There is a growing interest in food and plant natural products for medical purposes to treat noncommunicable and neurological diseases, which are all chronic illness, as these affections tend to be long-term and a result of a combination of genetic, physiological, environmental and behavioral factors. Many neurological disorders are a result of malnutrition. Currently, research is directed towards the safe and potentially efficacious use of complete foods, plant extracts, or pure bioactive metabolites like terpenoids and glucosinolates, as potential therapeutic agents.
Glucosinolates are a group of abundant phytochemicals in cruciferous vegetables and precursors of the potentially chemopreventive isothiocyanates. Isothiocyanates have demonstrated to reduce oxidative stress and inflammation, but little is known regarding the association between glucosinolates intake and risk of non-communicable diseases (Type 2 diabetes, obesity and other metabolic syndromes associated with lipid and glucose metabolism) and neurological diseases (chronic pain, sleep affections, anxiety and depression, and epilepsy).
Other interesting metabolites with scarce pharmacological investigation but potential bioactivity are terpenes, mainly those with neoclerodane chemical structure. These are natural products which produce pharmacological actions involving several central and peripheral mechanisms of action, like participation of monoamines, cannabinoid and opioid receptors. These agents can also inhibit enzymes responsible for the development of insulin resistance, normalization of plasma glucose and insulin levels and glucose metabolism.
In summary, these rarely investigated compounds open the possibility for further investigation as potential agents to treat metabolic syndromes and neurological diseases.
In this Research Topic, we aim to evaluate the association between the intake or administration of individual chemicals as glucosinolates or diterpenes alone or identified in extracts of food or medicinal plants on the incidence of non-communicable or neurological diseases from the different aspects involved in their functionality: bioaccesibility, bioavailability, metabolism, and functionality (biological activity), especially in cellular/molecular mechanism of action on specific targets of interest for future therapies and dietary interventions.
We welcome articles in the form of Original Research, Short Communication, Reviews and letters addressing the following or similar sub-Topics:
• Glucosinolates from cruciferous foods and their impact on health and wellbeing
• Glucosinolates, isothiocyanates or terpenes on the modulation of inflammation
• Glucosinolates, isothiocyanates or terpenes on the modulation of energy metabolism
• Glucosinolates, isothiocyanates or terpenes in improving neurological affections
• Neoclerodane diterpenoids in acute, inflammatory and chronic pain relief
• Neoclerodane diterpenoids in improving neurological affections
There is a growing interest in food and plant natural products for medical purposes to treat noncommunicable and neurological diseases, which are all chronic illness, as these affections tend to be long-term and a result of a combination of genetic, physiological, environmental and behavioral factors. Many neurological disorders are a result of malnutrition. Currently, research is directed towards the safe and potentially efficacious use of complete foods, plant extracts, or pure bioactive metabolites like terpenoids and glucosinolates, as potential therapeutic agents.
Glucosinolates are a group of abundant phytochemicals in cruciferous vegetables and precursors of the potentially chemopreventive isothiocyanates. Isothiocyanates have demonstrated to reduce oxidative stress and inflammation, but little is known regarding the association between glucosinolates intake and risk of non-communicable diseases (Type 2 diabetes, obesity and other metabolic syndromes associated with lipid and glucose metabolism) and neurological diseases (chronic pain, sleep affections, anxiety and depression, and epilepsy).
Other interesting metabolites with scarce pharmacological investigation but potential bioactivity are terpenes, mainly those with neoclerodane chemical structure. These are natural products which produce pharmacological actions involving several central and peripheral mechanisms of action, like participation of monoamines, cannabinoid and opioid receptors. These agents can also inhibit enzymes responsible for the development of insulin resistance, normalization of plasma glucose and insulin levels and glucose metabolism.
In summary, these rarely investigated compounds open the possibility for further investigation as potential agents to treat metabolic syndromes and neurological diseases.
In this Research Topic, we aim to evaluate the association between the intake or administration of individual chemicals as glucosinolates or diterpenes alone or identified in extracts of food or medicinal plants on the incidence of non-communicable or neurological diseases from the different aspects involved in their functionality: bioaccesibility, bioavailability, metabolism, and functionality (biological activity), especially in cellular/molecular mechanism of action on specific targets of interest for future therapies and dietary interventions.
We welcome articles in the form of Original Research, Short Communication, Reviews and letters addressing the following or similar sub-Topics:
• Glucosinolates from cruciferous foods and their impact on health and wellbeing
• Glucosinolates, isothiocyanates or terpenes on the modulation of inflammation
• Glucosinolates, isothiocyanates or terpenes on the modulation of energy metabolism
• Glucosinolates, isothiocyanates or terpenes in improving neurological affections
• Neoclerodane diterpenoids in acute, inflammatory and chronic pain relief
• Neoclerodane diterpenoids in improving neurological affections
