavonoid, antioxidant activity (DPPH%), Ca, Zn: green albedo had the highest average while orange juice had the lowest. Na: orange flavedo had the highest average while green juice had the lowest. The correlations between total polyphenol, flavonoid and antioxidant capacity were significantly higher (R = 0.935 and 0.960, respectively).

The stage of maturity affects nutritional composition in Citrus aurantium fruits (C. aurantium) peel and pulp, where some minerals of composition increased and others decreased, according to the results. This is the first study on comparing the nutritional composition of pulp: juice, pomace and peel: albedo, flavedo of Citrus aurantium L. during maturity in Syria, and it was also not found in previous works.

Studies conducted on association between diet and cataract, found conflicting results. This paper aims to investigate the association between healthy eating index (HEI) and serum antioxidant and oxidant indices in patients with different degrees of cataract compared to the healthy subjects.

Ninety volunteers (aged > 50 years) were divided into the cataract (n = 45) and healthy control (n = 45) groups in this case-control study. Anthropometric variables, HEI score, serum total oxidant capacity (TOC) and total antioxidant capacity (TAC), blood pressure, physical activity and stress measurements were done for all participants.

There was a significant difference in stress level between subgroup of first-degree cataract and healthy controls (16.6 ± 2.3 vs 42.5 ± 29.0, p < 0.001) as well as third-degree cataract (16.6 ± 2.3 vs 75.2 ± 22.6, p < 0.001). Serum TAC was significantly higher in healthy people compared to the first-degree (1.2 ± 0.2 vs 1 ± 0.2, p = 0.002) and third-degree cataract patients (1.2 ± 0.2 vs 1.0 ± 0.2, p = 0.013). Also, serum TOC was significantly lower in healthy controls compared to the first-degree (8.2 ± 1.1 vs 9.2 ± 1.0, p = 0.006) and third-degree cataract patients (8.2 ± 1.1 vs 9.1 ± 1.2, p = 0.015). There was a significant direct correlation between moderation (r = 0.61, p = 0.019) and total score of HEI (r = 0.57, p = 0.031) with serum TAC only in the first-degree cataract patients. Also there was a significant negative correlation between moderation score of HEI with serum TOC in the first-degree cataract patients (r = −0.60, p = 0.025), and there was a significant negative correlation between moderation (r = −0.36, p = 0.017) and total score (r=−0.35, p = 0.021) of HEI and TOC in the total cataract patients.

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first study on the assessment of the relationship between components of HEI and serum antioxidant indicators in different types of cataract compared to healthy individuals. It could be a start point for more detailed and large-scaled studies, even intervention studies, in this field.

Phenolic compounds, including flavonoids, are nutritionally important for their antioxidant activities and protective functions against disease risk caused by oxidative stress. These compounds are primarily found in fruits, and mangoes are an important source. This paper aims to address these issues.

In this work, the antioxidant activities of mangoes cultivated in three different ways were evaluated by their ability to capture free radicals using the DPPH radical.

The results showed that the biodynamic mangoes had highest antioxidant activity in mature‐green and ripe fruits, while for those of organic origin the antioxidant activity was highest in unripe fruits. The organic mangoes also showed highest values of phenolic compounds at all maturation stages. The mangoes from conventional crops had lower values for all parameters evaluated in this study than the organically and biodynamically cultivated fruits.

This work brings an important contribution in the field of agriculture at a time when organic and biodynamic systems of cultivation are an alternative to the conventional system and that pollutes the environment and produces food that contains quantities of chemical contaminants that can damage the health of the consumer. The comparison in phenolic compounds content, flavonoids and antioxidant activity in biodynamic, organic and conventional systems is original and of great importance, showing that the ecological cropping systems are less harmful to the environment and promote improvements to the chemical composition of foods.

The purpose of the present study is to understand the role of auxin and cytokinin in stimulating the production of pigmented callus in Orthosiphon stamineus and to gain correlation between the callus colours with their antioxidant capacity and bioactive constituents.

In this study, plant tissue culture was used to induce production of callus of various colours from leaf explants of O. stamineus, via manipulation of plant hormones (0-2.0 mg L⁻¹ indole-3-acetic acid [IAA] and Kinetin [Kin]). The coloured callus was subjected to solvent extraction and used for quantification of its carotenoid, chlorophyll, anthocyanin and phenolic contents. The 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) scavenging activity of the extracts was also evaluated, before and after four weeks of storage at −20°C.

The highest mean (per cent) explants that produced roots (93.33 ± 0.05 per cent) were observed when the cultures were supplemented with 2.0 mg L⁻¹ IAA. The colour of the callus changed with time, from green to cream to brown after two and four months of culture, respectively. Optimum production of green callus was achieved with addition of 2.0 mg L⁻¹ Kin plus 1.0-2.0 mg L⁻¹ IAA to the media, while cream callus in 0.5 mg L⁻¹ Kin plus 2.0 mg L⁻¹ IAA and brown callus in 0.5 mg L⁻¹ Kin plus 1.5 mg L⁻¹ IAA. Green callus was found to contain the highest amount of chlorophylls, carotenoid and anthocyanin, while cream callus contained the highest amount of phenolic compounds. The amount of pigments and secondary metabolites in the callus extracts decreased after four weeks of storage, except anthocyanin. The antioxidant potential of the extracts also increased after storage.

The major compounds identified in the methanolic extracts of O. stamineus-coloured callus are chlorophylls, carotenoids, flavonoids and phenolic acids. Future research work should include improvements in the extraction and identification methods which may lead to detection of other compounds that could attribute to the antioxidant capacity, to complement the findings of the current study.

This analysis provides valuable information on the application of IAA and Kinetin (Kin) to manipulate the content of major pigments with medicinal benefits in O. stamineus by using the plant tissue culture system.

A comparative study on antioxidant capacity and bioactive constituents of pigmented callus from O. stamineus leaves is original. To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first attempt of comparative evaluation on antioxidant potential of O. stamineus-coloured callus produced using IAA and Kin.

There is some evidence that suggest a higher dietary total antioxidant capacity (DTAC) is associated with a lower risk of metabolic syndrome (MetS). Considering the conflicting results in this field, this paper aims to provide a comprehensive summary of studies on the association of DTAC and components of MetS.

A systematic review of articles indexed in PubMed, Scopus and Google Scholar, published from inception to September 2018, with defined keywords, was done. Duplicate or irrelevant reports were screened out and data were extracted through critical analysis. Finally, among the 353 articles, 19 articles met the inclusion criteria.

The included cohort studies revealed that higher DTAC was associated with reduced risk of MetS. Also, the association between DTAC and mortality risk of MetS was insignificant in these studies. The case–control studies showed high DTAC is inversely associated with MetS, its components and complications. The randomized controlled trials found that changes in DTAC were negatively correlated with oxidized low-density lipoprotein cholesterol and there was a positive association between DTAC and subjects’ weight and body mass index. Finally, results from the cross-sectional studies were inconsistence in this regard.

The assessed relationship between MetS or its components with DTAC is inconsistent in the included studies. Different sample size, dietary assessment tools, DTAC index values and geographical location may justify the observed inconsistencies. It seems that further studies are needed to reveal more confident and reliable findings.

The purpose of this paper is to evaluate the chemical and functional composition of acerola, guava and cashew freeze-dried pomaces.

Fruit pomaces were obtained from the pulp juice industrial sector and submitted to freeze-drying. Samples were analysed for composition (macronutrients, micronutrients, moisture and ash), technological attributes (morphological, hygroscopicity, retention of oil and water and solubility), bioactive compounds (total phenolics, flavonoids, proanthocyanins, anthocyanins, carotenoids and ascorbic acid), antioxidant and antimicrobial properties. Total phenolics, brown pigments and antioxidant activity of thermally treated samples were evaluated. Results were presented as mean and standard deviation, and submitted to Shapiro–Wilk normality test, and ANOVA statistical significance follows by Tukey’s post hoc test (p<0.05). Also, Pearson correlation coefficients were used to test the relationship between selected parameters.

Guava pomace had the highest insoluble fibre (40.6 per cent), protein (13.8 per cent) and lipid (9.3 per cent) contents and acerola higher soluble fibre (14.2 per cent) and water and oil holding capacity (12 and 5.4 g/g, respectively). Cashew pomace had higher solubility (45.3 per cent) and hygroscopicity (11.2 per cent). Acerola pomace had the highest phenolic content (5,331.7 mg AGE/100 g), DPPH and oxygen radical absorbance capacity antioxidant activity (63.3 and 756.6 µmol TE/g). Despite of that none of extracts showed antibacterial activity. All pomaces presented good antioxidant activity retention after thermal treatments (> 70 per cent), which might be correlated to thermally induced brown pigments.

This investigation was motivated by the large amounts of pomaces produced by the fruit pulp and juice processing industries, which represents a waste of residual phytochemicals and cause potential environmental problems. Overall, it was demonstrated that freeze-dried acerola, guava and cashew pomaces are promising ingredients for multiple food applications.