CAROTENOID CONTENT OF FIVE FRUITS AND VEGETABLES AND THEIR BIOCONVERSION TO VITAMIN A MEASURED BY RETINOL ACCUMULATION IN RAT LIVERS

Bioavailability of Plant-Derived Antioxidants

Natural products with antioxidant properties have been extensively utilized in the pharmaceutical and food industry and have also been very popular as health-promoting herbal products. This review provides a summary of the literature published around the first decade of the 21st century regarding the oral bioavailability of carotenoids, polyphenols and sulfur compounds as the three major classes of plant-derived antioxidants. The reviewed original research includes more than 40 compounds belonging to the above mentioned classes of natural antioxidants. In addition, related reviews published during the same period have been cited. A brief introduction to general bioavailability-related definitions, procedures and considerations is also included.

Chemical composition of cultivated seaweed Ulva clathrata (Roth) C. Agardh

Samples of cultivated Ulva clathrata were collected from a medium scale system (MSS, 1.5×1.5m tank), or from a large scale system (LSS, 0.8ha earthen pond). MSS samples were dried directly while the LSS sample was washed in freshwater and pressed before drying. Crude protein content ranged 20-26%, essential amino acids accounting for 32-36% of crude protein. The main analysed monosaccharides were rhamnose (36-40%), uronic acids (27-29%), xylose (10-13%) and glucose (10-16%). Some notable variations between MSS and LSS samples were observed for total dietary fibre (26% vs 41%), saturated fatty acids (31% vs 51%), PUFAS (33% vs 13%), carotenoids (358 vs 169mgkg^-1dw) and for Ca (9 vs 19gkg^-1), Fe (0.6 vs 4.2gkg^-1), Cu (44 vs 14mgkg^-1), Zn (93 vs 17mgkg^-1) and As (2 vs 9mgkg^-1). The chemical composition of U. clathrata indicates that it has a good potential for its use in human and animal food.