Reference Number: 68
Year: 2007
Link: Link to original paper
Nutrition: Antioxidants | Polyphenols
Summary
Summary
There has been considerable public and scientific interest in the use of phytochemicals derived from dietary components to combat human diseases. They are naturally occurring substances found in plants. Ferulic acid (FA) is a phytochemical commonly found in fruits and vegetables such as tomatoes, sweet corn and rice bran. It arises from metabolism of phenylalanine and tyrosine by Shikimate pathway in plants. It exhibits a wide range of therapeutic effects against various diseases like cancer, diabetes, cardiovascular and neurodegenerative. A wide spectrum of beneficial activity for human health has been advocated for this phenolic compound, at least in part, because of its strong antioxidant activity. FA, a phenolic compound is a strong membrane antioxidant and known to positively affect human health. FA is an effective scavenger of free radicals and it has been approved in certain countries as food additive to prevent lipid peroxidation. It effectively scavenges superoxide anion radical and inhibits the lipid peroxidation. It possesses antioxidant property by virtue of its phenolic hydroxyl group in its structure. The hydroxy and phenoxy groups of FA donate electrons to quench the free radicals. The phenolic radical in turn forms a quinone methide intermediate, which is excreted via the bile. The past few decades have been devoted to intense research on antioxidant property of FA. So, the present review deals with the mechanism of antioxidant property of FA and its possible role in therapeutic usage against various diseases.
SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY
This study highlights the importance of Ferulic acid, an important phenolic compound having strong antioxidant properties most commonly present in some vegetables, fruits and some cereals. This review is worth a read since Ferulic acid is one of the important phenolic compounds present in wheat, mainly present in wheat bran. Therefore in order to improve the nutritional quality of breads, it is important to use wholegrain which will ensure the delivery of vital nutrients such as Ferulic acid which has shown to have a positive effect on human health.
