Aqueous extract of purple Bordeaux radish, Raphanus sativus L. ameliorates ethanol-induced gastric injury in rats

Grown to be Blue-Antioxidant Properties and Health Effects of Colored Vegetables. Part I: Root Vegetables

During the last few decades, the food and beverage industry faced increasing demand for the design of new functional food products free of synthetic compounds and artificial additives. Anthocyanins are widely used as natural colorants in various food products to replenish blue color losses during processing and to add blue color to colorless products, while other compounds such as carotenoids and betalains are considered as good sources of other shades. Root vegetables are well known for their broad palette of colors, and some species, such as black carrot and beet root, are already widely used as sources of natural colorants in the food and drug industry. Ongoing research aims at identifying alternative vegetable sources with diverse functional and structural features imparting beneficial effects onto human health. The current review provides a systematic description of colored root vegetables based on their belowground edible parts, and it highlights species and/or cultivars that present atypical colors, especially those containing pigment compounds responsible for hues of blue color. Finally, the main health effects and antioxidant properties associated with the presence of coloring compounds are presented, as well as the effects that processing treatments may have on chemical composition and coloring compounds in particular.

Radish (Raphanus sativus) and Diabetes

For more than three decades, various in vitro and in vivo studies have linked radishes with diabetes, though this link has not been discussed. This review systematically addresses and summarizes the effect of radishes on diabetes. We searched the Web of Science, PubMed, and EMBASE databases for English language articles from June 1987 through May 2017 using the key words "radish" and "diabetes," and the references from particular reports were also considered if relevant. In summary, radish has been identified as having antidiabetic effects, making it favorable for those with diabetic conditions. This may be due to its ability to enhance the antioxidant defense mechanism and reduce the accumulation of free radicals, affect hormonal-induced glucose hemostasis, promote glucose uptake and energy metabolism, and reduce glucose absorption in the intestine. However, this summary requires further confirmation in research in vivo studies and clinical trials.

Effect of diallyl disulfide on acute gastric mucosal damage induced by alcohol in rats

This study investigated the gastroprotective effects of diallyl disulfide (DADS), a secondary organosulfur compound derived from garlic (Allium sativum L.) on experimental model of ethanol (EtOH)-induced gastric ulcer in rats. The antiulcerogenic activity of DADS was evaluated by gross/histopathological inspection, pro-inflammatory cytokines, and lipid peroxidation with antioxidant enzyme activities in the stomach. DADS (100 mg/kg) was administered by oral gavage 2 h prior to EtOH treatment (5 ml/kg). The animals were killed 1 h after receiving EtOH treatment. Pretreatment with DADS attenuated EtOH-induced gastric mucosal injury, as evidenced by decreased severity of hemorrhagic lesions and gastric ulcer index upon visual inspection. DADS also prevented histopathological alterations and gastric apoptotic changes caused by EtOH. An increase in tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) and inducible nitric oxide synthase was observed in the gastric tissues of EtOH-treated rats that coincided with increased serum TNF-α and interleukin 6 levels. In contrast, DADS effectively suppressed production of pro-inflammatory mediators induced by EtOH. Furthermore, DADS prevented the formation of gastric malondialdehyde and the depletion of reduced glutathione content and restored antioxidant enzyme activities, such as catalase, glutathione peroxidase, and glutathione reductase in the gastric tissues of EtOH-treated rats. These results indicate that DADS prevents gastric mucosal damage induced by acute EtOH administration in rats and that the protective effects of DADS may be due to its potent antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activities.