Editorial Dietary Polyphenols and Their Effects on Cell ...downloads.hindawi.com/journals/omcl/2015/782424.pdfEditorial Dietary Polyphenols and Their Effects on Cell Biochemistry and

EditorialDietary Polyphenols and Their Effects on Cell Biochemistry andPathophysiology 2014

Cristina Angeloni,1 Tullia Maraldi,2 Dragan Milenkovic,3 and David Vauzour4

1Department for Life Quality Studies, Alma Mater Studiorum University of Bologna, Corso d’Augusto 237, 47921 Rimini, Italy2Department of Surgical, Medical, Dental and Morphological Sciences with Interest in Transplant,Oncology and Regenerative Medicine, University of Modena and Reggio Emilia, Via Del Pozzo 71, 41100 Modena, Italy3INRA, UMR 1019, UNH, CRNH Auvergne and Unite de Nutrition Humaine, Universite d’Auvergne, Clermont Universite,BP 10448, 63000 Clermont-Ferrand, France4Norwich Medical School, University of East Anglia, Norwich NR4 7UQ, UK

Correspondence should be addressed to Cristina Angeloni; [email protected]

Received 12 April 2015; Accepted 12 April 2015

Copyright © 2015 Cristina Angeloni et al. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons AttributionLicense, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properlycited.

Epidemiological studies suggest that high dietary intake ofphytochemicals and in particular of polyphenols is associatedwith decreased risk of a multitude of diseases states includingcardiovascular disease, cancer, and neurodegenerative dis-eases.

As oxidative stress is involved in all these pathologicalconditions, the antioxidant properties of polyphenols andother natural compounds have attracted the interest of manyauthors.

M. Horvathova et al. investigated the effects of the intakeof Robuvit, a water extract obtained from the wood ofQuercus robur, showing that it is associated with decreaseof markers of oxidative stress and increase of activity ofantioxidant enzymes and total antioxidant capacity of plasma.As reactive oxygen species (ROS) are strongly associated alsowith skin aging, the study of K. Watanabe et al. investi-gated the antiatrophic effects of melinjo seed extract (MSE),containing transresveratrol and resveratrol derivatives, onage-related skin pathologies in Sod1−/− mice. Their resultsdemonstrated that MSE and transresveratrol significantlyreversed skin thinning via reduction of oxidative damage.

Even if many of the positive biological actions offlavonoids have been assigned to their antioxidant properties,there is an emerging view that they might play other pro-tective activities such as acting as anti-inflammatory agents.The study by O. Farkas et al. strengthened this point of viewdemonstrating that the flavonoids apigenin and its trimethy-lated analogue attenuated LPS-induced inflammation in

IPEC-J2 nontransformed intestinal epithelial cells. The anti-inflammatory, antioxidative, and cytoprotective effects ofresveratrol, epigallocatechingallate, genistein, apigenin, (−)-epicatechin, and other polyphenols have been reviewed by A.Malhotra et al., J. Shay et al., and S. Upadhyay and M. Dixit.

As far as the lipid metabolism is concerned, I. Eseberriet al. investigated the effect of doses of quercetin on triacyl-glycerol accumulation inmaturing preadipocytes andmatureadipocytes. They concluded that quercetin, in the range ofserum concentrations, is able to inhibit adipogenesis, buthigher doses are needed to reduce fat accumulation inmatureadipocytes.

Regarding glucose metabolism, D. M. P. H. J. Boestenet al. examined the protective role of three structurallyrelated flavonoids (rutin, quercetin, and flavone) during highglucose conditions in human umbilical vein endothelial cells.They conclude that this protective effect of flavonoids is acombination of the flavonoids abilities to inhibit both PARPactivation and aldose reductase enzyme activity. The reviewby L. Basheer and Z. Kerem focuses on interactions betweendietary polyphenols and CYP3A4.

Among the fruits presenting chemopreventive and/orchemotherapeutic potential is pomegranate that has beenshown to exert anticancer activity which is generallyattributed to its high content of polyphenols. E. Turrini et al.reviewed pomegranate antiproliferative, anti-invasive, andantimetastatic effects focusing on apoptosis induction and theinhibition of inflammatory pathways.

Hindawi Publishing CorporationOxidative Medicine and Cellular LongevityVolume 2015, Article ID 782424, 2 pageshttp://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2015/782424

2 Oxidative Medicine and Cellular Longevity

Polyphenolic extracts from the edible part of artichoke(Cynara scolymus L.) have also been shown to be potentialchemopreventive and anticancer dietary compounds as theyinduce apoptosis and decrease the invasive potential of thehuman breast cancer cells (A. M. Mileo et al.).

Among the polyphenols present in fruits are proantho-cyanidins that are the most widely represented productsof plants secondary metabolism. C. Minker et al. showedthat they reach the colon practically intact, where they areable to locally exert their anticancer activities on colorectalprecancerous and cancerous cells and can exert proapoptoticactivities. Together with proanthocyanidins, it has beenobserved that other families of polyphenols can exert varietyof biological properties, including both antioxidant andnonantioxidant functions, as described in the review articleby J. Shay et al. Finally, J. Wang et al. review epidemio-logical studies or controlled clinical trials which employedbiomarkers of exposure for polyphenols to help assess theiranticarcinogenic role and concluded that more evidencesshould be collected before a conclusion can be made towardstheir protective roles.

Atherosclerosis is the primary cause of cardiovasculardiseases and high levels of LDL cholesterol (LDL-C) and LDLoxidation have been regarded as two important risk factorsfor atherogenesis. H. Han et al. designed a study to evaluatethe effects of flaxseed oil containing 𝛼-linolenic acid ester ofplant sterols (ALA-PS) on apoE knock-out mice that receivedhigh fat diet alone or supplemented with flaxseed oil withor without ALA-PS for 18 weeks. Results demonstrated thatflaxseed oil containing ALA-PS improved overall lipid levels,inhibited inflammation, and reduced oxidative stress. M. A.Rahman et al. demonstrated that the polyphenolic com-pounds present in the Flammulina velutipes, also known asgolden needle mushroom, inhibited LDL oxidation and theyascribed this chain-breaking activity to protocatechuic acid(PCA), p-coumaric acid, and ellagic acid.The study by R. Varıet al. expanded this knowledge trying to define the molecularmechanism responsible for the protective effects of PCAagainst oxidative and proapoptotic damage exerted by oxLDLin J774 A.1 macrophages. They demonstrated the essentialrole of JNK/Nrf2 signalling pathway in the antiapoptoticactivity exerted by PCA in oxidatively stressed macrophagesby improving the endogenous cellular antioxidant system.

As hypertension is another important risk factor for car-diovascular disease, M. Micucci et al. focused their attentionon the potential application of Olea europaea L. leaf extract(OEE) and of a Hibiscus sabdariffa L. flower extract (HSE) inthe prevention/counteraction of hypertension, a pathologicalcondition affecting a large number of populations. Theyshowed the antioxidant and cytoprotective effects of OEEand HSE and their ability to modulate cardiac inotropy andchronotropy together with their relaxant activity on vascularsmooth muscle.

In a review paper, A. N. Orekhov et al. addressed theimportant issue of identifying natural compound as analternative strategy for atherosclerosis prevention as most ofthe synthetic drugs available have severe side effects and highcost of treatment. Moreover, they analyzed the achievementsin the development and use of models based on primary

cultures of human aortic cells to test the antiatheroscleroticactivity of compounds of natural origin.

Neurodegenerative diseases are dramatically increasingworldwide and this is strictly correlated to the aging of theworld population; therefore, natural compounds could be aneffective and cheap preventive strategy to maintain cognitivehealth with age.

F. Jagla and O. Pechanova reviewed the potential protec-tive effects of polyphenols on the development of neurode-generative diseases, in particular, focusing on endothelialdysfunction implicated in cognitive decline. The review by E.Tellone et al. explored the neuroprotective role of resveratrolin counteracting different neurodegenerative disorders. M.Reinisalo et al. analyzed resveratrol positive effects on themost common aging-related diseases clarifying themolecularmechanisms involved in the stilbene-mediated protectionagainst oxidative stress. Carqueja (Baccharis trimera) isa native plant found throughout South America and itshydroalcoholic extract (CHE) has been demonstrated to havea protective effect in aC. elegansmodel of Alzheimer’s disease(F. A. Paiva et al.). A. Masci et al. showed that a raw broccolisprout juice protects neuroblastoma cells against A𝛽-inducedcytotoxicity via the induction of antiapoptotic signals, suchas increased Hsp70 mRNA levels, and the activation of Nrf2-ARE signalling pathway upregulation of Nrf2-dependentantioxidant capacity.

Besides neurodegenerative disease and ageing, there areother disorders related to brain damage such as psychiatricdisorders includingmajor depression, attention deficit hyper-activity disease (ADHD) and schizophrenia, and cognitivedeficit and brain damage induced by chronic alcohol con-sumption. N. Phunchago et al. studied the effects of Tiliacoratriandra extract on memory impairment, neuron density,cholinergic function, and oxidative stress in hippocampusof alcoholic rats demonstrating that the extract improvedmemory deficit partly via decreasing oxidative stress andthe suppressing AChE. Polyphenolic compounds can bealso involved in modulation of mental health includingbrain plasticity, behavior, mood, depression, and cognition.J. Trebaticka and Z. Durackova analyzed the large numberof studies on the effects of natural polyphenols on mentaldisorders, and they concluded that even if polyphenols in thediet have the potential to become medicaments in the field ofmental health, the use in clinical practice is still a long wayoff.

In conclusion, this special issue provides new findingson the role that polyphenols and other natural compoundsplay in the prevention of chronic degenerative diseases andexpands our knowledge on the new mechanisms of actionsof these pleiotropic compounds.

Cristina AngeloniTullia Maraldi

Dragan MilenkovicDavid Vauzour

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Editorial Dietary Polyphenols and Their Effects on Cell ...downloads.hindawi.com/journals/omcl/2015/782424.pdfEditorial Dietary Polyphenols and Their Effects on Cell Biochemistry and