{"id":6376,"date":"2024-04-18T03:19:01","date_gmt":"2024-04-18T03:19:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/jobelyn.com.ng\/ng\/?p=6376"},"modified":"2024-04-18T03:19:01","modified_gmt":"2024-04-18T03:19:01","slug":"polyphenols-explained","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/jobelyn.com.ng\/ng\/2024\/04\/18\/polyphenols-explained\/","title":{"rendered":"POLYPHENOLS EXPLAINED"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Why Our Inner Clocks May Benefit from Stressed-Out Plants<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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Fruits and veggies provide us with powerful compounds called polyphenols that influence the body\u2019s inner rhythms. They could someday deliver innovative treatments for conditions like cancer and diabetes.<\/h2>\n
By\u00a0Molly Glick<\/a>Oct 20, 2021 5:00 PM<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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The haskap berry has attracted scientists’ attention due to its relatively high concentrations of antioxidants. (Credit: Kreminska\/Shutterstock<\/p>\n

Unlike many animals, plants can\u2019t get up and walk, slither or fly away from threats. So when faced with <\/span>stressors<\/span><\/a>\u00a0like drought, pests and ultraviolet radiation, they\u2019ve evolved natural weapons to keep on thriving. And when fresh produce ends up on our plates, we benefit from that flora’s attempts to fight for its life.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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What Is Xenohormesis?<\/span><\/h2>\n

While it\u2019s logical to assume that facing such perils<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>would diminish plants\u2019 nutritional quality for human consumption, the xenohormesis theory proposes the opposite: Essentially, researchers have\u00a0<\/span>found<\/span><\/a>\u00a0that what doesn\u2019t kill plants likely makes them stronger \u2014 and fills them with compounds called secondary metabolites that benefit us as consumers. Among these secondary metabolites are vitamins and polyphenols. The latter\u00a0<\/span>famously end up in wine<\/span><\/a>\u00a0via the grapes that produce them, along with plenty of other fresh foods. Overall, scientists have recorded over\u00a0<\/span>8,000 different types<\/span><\/a>\u00a0of polyphenolic compounds.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Interestingly, plant species tend to exhibit different responses to the same stressors: For example, drought has been\u00a0<\/span>found<\/span><\/a>\u00a0to reduce phenolic concentration in a type of tea leaves and cherry tomatoes, yet increase phenolic content in cumin seeds. These levels ultimately depend on a myriad of factors, such as local temperatures and sunlight exposure.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Responding to Plants\u2019 Chemical Cues<\/span><\/h2>\n

When people incorporate sufficient levels of polyphenol-rich plant foods into their diets, it\u2019s thought that these antioxidants can\u00a0<\/span>counter<\/span><\/a>\u00a0excessive levels of free radicals. These unstable molecules can cause\u00a0<\/span>oxidative stress<\/span><\/a>\u00a0and damage critical molecules like DNA, RNA and proteins. Such damage can\u00a0<\/span>cause<\/span><\/a>\u00a0common non-infectious diseases like cancer, hypertension, Parkinson\u2019s and diabetes, which are among the\u00a0<\/span>leading causes<\/span><\/a>\u00a0of U.S. deaths.<\/span><\/p>\n

After we munch on certain kinds of produce, polyphenols are usually absorbed through the colon or small intestine and sent to various organs and tissues, depending on the polyphenol type and its unique chemical structure. Polyphenols eventually interact with specific enzymes or receptors and can aid in vital biological mechanisms: For example, they have been reported to\u00a0<\/span>support<\/span><\/a>\u00a0the P53 protein, also called the\u00a0<\/span>“<\/span>guardian of the genome,<\/span>“<\/span>\u00a0in suppressing tumor growth. Additionally, studies have observed how these chemicals can influence microRNAs (mRNAs) that regulate genes involved in processes like\u00a0<\/span>brain function<\/span><\/a>,\u00a0<\/span>cardiovascular disease<\/span><\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0<\/span>cancer progression<\/span><\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n

And as we age or experience<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>immune-weakening<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>diseases like\u00a0<\/span>COVID-19<\/span><\/a>, the body’s<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>built-in defense system against oxidative stress and chronic inflammation loses some effectiveness. That weakening means that dietary polyphenols can provide a helpful boost, particularly for older or immunocompromised individuals, says H.P. Vasantha Rupasinghe, a food biochemist at Dalhousie University in Nova Scotia, Canada. He’s also\u00a0<\/span>investigated<\/span><\/a>\u00a0these antioxidants\u2019 role in preventing and treating certain diseases, including cancer.<\/span><\/p>\n

Overall, a balanced diet should include both energy-providing nutrients like protein and micronutrients like vitamins and minerals, Rupasinghe notes. Meanwhile, bioactive compounds like polyphenols don\u2019t affect one\u2019s metabolism or growth; but they\u00a0<\/span>do<\/span>\u00a0help stave off chronic diseases. \u201cYou can consider polyphenols even as lifespan-extending dietary components because with less non-communicable diseases, someone can live longer,\u201d he says. \u201cThey are very unique dietary components.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Eating on the Clock<\/span><\/h2>\n

Despite the wide-ranging evidence behind these beneficial plant-derived compounds, it still<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>matters how (and when) you consume them. People should ideally eat local, in-season fruits and vegetables to get the most out of polyphenols, says Manuel Su\u00e1rez, a biochemist<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>at the Universitat Rovira i Virgili in Tarragona, Spain.\u00a0Experiments on animal models suggest that eating fruits in season confers stronger antioxidant effects than when consumed out of season, says Anna Arola Arnal, a fellow biochemist at Universitat Rovira i Virgili who frequently collaborates with Su\u00e1rez. While this finding isn\u2019t yet conclusive, it lines up with our evolutionary history of dining on local, seasonal food that enabled ancient humans to synchronize with their environments and aid survival.<\/span><\/p>\n

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But industrialization has distanced us from our ancestral habits. As of this past February, imports comprised almost two-thirds of fresh fruit and nearly a third of fresh veggies consumed in the U.S, according to USDA\u00a0<\/span>data<\/span><\/a>\u00a0analyzed by the University of California, Davis.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>\u201cWith all the [modern] changes in food patterns, we\u2019re consuming foods from different seasons and not our own,\u201d Su\u00e1rez says. \u201cThis can induce misalignment between the host organism and the plants that are consumed.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Why some foods may throw us out of whack: Humans run on both circadian (daily) and circannual (yearly) biorhythms based on the Earth\u2019s rotation. This allows us to efficiently utilize energy in our local contexts. Following the direction of certain genes, a central biological clock in the brain\u00a0<\/span>aligns<\/span><\/a>\u00a0each of the body\u2019s individual cell timers with the planet\u2019s light cycle. So if you live in New York and eat a banana sourced from Ecuador in the dead of winter, your body will likely know something\u2019s up.<\/span><\/p>\n

In addition to other critical processes, the circadian rhythm propels the human microbiome to\u00a0<\/span>change<\/span><\/a>\u00a0throughout the day. In the colon, polyphenols are processed by gut microbes \u2014 whose composition and function can fluctuate within a matter of hours.\u00a0This means that some foods may offer optimal advantages based on the time they\u2019re eaten, Arola Arnal and Su\u00e1rez proposed in a\u00a0<\/span>July 2021 paper in\u00a0<\/span>Trends in Food Science & Technology<\/span><\/a>.<\/span>\u00a0And on an annual scale, for example, we tend to need higher amounts of antioxidants in winter to survive low temperatures and other environmental stressors.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Overall, some scientists think that eating the appropriate food at the appropriate times could even\u00a0<\/span>sync up circadian rhythms<\/span><\/a>\u00a0that are disrupted by today\u2019s disorderly lifestyle. You can think of it as a two-way street: Food components like polyphenols and various nutrients can influence our inner rhythms, but these timers can also dictate their absorption and effectiveness.<\/span><\/p>\n

Novel Treatments<\/span><\/h2>\n

Given the various factors that can hinder how people process polyphenols, including health status and genetics, researchers are now\u00a0<\/span>seeking strategies<\/span><\/a>\u00a0to amp up their circulation within the body and tackle diseases like cancer that currently require safer, more successful treatments.\u00a0Rupasinghe\u00a0<\/span>suggests<\/span><\/a>\u00a0nanotechnology as a possible solution: When enclosed in tiny particles, polyphenols like quercetin (which is naturally found in red wine and green tea) may\u00a0<\/span>ramp up<\/span><\/a>\u00a0the efficacy of potential cancer treatments. Such techniques could dictate the specific cells that these compounds target (a widely acknowledged\u00a0<\/span>weakness<\/span><\/a>\u00a0associated with chemotherapy and a major source of side effects) and determine when they\u2019re released within these cells.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Some teams have looked into\u00a0<\/span>combining<\/span><\/a>\u00a0conventional chemotherapy drugs with polyphenols to reduce toxicity and improve their efficacy. Scientists have also\u00a0<\/span>engineered<\/span><\/a>\u00a0polyphenols to enhance their anticancer properties.\u00a0Much of this cancer research, along with treatments for conditions such as\u00a0<\/span>Parkinson\u2019s<\/span><\/a>,\u00a0<\/span>diabetes<\/span><\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0<\/span>hepatitis B<\/span><\/a>, has been performed in cell models and animals, so we\u2019re still a ways away from possible widespread use.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The same goes for broader work on the complex interactions between plants, the environment and our bodies \u2014 it\u2019s far easier to simulate different external forces<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>on lab animals that impact their internal rhythms<\/span>,<\/span>\u00a0including light and temperature, than on human subjects. To that end, Arola Arnal and Suarez hope to find biomarkers \u2014 precise measurements within the body, which can pop up in fluids like blood \u2014 that can indicate whether people are aligned with their surroundings. \u201cBefore jumping to humans we need to have more information in animal models,\u201d Arola Arnal says. \u201cWe are just starting with this kind of research and experiments and have a lot to do.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Despite the unknowns, Rupasinghe stresses the importance of disease prevention via diet. While he devotes some of his research toward future treatment options for various illnesses, his work also highlights how some powerful foods may reduce the occurrence of disease in the first place. Rupasinghe\u2019s\u00a0<\/span>2020\u00a0<\/span>Molecules<\/span>\u00a0study<\/span><\/a>, for example, suggested that a fruit called haskap berry might mitigate lung cancer risk in high-risk populations like smokers. And while neurodegenerative diseases continue to challenge scientists, some works indicate that polyphenols\u00a0<\/span>could<\/span><\/a>\u00a0<\/span>help<\/span><\/a>\u00a0us maintain cognitive function as we age. \u201cWe have very strong evidence for prevention, and this scientific knowledge needs to go to the public,\u201d he says.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<\/article>\n