Valorizzazione dei prodotti ortofrutticoli tradizionali: effetti dell’efficacia antiossidante su modelli in vitro, ex vivo ed in vivo
Author(s)
Venneria, Eugenia
Date Issued
April 22, 2008
Type
Doctoral Thesis
Abstract
The biodiversity is declining in European countries leading to a potential loss of nutritional diversity and probably nutritional quality of diet. Studies on the balance between diet and health indicate that a greater nutritional diversity may be associated with a reduced incidence and mortality for degenerative diseases (cancer and cardiovascular disease).
From a general point of view, this research was focused on the valorization of Italian excellence in the food-agronomic system. The study was intended to evaluate the health and nutritional quality of local vegetable products obtained in selected geographic areas.
One of the typical Italian products of a particular nutritional interest is the artichoke (Cynara Scolimus L.). According to FAO estimates, Italy is the first producer in the world: it is estimated that approximately 50% of world production of artichokes comes from Italy, in particular from Lazio, Tuscany, Sicily, Sardinia and Puglia.
The artichoke has many nutritional advantages: it is rich of water (91% edible part) and minerals, but also of vitamins, carotenoids (lutein) and polyphenols (hydroxycinnamic acids and flavonoids). The artichoke extracts have been widely used in herbal medicine as choleretic since ancient time. The extracts from artichoke leaves have been used in folk medicine against liver complaints and such extracts or several constituents thereof have been claimed to exert a hepatoprotective effect and to improve liver generation after partial hepatectomy. At least some of these effects are due to the antioxidant properties of artichoke polyphenols that are mainly flavonoids and hydroxycinnamic acids.
This research has been developed to increase the artichoke consumption because of its numerous potential benefits for the consumer health.
The research followed a multilevel approach: in vivo, in vitro and ex vivo.
The first step was to analyse in vitro the contents of bioactive molecules and the total antioxidant capacity in artichokes from different production areas in order to select the product with the highest content in natural antioxidants, mostly consumed in Italy. The cv Violetto di Provenza, was selected for the highest contents of chlorogenic acids and subsequently used fo the iv vivo and ex vivo studies.
The aim of the in vivo approach was to evaluate the absorption and metabolism of bioactive molecules after oral consumption of artichoke.
Our study confirms the bioavailability of metabolites of hydroxycinnamic acids after ingestion of cooked edible artichoke, showing, for the first time, the route of absorption of hydroxycinnamic acids following the consumption in human subjects.
Subsequently, cultured rat hepatocytes were used, ex vivo, to evaluate the antioxidant properties of artichoke extracts and human hepatoma HepG2 cells were used to investigate the activity of the same extracts on cancer cells in term of apoptotic properties. I addition, was conducted a study, using an in vitro model, on the antioxidant properties of the selected extract. Our findings indicate that artichoke extracts had a marked antioxidative potential that protects hepatocytes from an oxidative stress and, furthermore, reduced cell viability and had an apoptotic activity on a human liver cancer cell line.
All these findings could be of clinical interest if compared to a possible prevention activities associated with the artichoke consumption.
Additional information
Dottorato di ricerca in Ortoflorofrutticoltura
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