The beneficial health effects of Chlorella vulgaris have been associated with the presence of several nutrients and antioxidants, including carotenoids. However, the in vivo bioavailability of Chlorella is still poorly evaluated. In this work, a human intervention study was conducted in 11 healthy men to evaluate the bioavailability of carotenoids within 3 days after the intake of a single dose (6 g) of dried marine Chlorella vulgaris containing lutein (7.08 mg), β-carotene (1.88 mg) and zeaxanthin (1.47 mg). Subjects were instructed to follow a low carotenoid diet during the experimental phase, starting 1 week earlier. On the day of the experiment, dried microalgae formulated in vegetarian hard capsules were ingested, and blood samples were collected up to 72 h for the analysis of plasma carotenoids concentration by high-performance liquid chromatography with diode-array detection. For all carotenoids, the estimated AUC and C_max values were significantly different from zero (p < 0.05), indicating that a single dose of marine Chlorella vulgaris increased plasma concentrations of lutein (C_min-corrected AUC = 1002 µg·h/L, C_max = 20.4 µg/L), β-carotene (AUC = 1302 µg·h/L, C_max = 34.9 µg/L) and zeaxanthin (AUC = 122.2 µg·h/L, C_max = 3.4 µg/L). The bioavailability of other compounds, namely, polyunsaturated fatty acids and trace elements, was also assessed post-prandial for the first time, showing that linoleic acid, docosahexaenoic acid and iodine were absorbed after microalgae intake. These findings support the use of Chlorella vulgaris as a source of carotenoids, PUFA and essential trace elements with associated health benefits.

In recent years, cocoa and dark chocolate have attracted the interest of consumers not only for their sensory characteristics but also for their nutritional properties and positive impact on health. The baobab is a fruit of African origin with a sour and slightly sweet flavour, widely consumed by local communities due to its unique nutritional features. The aim of this work was to evaluate the impact of the concentration of baobab flour in the development of functional dark chocolate, including physical, chemical, nutritional and sensory evaluations. The results presented a positive correlation between the incorporation of baobab flour and the antioxidant activity (up to 2297 mmol TE/100 g), vitamin C content (up to 49.7 mg/100 g), calcium (up to 1052 mg/kg), potassium (up to 10,175 mg/kg), phosphorus (up to 795.9 mg/kg), chlorine (up to 235.4 mg/kg) and sulphur (up to 1158 mg/kg). The sensory evaluation of dark chocolate with 3% baobab presented the highest evaluation on the parameters “texture” and “overall flavour”, while the parameter “overall flavour” presented the lowest evaluation on chocolate with 9% baobab. No influence was observed on fatty acid profile, protein, fat and hardness.

Rice bran (RB) is a rice processing by-product recognized to be a source of bioactive compounds, including γ-oryzanol and fatty acids, which have interesting bioactivities such as antioxidant and anti-inflammatory effects. This study aims to optimize the supercritical fluid extraction process for recovering these high-value compounds from rice bran with improved bioactivity. A Central Composite Face-Centered Design was employed to optimize the extraction process by varying the temperature (40–80 °C) and pressure (200–500 bar). The optimal extraction conditions were identified at 500 bar and 62 °C that led to the extraction of 17.3% mass yield with 784.5 mg of fatty acids and 36.6 mg of γ-oryzanol per gram of extract, striking a balance between extraction yield and bioactive concentrations. When compared with conventional extractions with n-hexane, supercritical fluid extraction showed similar global yield (18.0 vs. 17.3%) and FA concentration (130.14 vs. 135.70 mg/g of RB) but higher selectivity and extraction yield for γ-oryzanol (18.0 vs. 36.4 mg/g extract; 3.3 vs. 6.3 mg/g of RB). Cellular antioxidant activity assays showed that both extracts reduced the quantity of reactive oxygen species (ROS) up to 50% in Caco-2 cells submitted to oxidative stress. Importantly, supercritical fluid extract was more effective in inhibiting colorectal cancer cell growth (EC50 = 0.9 mg/mL vs. 1.15 mg/mL) than the hexane extract, and this effect was more pronounced than that obtained for pure γ-oryzanol in the same concentration range. These findings highlight the potential of supercritical fluid technology to develop rice bran extracts with antioxidant and antiproliferative properties, underlining the promising applications of this technology in the field of natural product extraction.

The African tropical fruits velvet tamarind, African locust beans and baobab are used as foods and for medicinal purposes, and they are important nutrient and bioactive compound sources. This research focused on the nutritional composition and bioactive compounds in the fruit pulps and seeds of these plant species. Quantification and profiling of sugars, organic acids and phenolic compounds (HPLC), soluble and insoluble fibre content analysis (enzymatic method) and elemental analysis (XRF) were performed. The total phenolic compounds and antioxidant capacity contents (spectrophotometry) and fatty acids quantification profiles (GC) were also accessed. Several bioactive compounds were quantified. Generally, fruit pulps are richer in sugars and organic acids, and seeds are richer in protein and fat.

Background/Objectives: The consumption of olive oil and olives has been steadily increasing, leading to growing interest in the sustainable management of by-products such as olive stones. This work aimed to contribute to the development of valorization strategies by studying the chemical composition and biological potential of olive stone extracts, using both conventional and eco-friendly extraction methods with various solvents. Methods: Several extracts were prepared and chemically characterized regarding their fatty acid and phenolic profiles by GC-FID and HPLC-DAD-MS/MS, respectively. Their antioxidant, cytotoxic and antiproliferative activities were also evaluated. Results: n-Hexane Soxhlet extract yielded higher concentrations and a broader range of fatty acids when compared to the chloroform-methanol Folch extract. Oleic, palmitic, and linoleic acids were the predominant fatty acids in the extracts. A large variety of phenolic compounds were identified in extracts obtained by microwave-assisted extraction (MAE), including several flavonoids, small phenolic compounds, secoiridoids (nuezhenide and oleuropein), and hydroxytyrosol. MAE hydroalcoholic extracts showed high total phenolic content (TPC), antioxidant activity by the oxygen radical absorption capacity (ORAC) and hydroxyl radical scavenging capacity (HOSC) assays. Moreover, the aqueous ethanol (50%) and aqueous methanol (80%) extracts displayed low cytotoxicity toward the non-malignant Caco-2 cell line (IC₅₀ values of 1.29 and 1.40 mg/mL, respectively), while both induced complete loss of viability in the HT-29 human colon adenocarcinoma cell line at 0.63 mg/mL. Conclusions: These findings highlight the potential of olive stone as a valuable source of bioactive compounds with antioxidant and selective antiproliferative properties. The results support their further exploration in the development of sustainable valorization strategies for olive industry by-products.