Rosemary compounds as nutraceutical health products

SILVIA MORENO; ADRIANA OJEDA SANA; VARNI VERÓNICA; OLGA CASTRO; CATALINA VAN BAREN

Food additive

InTech Publisher.

Lugar: Rijeka.; Año: 2011;

The oxidation of lipids in food, cosmetic and pharmaceutical products, together with the growth of undesirable microorganisms results in the development of spoilage, off-flavor, rancidity and deterioration of such products turning them unacceptable for human consumption. In consequence, the addition of exogenous antioxidants such as butylated hydroxytoluene and butylated hydroxyanisole is frequently required to improve the stability of these products. As synthetic butylated derivatives may have toxic effects there is an increasing interest in the use of natural antioxidants, such as phenols isolated from plants to avoid undesired food borne diseases (Shylaja & Peter, 2004). In recent years, a greater emphasis has been placed on the link between the prevention of chronic diseases and the human diet. The present popularity of natural antioxidants, as the dietary polyphenols, on human health has promoted the surge of in vitro studies examining in vitro studies examining the effects of these physiological active components (Williams et al., 2004). During the past decade, consumers began to view food in a new way. The antioxidant properties of polyphenols have been widely studied, but it has become clear that the mechanisms of action of these compounds go beyond the modulation of oxidative stress (Scalbert et al., 2005). These compounds have great potential in the emerging nutritional industry, because they are often considered as food and medicines as well, therefore they may be used in the prevention and curative treatments (Sies, 2010). This issue has been of interest from ancient times, Hippocrates, 400 B.C. said, "Let food be your medicine and medicine your food". Different foods have been identified as containing health-promoting properties beyond their basic nutritional value, and stimulating innovation in the field of nutrition and health is the search for nutraceuticals. A nutraceutical is defined as a food or part of a food that provides medicinal benefits orhealth, including prevention and/or treatment of diseases. In order to use nutraceuticals in the prevention and treatment of human pathologies, many questions still remain unanswered: Which natural source is to be used? Which is a good candidate to be used as nutraceutical?. Rosemary (Rosmarinus officinalis L., Lamiaceae) is considered one of the most important Rosmarinus officinalis L., Lamiaceae) is considered one of the most important sources for the extraction of phenolic compounds with strong antioxidant activity. This specie grows worldwide and has been cultivated since long ago, in ancient Egypt, Mesopotamia, China and India (Bradley, 2006). Rosemary extracts, enriched in phenolic compounds are effective antioxidants due to their phenolic hydroxyl groups but they also possess plenty of other beneficial effects like antimicrobial, antiviral, anti-inflammatory, anticarcinogenic activities and is also known to be an effective chemopreventive agent (al-Sereiti et al., 1999; Aherne et al., 2007). Therefore, this specie contains bioactive ingredients which provide a complementary value other than the nutritional one, to be applied in the food industry. However, particular bioactives of rosemary responsible for some biological activities, as antimicrobial, have not been deeply characterized. A lesser amount of information exists about their mechanism of action. The present chapter focuses on the most significant rosemary biological properties, reviewing the free radical scavenging and antibacterial actions of non-volatile constituents and essential oils, the antibacterial activity of main osemary bioactives in combination with antibiotics, as well as possible antibacterial mechanism of action is proposed, among other topics. In addition, a toxicity assay using the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans is Caenorhabditis elegans is covered.The oxidation of lipids in food, cosmetic and pharmaceutical products, together with the growth of undesirable microorganisms results in the development of spoilage, off-flavor, rancidity and deterioration of such products turning them unacceptable for human consumption. In consequence, the addition of exogenous antioxidants such as butylated hydroxytoluene and butylated hydroxyanisole is frequently required to improve the stability of these products. As synthetic butylated derivatives may have toxic effects there is an increasing interest in the use of natural antioxidants, such as phenols isolated from plants to avoid undesired food borne diseases (Shylaja & Peter, 2004). In recent years, a greater emphasis has been placed on the link between the prevention of chronic diseases and the human diet. The present popularity of natural antioxidants, as the dietary polyphenols, on human health has promoted the surge of in vitro studies examining in vitro studies examining the effects of these physiological active components (Williams et al., 2004). During the past decade, consumers began to view food in a new way. The antioxidant properties of polyphenols have been widely studied, but it has become clear that the mechanisms of action of these compounds go beyond the modulation of oxidative stress (Scalbert et al., 2005). These compounds have great potential in the emerging nutritional industry, because they are often considered as food and medicines as well, therefore they may be used in the prevention and curative treatments (Sies, 2010). This issue has been of interest from ancient times, Hippocrates, 400 B.C. said, "Let food be your medicine and medicine your food". Different foods have been identified as containing health-promoting properties beyond their basic nutritional value, and stimulating innovation in the field of nutrition and health is the search for nutraceuticals. A nutraceutical is defined as a food or part of a food that provides medicinal benefits orhealth, including prevention and/or treatment of diseases. In order to use nutraceuticals in the prevention and treatment of human pathologies, many questions still remain unanswered: Which natural source is to be used? Which is a good candidate to be used as nutraceutical?. Rosemary (Rosmarinus officinalis L., Lamiaceae) is considered one of the most important Rosmarinus officinalis L., Lamiaceae) is considered one of the most important sources for the extraction of phenolic compounds with strong antioxidant activity. This specie grows worldwide and has been cultivated since long ago, in ancient Egypt, Mesopotamia, China and India (Bradley, 2006). Rosemary extracts, enriched in phenolic compounds are effective antioxidants due to their phenolic hydroxyl groups but they also possess plenty of other beneficial effects like antimicrobial, antiviral, anti-inflammatory, anticarcinogenic activities and is also known to be an effective chemopreventive agent (al-Sereiti et al., 1999; Aherne et al., 2007). Therefore, this specie contains bioactive ingredients which provide a complementary value other than the nutritional one, to be applied in the food industry. However, particular bioactives of rosemary responsible for some biological activities, as antimicrobial, have not been deeply characterized. A lesser amount of information exists about their mechanism of action. The present chapter focuses on the most significant rosemary biological properties, reviewing the free radical scavenging and antibacterial actions of non-volatile constituents and essential oils, the antibacterial activity of main osemary bioactives in combination with antibiotics, as well as possible antibacterial mechanism of action is proposed, among other topics. In addition, a toxicity assay using the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans is covered.