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Natural antioxidants are widely distributed in food and medicinal plants. These natural antioxidants, especially polyphenols and carotenoids, exhibit a wide range of biological effects, including anti-inflammatory, anti-aging, anti-atherosclerosis and anticancer. The effective extraction and proper assessment of antioxidants from food and medicinal plants are crucial to explore the potential antioxidant sources and promote the application in functional foods, pharmaceuticals and food additives. The present paper provides comprehensive information on the green extraction technologies of natural antioxidants, assessment of antioxidant activity at chemical and cellular based levels and their main resources from food and medicinal plants.

Overproduction of oxidants (reactive oxygen species and reactive nitrogen species) in the human body is responsible for the pathogenesis of some diseases. The scavenging of these oxidants is thought to be an effective measure to depress the level of oxidative stress of organisms. It has been reported that intake of vegetables and fruits is inversely associated with the risk of many chronic diseases, and antioxidant phytochemicals in vegetables and fruits are considered to be responsible for these health benefits. Antioxidant phytochemicals can be found in many foods and medicinal plants, and play an important role in the prevention and treatment of chronic diseases caused by oxidative stress. They often possess strong antioxidant and free radical scavenging abilities, as well as anti-inflammatory action, which are also the basis of other bioactivities and health benefits, such as anticancer, anti-aging, and protective action for cardiovascular diseases, diabetes mellitus, obesity and neurodegenerative diseases. This review summarizes recent progress on the health benefits of antioxidant phytochemicals, and discusses their potential mechanisms in the prevention and treatment of chronic diseases.

Insomnia is a serious worldwide health threat, affecting nearly one third of the general population. Melatonin has been reported to improve sleep efficiency and it was found that eating melatonin-rich foods could assist sleep. During the last decades, melatonin has been widely identified and qualified in various foods from fungi to animals and plants. Eggs and fish are higher melatonin-containing food groups in animal foods, whereas in plant foods, nuts are with the highest content of melatonin. Some kinds of mushrooms, cereals and germinated legumes or seeds are also good dietary sources of melatonin. It has been proved that the melatonin concentration in human serum could significantly increase after the consumption of melatonin containing food. Furthermore, studies show that melatonin exhibits many bioactivities, such as antioxidant activity, anti-inflammatory characteristics, boosting immunity, anticancer activity, cardiovascular protection, anti-diabetic, anti-obese, neuroprotective and anti-aging activity. This review summaries the dietary sources and bioactivities of melatonin, with special attention paid to the mechanisms of action.

There is much epidemiological evidence that a diet rich in fruits and vegetables could lower the risk of certain cancers. The effect has been attributed, in part, to natural polyphenols. Besides, numerous studies have demonstrated that natural polyphenols could be used for the prevention and treatment of cancer. Potential mechanisms included antioxidant, anti-inflammation as well as the modulation of multiple molecular events involved in carcinogenesis. The current review summarized the anticancer efficacy of major polyphenol classes (flavonoids, phenolic acids, lignans and stilbenes) and discussed the potential mechanisms of action, which were based on epidemiological, in vitro, in vivo and clinical studies within the past five years.

The vagus nerve can control inflammatory response through a ＇cholinergic anti-inflammatory pathway＇, which is mediated by the α7-nicotinic acetylcholine receptor （α7nAChR） on macrophages. However, the intracellular mechanisms that link a7nAChR activation and pro-inflammatory cytokine production remain not well understood. In this study, we found that miR-124 is upregulated by cholinergic agonists in LPS-exposed cells and mice. Utilizing miR-124 mimic and siRNA knockdown, we demonstrated that miR-124 is a critical mediator for the cholinergic anti-inflammatory action. Furthermore, our data indicated that miR-124 modulates LPS-induced cytokine production by targeting signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 （STAT3） to decrease IL-6 production and TNF-o converting enzyme （TACE） to reduce TNF-α release. These results also indicate that miR-124 is a potential therapeutic target for the treatment of inflammatory diseases.

Spices have been widely used as food flavorings and folk medicines for thousands of years. Numerous studies have documented the antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and immunomodulatory effects of spices, which might be related to prevention and treatment of several cancers, including lung, liver, breast, stomach, colorectum, cervix, and prostate cancers. Several spices are potential sources for prevention and treatment of cancers, such as Curcuma longa (tumeric), Nigella sativa (black cumin), Zingiber officinale (ginger), Allium sativum (garlic), Crocus sativus (saffron), Piper nigrum (black pepper) and Capsicum annum (chili pepper), which contained several important bioactive compounds, such as curcumin, thymoquinone, piperine and capsaicin. The main mechanisms of action include inducing apoptosis, inhibiting proliferation, migration and invasion of tumors, and sensitizing tumors to radiotherapy and chemotherapy. This review summarized recent studies on some spices for prevention and treatment of cancers, and special attention was paid to bioactive components and mechanisms of action.

Liver injuries and diseases are serious health problems worldwide. Various factors, such as chemical pollutants, drugs, and alcohol, could induce liver injuries. Liver diseases involve a wide range of liver pathologies, including hepatic steatosis, fatty liver, hepatitis, fibrosis, cirrhosis, and hepatocarcinoma. Despite all the studies performed up to now, therapy choices for liver injuries and diseases are very few. Therefore, the search for a new treatment that could safely and effectively block or reverse liver injuries and diseases remains a priority. Melatonin is a well-known natural antioxidant, and has many bioactivities. There are numerous studies investigating the effects of melatonin on liver injuries and diseases, and melatonin could regulate various molecular pathways, such as inflammation, proliferation, apoptosis, metastasis, and autophagy in different pathophysiological situations. Melatonin could be used for preventing and treating liver injuries and diseases. Herein, we conduct a review summarizing the potential roles of melatonin in liver injuries and diseases, paying special attention to the mechanisms of action.

Many studies have indicated that consumption of vegetables and fruits are positively related to lower incidence of several chronic noncommunicable diseases. Although composition of fruit and vegetable juices is different from that of the edible portion of fruits and vegetables, they contain polyphenols and vitamins from fruits and vegetables. Drinking vegetable and fruit juices is very popular in many countries, and also an efficient way to improve consumption of fruits and vegetables. The studies showed that fruit and vegetable juices affect cardiovascular risk factors, such as lowering blood pressure and improving blood lipid profiles. The main mechanisms of action included antioxidant effects, improvement of the aspects of the cardiovascular system, inhibition of platelet aggregation, anti-inflammatory effects, and prevention of hyperhomocysteinemia. Drinking juices might be a potential way to improve cardiovascular health, especially mixtures of juices because they contain a variety of polyphenols, vitamins, and minerals from different fruits and vegetables. This review summarizes recent studies on the effects of fruit and vegetable juices on indicators of cardiovascular disease, and special attention is paid to the mechanisms of action.

Many mushrooms have been used as foods and medicines for a long time. Mushrooms contain polyphenols, polysaccharides, vitamins and minerals. Studies show that mushrooms possess various bioactivities, such as antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, anticancer, immunomodulatory, antimicrobial, hepatoprotective, and antidiabetic properties, therefore, mushrooms have attracted increasing attention in recent years, and could be developed into functional food or medicines for prevention and treatment of several chronic diseases, such as cancer, cardiovascular diseases, diabetes mellitus and neurodegenerative diseases. The present review summarizes the bioactivities and health benefits of mushrooms, and could be useful for full utilization of mushrooms.

Mung bean (Vigna radiata) sprout is commonly consumed as a vegetable, while the coat of the germinated mung bean is a waste. In this paper, an ultrasound-assisted extraction method has been developed to extract natural antioxidants from the seed coat of mung bean. Several experimental parameters—which included ethanol concentration, solvent/material ratio, ultrasound extraction time, temperature, and power—were studied in single-factor experiments. The interaction of three key experimental parameters (ethanol concentration, solvent/material ratio, and ultrasonic extraction time) was further investigated by response surface method. Besides, traditional extracting methods, including maceration and Soxhlet extraction methods, were also carried out for comparison. The results suggested that the best extracting condition was 37.6% (v/v) of ethanol concentration, 35.1:1 mL/g of solvent/material ratio and ultrasonic extraction of 46.1 min at 70 °C under 500 W ultrasonic irradiation. The antioxidant capacity (178.28 ± 7.39 µmol Trolox/g DW) was much stronger than those obtained by the maceration extraction process (158.66 ± 4.73 µmol Trolox/g DW) and the Soxhlet extraction process (138.42 ± 3.63 µmol Trolox/g DW). In addition, several antioxidant components in the extract were identified and quantified. This study is helpful for value-added utilization of the waste from germinated mung bean.