Medicinal Foods

JUSCELINO TOVAR; TOMY J. GUTIÉRREZ

CURRENT PHARMACEUTICAL DESIGN.

BENTHAM SCIENCE PUBL LTD

Año: 2019 vol. 25 p. 3417 - 3417

1381-6128

The metabolic syndrome is associated with obesity and predisposing factors for cardiometabolic diseases (type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease), which are the major causes of death worldwide. These diseases can be prevented and treated with medicinal foods. Other diseases associated with metabolic errors, such as phenylketonuria, can also be managed with medical foods for people with special dietary needs. Medicinal foods are also used in the treatment of conditions, such as Alzheimer?s disease [1] and autism [2]. Besides naturally functional foods, medicinal foods are obtained through the modification of edible biological macromolecules, thus reducing the effects of the diseases indicated above. This special issue aims to summarize the current knowledge on some preventive issues of medicinal foods providing basis for their potential application in future pharmaceutical design. The articles in the dossier put emphasis on phenolic-rich edible sources, which reflects the increasing attention paid to these compounds in the recent years [3].The first review article of this special issue was presented by Pico and Martínez [4], in which the inhibition of intestinal glucose transport from dietary phenolic compounds is illustrated. These compounds are frequently found in fruits and vegetables. These findings are interesting since polyphenol-rich foods can be used as medicinal foods in the intervention against type 2 diabetes and obesity, as well as all diseases associated with metabolic syndrome. Keeping this in view, Mercado-Mercado et al. [5] and Angulo-Bejarano et al. [6] provide comprehensive reviews of how some traditional foods acting as polyphenol-rich medicinal foods can, for example, inhibit the enzymatic activity of lipases, thus, reducing lipid absorption and the subsequent accumulation of adipose tissue. The article written by Ballard et al. [7] provides a review and meta-analysis related to the pharmacological effects of polyphenol-rich fruit extracts on the reduction of obesity in rodent models, while Hernandez-Hernandez [8] reviewed the important aspects of in vitro gastrointestinal models for the evaluation of the bioactivity of prebiotic carbohydrates. In this way, digestion-resistant carbohydrates, such as fibers and resistant starches have been shown to have a positive effect on health and can also be used as components of medicinal foods for intervention measures in diabetic, obese, and hypertensive patients. We, as guest editors, appreciate the invitation to this prestigious journal and thanks Dr. Octavio Paredes-López (editor-in-chief for the journal ?Plant Foods for Human Nutrition?) and his group for valuable contribution to this special issue. Our gratitude also to the selected group of highly qualified reviewers that took part in the editorial process; their input was crucial for the quality of the final publication.