Indole is an aromatic heterocyclic organic compound having C8H7N formula. It has bicyclic structure which consists of six membered benzene ring combined to a five membered pyrrole ring. It is distributed widely in natural environment and could be produced by various bacteria. Indole as an intercellular signal molecule, it regulates various aspects of bacterial physiology which includes spore formation, plasmid stability, resistance to drugs, virulence and biofilm formation. Indole is also known as Benzopyrrole which is a heterocyclic organic compound form in some flower oils such as orange blossom and jasmine, in fecal matter and in coal tar. It is…
Author: Emily
Hydroxycinnamic acids are a class of aromatic acids and phenylpropanoids with C6-C3 skeleton. These compounds are hydroxyl derivatives of cinnamic acid. These acids has subclasses such as caftaric, caffeic, coumaric, cinnamic, (neo)chlorogenic and ferulic acids and curcumin. These are phenolic compounds which belong to non-flavonoid polyphenols. It is found in all parts of fruits or vegetables. This group of compounds account about one-third of phenolic compounds in diet. They have gained increasing interest in health as they are regarded as potent antioxidants. These are regarded as chain breaking antioxidant which acts as radical scavenging activity which is related to hydrogen…
Phenolic acids also known as phenolcarboxylic acids are the type of aromatic acid compound. It contains a phenolic ring and organic carboxylic acid function. The two essential naturally occurring types are hydroxycinnamic acids and hydroxybenzoic acids that are derived from non-phenolic molecules of cinnamic and benzoic acid respectively. Hydroxybenzoic acids include protocatechuic, p-hydroxybenzoic, gallic, syringic and vanillic acids with common C6-C1 structure. On the other hand, Hydroxycinnamic acids are aromatic compounds having three carbon side chain (C6-C3) having ferulic, caffeic, sinapic and p-coumaric acids being the common. The class phytochemicals include anthocyanins, flavanones, flavones and isoflavones. Phenolic acid prevent plants…
Chlorophyll is a green pigment of plant which captures energy from sunlight for photosynthesis. This pigment is found in all green vegetables such as spinach and green beans. Plants get its green color from chlorophyll. Chlorophyll is used with sunlight by plants to obtain nutrients. It is found in all photosynthetic organisms such as green plants, eukaryotic algae and prokaryotic blue-green algae. The name has been derived from Greek words χλωρός, chloros which means green and φύλλον, phyllon which means leaf. Chlorophyll absorb light strongly in blue portion of electromagnetic spectrum and red portion. But it is a low absorber…
Alcohol is a substance called ethanol or ethyl alcohol. Alcohol is not made in the body, thus alcohol circulating in the blood has been derived from drinking alcohol-containing beverages. Many tissues throughout the body can break down alcohol, but the liver handles the majority of the task by far. In liver cells, alcohol can be used to make a substance called acetate (a short-chain fatty acid), which then leaves the liver and circulates to other tissue for further energy production. Alcohol is the only substance that is both a drug affecting brain function and a nutrient (sometimes providing 5–10% of…
Polyunsaturated fats are fats in which hydrocarbon chain as a constituent acquire two or more carbon–carbon double bonds. Polyunsaturated fatty acids become liquid at room temperature. It is oxidized easily in foods as well as body. These are involved in cholesterol metabolism which is a component of phospholipids in cell membranes and also a precursor of biologically active compounds such as interleukins, prostaglandins and thromboxanes. It has a crucial role in blood clotting, immune response and inflammation. PUFA are obtained from the essential fatty acids linoleic acid (n6 or ω6) and A-linoleic acid (n3 or ω3) and are six divided…
A fatty acid with one double bond is a monounsaturated fatty acid (MUFA). Monounsaturated fatty acids have a single point of unsaturation: two of the carbons in the chain are joined together by a double bond, so there are two fewer hydrogen atoms than in a saturated fatty acid of the same length. Oleic acid is an 18-carbon monounsaturated fatty acid widely found in nature in both animals and plants (it is the principal acid in olive oil). The double bond in oleic acid is between carbons 9 and 10 in the sequence; the shorthand notation for this acid is…
A saturated triglyceride, also called a saturated fat, is a triglyceride in which most of the fatty acids are saturated. Saturated fatty acids (SFA) contain carbon atoms linked by single bonds and hydrogen on all available arms; they have a relatively high melting point and tend to be solid at room temperature. SFA are obtained from animal storage fats and their products, e.g. meat fat, lard, milk, butter, cheese, and cream. Fats from plant origin tend to be unsaturated with the exception of coconut oil and palm oil. Some manufactured margarines and spreads contain significant amounts of SFA. Plasma low-density…
Tannins are soluble in water and interact with or form complexes with carbohydrates, polysaccharides, proteins, enzymes and bacterial cell membranes. It has high affinity for proline rich proteins salivary proline rich proteins. When restrained to mouth proteins, it imparts distinctively astringent taste sensation. Hydrolyzable tannins could be deteriorated by mild acids and bases for producing phenolic acids and carbohydrates or by hot water or enzymes. Contrarily, proanthocyanidins are non-hydrolyzable. It is present in coffee, tea and cocoa as well as broad beans. Tannins restrain iron absorption and in children in Egypt low intake of iron referring daily consumption of stewed…
Curcuminoid is a linear diarylheptanoid having molecules such as curcumin or derivatives of cucurmin accompanying various different chemical groups which are formed for raising cucurmins solubility and make them appropriate for drug formulation. These compounds are natural phenols which forms a yellow color. The curcumin characters are not suitable to use as drugs by themselves. It has poor solubility in water at acidic or physiological pH and hydrolyze rapidly in alkaline solutions. Thus curcumin derivatives are incorporated to promote its solubility and bioavailability. Curcuminoids are dissolved in dimethyl sulfoxide, ethanol and acetone but poorly dissolves in lipids. It promotes to…