In recent years, the consumption of natural-based foods, including beans, fruits, legumes, nuts, oils, vegetables, spices, and whole grains, has been encouraged. This fact is essentially due to their content in bioactive phytochemicals, with the phenolic compounds standing out. Among them, anthocyanins have been a target of many studies due to the presence of catechol, pyrogallol, and methoxy groups in their chemical structure, which confer notable scavenging, anti-apoptotic, and anti-inflammatory activities, being already recommended as supplementation to mitigate or even attenuate certain disorders, such as diabetes, cancer, and cardiovascular and neurological pathologies. The most well-known anthocyanins are cyanidin 3-O-glucoside and cyanidin 3-O-rutinoside. They are widespread in nature, being present in considerable amounts in red fruits and red vegetables. Overall, the present review intends to discuss the most recent findings on the potential health benefits from the daily intake of anthocyanin-rich foods, as well as their possible pharmacological mechanisms of action. However, before that, some emphasis regarding their chemical structure, dietary sources, and bioavailability was done.

For a long time fruits and vegetables have been the target of many studies and have been greatly promoted due to their nutritional value and abundance of bioactive compounds, known for their protective effects. The peach has been part of the human diet for hundreds of years, being a very common fruit consumed worldwide. It is very rich in phytochemicals like phenolic compounds, carotenoids, vitamins, volatiles and organic acids. Phenolics, carotenoids and vitamins are known for their antioxidant properties. They exert a number of beneficial effects on cells through free radical scavenging and by participating in cells’ signaling pathways. The phenolic compounds in peach-like quercetin, catechins and cyanidin derivatives have been found to play important roles due to their antioxidant, antimicrobial and anti-inflammatory properties. Evidence has risen about their preventive effects on multiple chronic and age-related diseases such as diabetes, obesity, hypertension, inflammation, cardiovascular, neurodegenerative and oncologic diseases. A variety of studies have focused on testing and determining the phenolic content of peach extracts, which have shown great potential as free-radical scavengers and providing protection against several chronic/age-related diseases. In this review we will present the peach as a potential medicinal food, giving emphasis to its phenolic compounds as health promotors.

Caffeine is a naturally occurring alkaloid found in various plants. It acts as a stimulant, antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and even an aid in pain management, and is found in several over-the-counter medications. This naturally derived bioactive compound is the best-known ingredient in coffee and other beverages, such as tea, soft drinks, and energy drinks, and is widely consumed worldwide. Therefore, it is extremely important to research the effects of this substance on the human body. With this in mind, caffeine and its derivatives have been extensively studied to evaluate its ability to prevent diseases and exert anti-aging and neuroprotective effects. This review is intended to provide an overview of caffeine’s effects on cancer and cardiovascular, immunological, inflammatory, and neurological diseases, among others. The heavily researched area of caffeine in sports will also be discussed. Finally, recent advances in the development of novel nanocarrier-based formulations, to enhance the bioavailability of caffeine and its beneficial effects will be discussed.