A 6-week healthy eating intervention with family engagement improves food knowledge and preferences but not dietary diversity among urban preschool children in Sri Lanka.

Objective: To evaluate the effectiveness of a multicomponent intervention (MCI) on children's dietary diversity and its impact pathway components of children's food knowledge and healthy food preferences.

Design: A 6-week cluster randomised controlled trial with a MCI consisting of child nutrition education plus family engagement through parental nutrition education, meal preparation and tasting was compared with two groups: single component intervention (SCI) of child nutrition education, and control, conducted during February to July 2018. Preschool centres were randomly assigned to one of the three arms.

Herbal beverages: Bioactive compounds and their role in disease risk reduction - A review.

There is a renewed interest in non-nutritive bioactive compounds of foods and beverages as 'lifespan nutrients' in the risk reduction of non-communicable diseases. Herbal beverages, consumed as part of a balanced diet, may improve the antioxidant status and enhance the overall health status. Herbal teas/beverages are rich sources of natural bioactive compounds such as carotenoids, phenolic acids, flavonoids, coumarins, alkaloids, polyacetylenes, saponins and terpenoids, among others.

DNA scission and LDL cholesterol oxidation inhibition and antioxidant activities of ( flower extracts.

Phenolic compounds and other antioxidants have been implicated in protection against non-communicable diseases (NCDs) in which oxidative stress is a main contributor. The extracts of ( flower were examined for their phenolic content, free radical scavenging efficacy and inhibition of low density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol oxidation and DNA scission activities. The extracts of flowers were prepared using different solvent systems and their total phenolic content (TPC) and total flavonoid content (TFC) determined.

Comparison of phenolic content and antioxidant activities of millet varieties grown in different locations in Sri Lanka.

Soluble and bound phenolic compounds were extracted from different varieties of millet types namely, finger millet, foxtail, and proso millet cultivated at dry and intermediate climatic zones in Sri Lanka. The extracts were examined for their total phenolic content (TPC), total flavonoid content (TFC), and proanthocyanidin content (PC). The antioxidant activities were meassured by reducing power (RP), trolox equivalent antioxidant capacity (TEAC), 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) radical scavenging activity, ferrous ion chelating ability (FICA), and using a β carotene linoleate model system.

Roots and Tuber Crops as Functional Foods: A Review on Phytochemical Constituents and Their Potential Health Benefits.

Starchy roots and tuber crops play a pivotal role in the human diet. There are number of roots and tubers which make an extensive biodiversity even within the same geographical location. Thus, they add variety to the diet in addition to offering numerous desirable nutritional and health benefits such as antioxidative, hypoglycemic, hypocholesterolemic, antimicrobial, and immunomodulatory activities.

Bioactivities and antiradical properties of millet grains and hulls.

Antioxidant activities of phenolic extracts of kodo and pearl millet whole grains, dehulled grains, and hulls were examined by monitoring inhibition of radical-induced DNA scission, human low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol, and phospholipid liposome oxidation. Total phenolic content (TPC), hydroxyl and peroxyl radical inhibition, and antiproliferative activities against HT-29 cells were also determined. Major hydroxycinnamic acids in dehulled grains and hulls were identified and quantified using HPLC.

Inhibitory activities of soluble and bound millet seed phenolics on free radicals and reactive oxygen species.

Oxidative stress, caused by reactive oxygen species (ROS), is responsible for modulating several pathological conditions and aging. Soluble and bound phenolic extracts of commonly consumed millets, namely, kodo, finger (Ravi), finger (local), foxtail, proso, little, and pearl, were investigated for their phenolic content and inhibition of 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) radical and ROS, namely, hydroxyl radical, peroxyl radical, hydrogen peroxide (H(2)O(2)), hypochlorous acid (HOCl), and singlet oxygen ((1)O(2)). Inhibition of DPPH and hydroxyl radicals was detrmined using electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) spectroscopy.

Content of insoluble bound phenolics in millets and their contribution to antioxidant capacity.

Soluble and insoluble-bound phenolic extracts of several varieties of millet (kodo, finger, foxtail, proso, pearl, and little millets) whole grains were evaluated for their phenolic contents and antioxidative efficacy using trolox equivalent antioxidant capacity (TEAC), reducing power (RP), and beta-carotene-linoleate model system as well as ferrous chelating activity. In addition, ferulic and p-coumaric acids were present in soluble and bound phenolic fractions of millets, and their contents were determined using high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) and HPLC-mass spectrometry (MS). Kodo millet had the highest total phenolic content, whereas proso millet possessed the least.

Phytochemicals of foods, beverages and fruit vinegars: chemistry and health effects.

Plant-based foods and food ingredients provide a wide range of phytochemicals and antioxidants that render their beneficial health effects through a number of mechanisms. The presence of phenolics in different plant materials and beverages depends on the source material which dictates the type and quantity present. In addition, processing of raw materials, including fermentation, may alter the chemical nature and efficacy of their phenolic constituents.