The immune response is essential in the protection of our body against pathogens; however, the inflammatory response caused by the immune system can become a disease itself. In fact, anti-inflammatory and immune-suppressive drugs are applied to limit the immune response to treat inflammatory diseases. Flavonoids are plant-derived polyphenols extensively investigated for their anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties in inflammatory diseases. Studies applying isolated compounds as well as using supplements as nutraceuticals based on flavonoids have been conducted. Our review systematically analyzed the top five studied flavonoids between 2020 and 2025: quercetin (1742 articles), kaempferol (642), luteolin (589), apigenin (419), and epicatechin (354), highlighting their major therapeutic applications in diseases affecting the liver (12%), nervous system (11%), and lungs (10%). Mechanistically, these compounds act as multi-target agents mainly by inhibiting NF-κB and inducing Nrf2-dependent antioxidant programs. Application of advanced delivery systems, which increase oral bioavailability by up to 20-fold, overcomes pharmacokinetic bottlenecks. Clinical highlights demonstrated promising therapeutic effects, including reduced intrahepatic lipid accumulation in non-alcoholic fatty liver disease patients following quercetin supplementation (11.5% to 9.6%) and accelerated SARS-CoV-2 clearance after quercetin phytosome administration. The translation of flavonoids into standardized clinical therapies remains limited by the lack of large-scale, well-controlled clinical trials.

Chickpea germination is a cost-effective method for producing bioactive peptides; however, the optimal temperature and pH conditions for maximizing proteolysis and bioactivity remain undefined. This study evaluated the effects of different pH and temperature conditions during germination on protease activity and the biological activity of resulting peptides. Using a 2³ full-factorial experiment with surface response methodology, the optimal conditions were identified as 35 °C and pH 7.0, where the soluble protein content was 33.6% and proteolytic activity increased 1.4-fold after 48 h of germination. Enzyme inhibition assays revealed that serine, cysteine, and aspartic proteases were responsible for storage protein hydrolysis, exhibiting optimal activity at pH 6.0-7.0 and 35 °C. Electrophoresis of protein isolates revealed that albumin and glutelin were susceptible to hydrolysis, with globulin-derived peptides predominating. These peptides demonstrated potent in vitro dipeptidyl peptidase IV (DPP-IV) inhibitory activity, with more than a fivefold increase in potency after complete colonic digestion (IC₅₀ reduced from 16.31 to 3.40 mg/mL). This was further supported by in silico analysis (A = 0.50-0.78), highlighting their strong potential for managing type 2 diabetes. In addition, total protein isolated extracts exhibited cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) inhibitory activity, with higher inhibition efficiency before digestion (IC₇₅ = 0.158 mg soluble protein/mL of prepared extract) than after digestion (IC₇₅ = 0.434-0.465 mg soluble protein/mL of prepared extract). These findings suggest that optimized germination efficiently releases peptides with potential anti-inflammatory and antidiabetic properties. The scalability of this process underscores its potential for industrial application in the production of functional food ingredients.

In this study, the aim was to modify the starches of three different sweet potato varieties—Rosada Uruguaiana (RU), Rosada Canadense (RC), and Ligeirinha (L)—through in situ annealing to increase the content of slowly digestible starch (SDS), which has health benefits. The modified carbohydrate was then added to a dairy beverage fermented by Lactobacillus casei 1e (L. casei). After annealing, the starches had different physicochemical properties, and the L variety, which had the highest SDS content, was chosen for the formulation of the fermented dairy beverage. Two concentrations of modified starch (7% and 10.5%) were used in the formulations, and a sensory analysis indicated no differences in acceptance and purchase intention. The beverage containing 10.5% modified starch exhibited good physicochemical and microbiological stability. This study demonstrates the possibility of creating a functional fermented dairy beverage with high SDS content, which could potentially benefit consumers’ health.

Os métodos físicos ultrassom e heat-moisture, podem melhorar a digestibilidade dos amidos, evitando o aumento dos níveis glicêmicos ao se elevar o teor de amido lentamente digerível. O objetivo do estudo foi modificar amidos de diferentes fontes botânicas através da combinação de modificações físicas por ultrassom e heat-moisture para aumentar o teor de amido lentamente digerível. O perfil de digestibilidade e as características estruturais dos amidos foram avaliadas. O tratamento não provocou alteração nos formatos e nas superfícies dos grânulos dos amidos. A cristalinidade relativa dos amidos foi diminuída para os amidos de mandioca e batata, indicando fragilidade da estrutura granular frente ao tratamento por ultrassom. Os demais amidos não sofreram alteração da cristalinidade relativa. A digestibilidade dos amidos de milho, araruta e arroz foi diminuída, pois houve aumento do teor de amido lentamente digerível ou resistente (arroz). É possível concluir que a modificação física combinada pode alterar a digestibilidade dos amidos e isso depende da fonte botânica.