Bioactive compound/Senyawa Bioaktif
A bioactive compound is a compound that has an
effect on a living organism, tissue or cell.[1] In the
field of nutrition bioactive compounds are
distinguished from essential nutrients. While
nutrients are essential to the sustainability of a
body, the bioactive compounds are not essential
since the body can function properly without them,
or because nutrients fulfil the same function.
Bioactive compounds can have an influence on
health.[2]
Origin and examples
Bioactive compounds are found in :
plant
animal
synthetically produced.
Examples of plant bioactive compounds are:
carotenoids and polyphenols (from fruits and
vegetables)
phytosterols (from oils)
fatty acids (found in milk and fish)
Most of bioactive compounds could be found in
plants i.e :
flavonoids, caffeine, carotenoids, carnitine,
choline, coenzyme Q, creatine, dithiolthiones,
phytosterols, polysaccharides,[3] phytoestrogens,
glucosinolates, polyphenols, anthocyanins [4]
prebiotics, and taurine.[5]
Health
Sellers of bioactive substances often attribute
health benefits to these compounds, but there is
insufficient research into the effectiveness and
safety of these substances, either in long-term use
or in quantities that exceed normal consumption
levels. In addition, some flavonoids have been
shown to influence the effects of drugs. However,
a number of bioactive substances have been
shown to act as an antioxidant.[5] As bioactive
compounds are not essential, advice on daily
intake is often unregulated.[5]
All natural products begin as mixtures with other
compounds from the natural source, often very
complex mixtures, from which the product of
interest must be isolated and purified.
The ease with which the active agent can be
isolated and purified depends on the structure,
stability, and quantity of the natural product.
The methods of isolation applied toward achieving
these two distinct scales of product are likewise
distinct, but generally involve extraction,
precipitation, adsorptions, chromatography, and
sometimes crystallizations.
Polyphenol: Flavonoids and Tannin
Polyphenol: main antioxidant agent
Flavonoids: anthocyanin, flavone, flavane,
Flavonoids are widely distributed in plants,
fulfilling many functions. Flavonoids are the most
important plant pigments for flower coloration,
producing yellow or red/blue pigmentation in petals
designed to attract pollinator animals.
Flavonoids (specifically flavanoids such as
the catechins) are "the most common group
of polyphenolic compounds in the human diet and
are found ubiquitously in plants".[6] Flavonols, the
original bioflavonoids such as quercetin, are also
found ubiquitously, but in lesser quantities. The
widespread distribution of flavonoids, their variety
and their relatively low toxicitycompared to other
active plant compounds (for instance alkaloids)
mean that many animals, including humans, ingest
significant quantities in their diet. Foods with a
high flavonoid content
include parsley,[7] onions,[7] blueberries and
other berries,[7] black tea,[7] green tea and oolong
tea, bananas, all citrus fruits, Ginkgo biloba, red
wine, sea-buckthorns, buckwheat, and dark
chocolate
Flavonoids have been shown to have a wide range
of biological and pharmacological activities in in
vitro studies. Examples include anti-allergic, anti-
inflammatory, antioxidant, anti-
microbial (antibacterial, antifungal, and antiviral ),
anti-cancer, and anti-
diarrheal activities. Flavonoids have also been
shown to inhibit topoisomeraseenzymes[34][35] and
to induce DNA mutations in the mixed-lineage
leukemia (MLL) gene in in vitro studies.
Among the most intensively studied of general
human disorders possibly affected by dietary
flavonoids, preliminary cardiovascular
disease research has revealed the following
mechanisms under investigation in patients or
normal subjects:
inhibit coagulation, thrombus formation
or platelet aggregation
reduce risk of atherosclerosis
reduce arterial blood pressure and risk
of hypertension
reduce oxidative stress and related signaling
pathways in blood vessel cells
modify vascular inflammatory mechanisms
improve endothelial and capillary function
modify blood lipid levels
regulate carbohydrate and glucose metabolism
modify mechanisms of aging
Listed on the clinical trial registry of the
US National Institutes of Health (July 2016) are 48
human studies completed or underway to study the
dietary effects of plant flavonoids on
cardiovascular diseases.
Tannin
A tannin (or tannoid) is
an astringent, polyphenolic biomolecule that binds
to and precipitates proteins and various other
organic compounds including amino
acids and alkaloids.
The term tannin (from tanna, an Old High
German word for oak or fir tree, as in Tannenbaum)
refers to the use of wood tannins from oak
in tanning animal hides into leather; hence the
words "tan" and "tanning" for the treatment
of leather. However, the term "tannin" by
extension is widely applied to any
large polyphenolic compound containing
sufficient hydroxyls and other suitable groups
(such as carboxyls) to form strong complexes with
various macromolecules.
The tannin compounds are widely distributed in
many species of plants, where they play a role in
protection from predation, and perhaps also
as pesticides, and might help in regulating plant
growth.[1] The astringency from the tannins is what
causes the dry and puckery feeling in the mouth
following the consumption of unripened fruit or red
wine or tea.
Carotenoids
Over 600 known carotenoids i.e.:
• tetraterpenoids
• carotens and xanthophylls
Carotenoids are organic pigments that are found in the
chloroplasts and chromoplasts of plants and some other
photosynthetic organisms like algae, some bacteria, and
some fungi.
Carotenoids can be produced from fats and other basic
organic metabolic building blocks by all these organisms
and can act as antioxidants
The four carotenoids (β carotene, α carotene, γ carotene
and βcryptoxanthin) have vitamin A activity
β carotene protects human body against some kinds
of skin cancer.
lutein, astaxanthin and zeaxanthin act directly to absorb
damaging blue and near ultraviolet light, in order to
protect the macula of the retina
lycopene (found abudantly in tomatoes) is thought to
protect against prostate and other cancers, and inhibits
tumor cell growth in animals and decrease level of
cholesterol in blood and protect from coronary attact,
has anti cancer properties
Terpenoids
The terpenoids sometimes called isoprenoids:
- large and diverse class of naturally
occurring organic chemicals similar to terpenes,
derived from five-carbon isoprene
-About 60% of known natural products are
terpenoids.[1]
- Plant terpenoids are used extensively for their
aromatic qualities and play a role in traditional
herbal remedies.
- Terpenoids contribute to the scent
of eucalyptus, the flavors of cinnamon, cloves,
and ginger, the yellow color in sunflowers, and
the red color in tomatoes.[2] Well-known
terpenoids
include citral, menthol, camphor, salvinorin
A in the plant Salvia divinorum,
the cannabinoids found
in cannabis, ginkgolide and bilobalide found
in Ginkgo biloba, and the curcuminoids found
in turmeric and mustard seed.
Alkaloids
are a group of naturally occurring chemical
compounds that mostly
contain basic nitrogen atoms.
- Alkaloids are produced by a large variety of
organisms including bacteria, fungi, plants,
and animals.
- They can be purified from crude extracts of
these organisms by acid-base extraction.
Alkaloids have a wide range
of pharmacological activities
including antimalarial (e.g. quinine), antiasthm
a (e.g. ephedrine), anticancer (e.g. homoharrin
gtonine),[6] cholinomimetic(e.g. galantamine),[7]
vasodilatory (e.g. vincamine), antiarrhythmic (e
.g. quinidine), analgesic (e.g. morphine),[8]antib
acterial (e.g. chelerythrine),[9] and antihypergly
cemic activities (e.g. piperine).[10] Many have
found use in traditionalor modern medicine, or
as starting points for drug discovery.
- Other alkaloids
possess psychotropic (e.g. psilocin)
and stimulant activities
(e.g. cocaine, caffeine, nicotine, theobromine),[
11]
and have been used in entheogenic rituals
or as recreational drugs.
- Alkaloids can be toxic too
(e.g. atropine, tubocurarine).[12] Although
alkaloids act on a diversity of metabolic
systems in humans and other animals, they
almost uniformly evoke a bitter taste.[13]
Vitamins
The term vitamin was derived from "vitamine," a
compound word coined in 1912 by the Polish biochemist
Kazimierz Funk when he was working at the Lister
Institute of Preventive Medicine.
Vitamins were discovered between 1913 and 1941.
Group of fat soluble vitamins:
•
Vitamin A (Retinol)
•
Vitamin D (Calciferol)
•
Vitamin E (Tocopherol)
•
Vitamin K
Group of Water soluble vitamins:
•
Group of Vitamin B
•
Vitamin C (Ascorbic acid)
