Dr. Christophe Hano is a phytochemist and an assistant professor at the University of Orléans, France. His research interests include plant-specialized metabolism and plant biotechnology for nutraceutical, medicinal, and cosmeceutical applications. He has published more than 250 scientific papers, reviews, and book chapters in internationally renowned journals, as well as edited one book and many journal issues.
Tea is one of the most popular beverages in the world, and the second most consumed after water. Based on evidence from cellular, animal, epidemiological, and clinical studies, tea consumption has been linked to several health benefits, including cancer chemoprevention, chronic inflammation, heart and liver diseases, diabetes, and neurodegenerative disorders. This book provides an up-to-date critical view of the health benefits of tea, including its phytochemistry, traditional usage, current applications, and future directions for the development of tea compounds as effective medicinal agents. It is a useful resource for academics, scientists, students, and industry professionals interested in tea, medicinal plants, and traditional medicines.
Go to the bookMature fruits (achenes) of milk thistle (Silybum marianum (L.) Gaertner, Asteraceae) accumulate high amounts of silymarin, a complex mixture of bioactive antioxidant flavonolignans deriving from taxifolin. Their biological activities in relation with human health promotion and disease prevention have been well described. The conditions of their biosynthesis in planta, however, have long been elusive and thus tend to be a limiting factor for their future applications. Significant advances in understanding their biosynthesis and regulation have been made over the last decade and are outlined in the current chapter.
Part of the book: Antioxidants
Part of the book: Ginseng
Ginseng saponins, aka ginsenosides, are bioactive phytochemicals from Panax species. Panax comes from the Greek word “panakos,” which means “cure-all.” Owing to their involvement in the creation of numerous medications and nutritional supplements, ginseng saponins play an essential part, especially in the pharmaceutical sector. The main ginsenosides (i.e., Rb1, Rb2, Rc, Rd and Rf) are extracted using a variety of extraction methods, although from a limited number of Panax species. However, more than ca 1000 unique ginsenosides and 18 Panax species have been reported so far, thus demonstrating our present challenge in better understanding of the potential medicinal uses of these compounds. Moreover, ginsenoside production and extraction methods are both time-consuming and inefficient, which has stimulated the development of several efficient extraction and biotechnological technologies to speed up these processes. In this chapter, we highlighted the need to expand the cutting-edge research approaches involving these unique ginsenosides to better understand their biological activities and discover new bioactive ginsenosides as well. The main objective of this chapter is to discuss the undiscovered aspects and limitations of the current biotechnological and extraction technologies, eventually to provide a platform for the production of these unique ginsenosides.
Part of the book: Ginseng
Green tea is one of the most popular antioxidant drinks in the world. To make green tea, you must first remove the leaves from Camellia sinensis. A form of tea made from unoxidized green leaves from a tea plantation is called green tea. Several other studies have been undertaken over the past year to evaluate whether consuming green tea and extracts has any health benefits. In order to get the health benefits of green tea, the nutrients in the tea must be absorbed. Green tea’s flavonoids and caffeine, which serve to accelerate the elimination of metabolites, contribute to the antioxidant function of green tea. Cancer, heart disease, and aging appear to be the main diseases to be reduced or prevented by these antioxidants. The pharmaceutical and culinary industries can use green tea due to its high potency and lack of adverse effects. Green tea is touted as a natural remedy for a wide range of health issues. Through this, we can better understand the immediate benefits of green tea. Prescription green tea components are discussed along with their antioxidant, anticancer, and antiviral actions in relation to the treatment of cardiovascular diseases (CVD).
Part of the book: Recent Advances in the Health Benefits of Tea