Postbiotics: Health and Industry provides a detailed overview on the fundamentals, biological and therapeutic properties, safety, and application of postbiotics in health and industry. Sections cover the fundamentals of postbiotics, which include insights on probiotic microorganisms, postbiotics, and host–microbe interaction, analysis, and characterization of postbiotics. The book goes on to delve into the different types of postbiotics and their mechanisms. Remaining sections explore various health, pharmaceutical, and industrial applications of postbiotics. - Provides an overview on the separation, characterization, and identification of postbiotics from probiotic microbes - Includes classes of postbiotics and their mechanisms of action - Discusses the safety of postbiotics in humans and animals and the use of multiomics to understand the effect of postbiotics on human physiology - Analyzes existing regulatory framework for postbiotics

Natural products play crucial roles in modern drug development, and constitute a prolific source of novel lead compounds or pharmacophores for ongoing drug discovery programs. Chemistry and Pharmacology of Naturally Occurring Bioactive Compounds presents cutting-edge research in the chemistry of bioactive natural products and demonstrates how natural product research continues to make significant contributions in the discovery and development of new medicinal entities. In 21 chapters, this book highlights chemistry and pharmaceutical potential of natural products in modern drug discovery processes, and covers the synthesis and semi-synthesis of potentially bioactive natural products. Written for phytochemists, synthetic chemists, combinatorial chemists, as well as other practitioners and students in related fields, the book features chemical advances in naturally occurring organic compounds and describes their chemical transformations and structure–activity relationships.

Natural Bioactive Compounds: Technological Advancements deals with the latest breakthroughs in the field of screening, characterization and novel applications of natural bioactive compounds from diverse group of organisms ranging from bacteria, viruses, cyanobacteria, algae, fungi, bryophytes, higher plants, sponges, corals and fishes. Written by some of the most reputed scientists in the field, this book introduces the reader to strategies and methods in the search for bioactive natural products. It is an essential read for researchers and students interested in bioactive natural products, their biological and pharmacological properties, their possible use as chemopreventive or chemotherapeutic agents, and other future potential applications. - Explores natural sources of bioactive compounds, including cyanobacteria, bacteria, viruses, fungi and higher plants - Discusses the potential applications of biological products, such as their use in medicine (antibiotics, cancer research, immunology), as food additives, supplements and technological substances - Analyzes the contributions of emerging or developing technologies for the study of bioactive natural compounds (characterization and purification)

Plant bioactive compounds are plant-based natural products that display a variety of pharmacological applications. These bioactive compounds are important as medicines, pigments and flavorings since most of the pharmaceutical industries are highly dependent on medicinal plants and their extraction. The types and concentrations of bioactive compounds produced by plants are determined by the species, genotype, physiology, developmental stage and environmental factors during growth, determining the physiological adaptive responses employed by various plant taxonomic groups in coping with the stress and defensive stimuli. In the past two decades there has been a renewed interest in the study of conventional aspects such as elicitors and biotic and abiotic stress factors that influence secondary metabolism during in vitro and in vivo growth of plants. the application of molecular biology tools and techniques are facilitating increased understanding of the signaling processes and pathways involved in the bioactive compounds production in subcellular, cellular, organ and whole plant systems during in vivo and in vitro growth, with application in the metabolic engineering of biosynthetic pathways intermediates. Biosynthesis and Manipulation of Bioactive compounds in Medicinal and Aromatic Plants provides a comprehensive introduction and review of the state-of-the-art biotechnological tools used in enhancement of bioactive compounds in medicinal and aromatic plants. Readers will find a systematic overview of techniques such as Omics, Crisper /Cas9 and RNAi to enhance plant bioactive contents including various in vitro techniques, hairy root culture and transgenic technology to enhance plant bioactive contents using plant tissue culture approaches. The chapters provide an overview of the role of induced mutation, biotic and abiotic stress to increase the bioactive contents in plants, plus the role of endophytes to enhance the contents of plant bioactive compounds and standard operating procedures using hydroponics system of cultivation for significant enhancement of bioactive compounds. This book serves as a single source for researchers working in plant secondary metabolites and the pharmaceutical industry.

The human system employs the use of endogenous enzymatic as well as non-enzymatic antioxidant defence systems against the onslaught of free radicals and oxidative stress. Enzymatic antioxidants and non-enzymatic antioxidants work synergistically with each other, using different mechanisms against different free radicals and stages of oxidative stress. Dietary and lifestyle modifications are seen as the mainstay of treatment and management of chronic diseases such as diabetes mellitus. The major aims of dietary and lifestyle changes are to reduce weight, improve glycaemic control and reduce the risk of coronary heart disease, which accounts for 70- 80% of deaths among those with diabetes. It is also important to note that medicinal plants have been used as medicines since ancient time, and continue to play significant role even in modern medicine in management and treatment of chronic diseases. Impressive numbers of modern therapeutic agents have been developed from plants. Phytochemicals have been isolated and characterised from fruits such as grapes and apples, vegetables such as broccoli and onion, spices such as turmeric, beverages such as green tea and red wine, as well as many other sources. The WHO estimates that approximately 80% of the worlds inhabitants rely on traditional medicine for their primary health care and many medicinal plants have ethno-medical claims of usefulness in the treatment of diabetes and other chronic diseases globally, and have been employed empirically in antidiabetic, antihyperlipidemic, antihypertensive, antinflammatory and antiparasitic remedies. This book examines the role of antioxidant-rich natural products in management and treatment of diabetes and other chronic diseases.

Phytochemists are aware that their focus of interest is receiving attention from a wider segment of society and from a greater diversity of disciplines within the scientific community than ever before. Nonetheless, they were bemused to learn three years ago that "until recently scientists didn't even know phytochemi cals existed" (Newsweek, April 24, 1994). Changing public perception of the positive contributions of phytochemicals to human well-being has foundations in scientific advances. With popular reports emphasizing the important implica tions of phytochemicals in the daily lives of people, there is a pressing need for those working in this area to explain their diverse scientific activities to the public. Chemicals from plant foods are linked through epidemiological and ex perimental studies with reduced incidence of chronic degenerative diseases. Phytomedicines, standardized according to particular constituents, are making increasing contributions to health care. Naturally occurring constituents of plants are recognized as fundamental to the appeal, quality, and marketability of food products. In light of such developments, perceptions by phytochemists of their own discipline and its applications are expanding. Until recently, food phyto chemistry largely implied food toxicants. Food plants were familiar, but seldom the source of novel economically important compounds. Increasingly sophisti cated methods of analysis, however, have opened new opportunities for under standing the nature and functions offood constituents, and for manipulating them to improve the quality, acceptability, and value of food products.

Gac fruit, Momordica cochinchinensis Spreng, is rich in nutrients such as carotenoids (particularly ß-carotene and lycopene), fatty acids, vitamin E, polyphenol compounds and flavonoids. This book provides the latest research on this fruit, from cultivation through to novel processing technologies for health products. It addresses several techniques for propagation and cultivation in order to increase the production and quality of Gac fruit, including traditionally used parts of the fruit (aril) and those whose value has not yet been maximized (peel, pulp and seed). This plant has the potential to be a high value crop, particularly as parts of the fruit can be processed into nutrient supplements and natural colorants. Currently only the aril is commercially harvested, and this presents opportunities for upcycling the rest of the fruit.

The bioactive compounds of plants have world-wide applications in pharmaceutical, nutraceutical and food industry with a huge market. In this book, a group of active researchers have addressed on the most recent advances in plant cell and organ cultures for the production of biomass and bioactive compounds using bioreactors. Tremendous efforts have been made to commercialize the production of plant metabolites by employing plant cell and organ cultures in bioreactors. This book emphasizes on the fundamental topics like designing of bioreactors for plant cell and organ cultures, various types of bioreactors including stirred tank, airlift, photo-bioreactor, disposable bioreactor used for plant cell and organ cultures and the advantages and disadvantages of bioreactor cultures. Various strategies for biomass production and metabolite accumulation have been discussed in different plant systems including Korean/Chinese ginseng, Siberian ginseng, Indian ginseng, Echinacea, St. John’s wort, Noni, Chinese licorice, Caterpillar fungus and microalgae. Researches on the industrial application of plant cells and organs with future prospects as well as the biosafety of biomass produced in bioreactors are also described. The topics covered in this book, such as plant cell and organ cultures, hairy roots, bioreactors, bioprocess techniques, will be a valuable reference for plant biotechnologists, plant biologists, pharmacologists, pharmacists, food technologists, nutritionists, research investigators of healthcare industry, academia, faculty and students of biology and biomedical sciences. The multiple examples of large-scale applications of cell and organ cultures will be useful and significant to industrial transformation and real commercialization.

This edited book is focused on antioxidant compounds and their biosynthesis, up-regulation, mechanism of action for selective bioactivity, targeted role and the advancement of their bioactive potential during plant-microbe interaction and other stress conditions. This book also emphasizes on the role of antioxidants in recruiting beneficial microbes in plant surroundings. Antioxidants have multiple biological roles in plants especially in the signalling pathway. These compounds are secondary metabolites produced besides the primary biosynthetic pathway and are associated with growth and development. Besides they also have special role to play during oxidative stress produced via abiotic stimulants or pathogen attack. This understanding of the biosynthesis, signaling and function of antioxidant compounds in plants during stress condition is helpful in restoring plant ecosystem productivity and improve plant responses to a wide range of stress conditions. This book is a useful compilation for researchers and academicians in botany, plant physiology, plant biochemistry and stress physiology. Also the book serves as reading material for undergraduate and graduate students of environmental sciences, agricultural sciences and other plant science courses.