Probiotics: Versatile Bioactive Components in Promoting Human Health

Table olives: a natural source of health-promoting bioactive nutrients and probiotics

A new generation of natural and healthy foods has been on the rise – and fermented olives are part of that new trend. Concerted public health policies triggered by budgetary restrictions will require investment on prevention rather than bearing – especially as the human life expectancy is becoming longer and longer; and the aforementioned types of foods are nuclear vectors of this strategy as a...

Edible berries: bioactive components and their effect on human health.

The importance of food consumption in relation to human health has increased consumer attention in nutraceutical components and foods, especially fruits and vegetables. Berries are a rich source of a wide variety of non-nutritive, nutritive, and bioactive compounds such as flavonoids, phenolics, anthocyanins, phenolic acids, stilbenes, and tannins, as well as nutritive compounds such as sugars,...

Dairy Propionibacteria: Versatile Probiotics

Dairy propionibacteria are used as cheese ripening starters, as biopreservative and as beneficial additives, in the food industry. The main species, Propionibacterium freudenreichii, is known as GRAS (Generally Recognized As Safe, USA, FDA). In addition to another dairy species, Propionibacterium acidipropionici, they are included in QPS (Qualified Presumption of Safety) list. Additional to the...

Health promoting effects of bioactive compounds in plants

Evidence-based bioactive phytoconstituents for human health and disease prevention

The term “medicinal” as applied to a plant indicates that it contains a substance or substances which modulate beneficially the physiology of sick mammals. Thousands of species of higher plants have been used by man for that purpose. Modern techniques have revealed the enormous variety and complexity of so-called secondary plant chemicals, i.e., those which do not occur in all species, but whic...