Bioactive Agents as a Novel Therapy of Hyperhomocysteinemia

Abstract

Nutrition is transiting an era of bioactive compounds/agents in foods [1]. A bioactive agent is defined as a substance having an effect on, causes a reaction, or triggers a response in the living tissue [2]. These compounds influence physiological or cellular activities resulting in a beneficial health effect. Bioactive compounds are experiencing a growing concern in wide range of applications: food industry, modern pharmacology, plant science, cosmetics, geo-medicine, agrochemicals, nano-bio-science etc. This is a very promising area of research nowadays that is in its full development, designed to expand the resources of bioactive compounds and improve their synthesis. Bioactive compounds typically occur in small amounts in foods and have more subtle effects than nutrients. For example, bioactive compounds influence cellular activities that modify the risk of disease, rather than prevent deficiency diseases [3]. There are approximately more than 5000 individuals’ bioactive compounds that have been extracted and identified in fruits, vegetables, grains, etc. [4]. Dietary bioactive compounds differ widely in composition from various fruits, vegetables, and whole grains & have complementary mechanisms to one another. Therefore, it is recommended that one should consume a wide variety of plant-based foods daily so as to have the greatest health benefits [4, 5]. Dietary bioactive compounds can be classified into broad categories as carotenoids, alkaloids, phenolics, phytosterols, organosulfur compounds, nitrogen-containing compounds. The primary challenge in this area is to identify bioactive compounds and their associated health effects as well as their underlying biological mechanism of action. Bioactive compounds have been known to have potentially important health benefits such as antioxidants, enzyme inhibitors and inducers, inhibitors of receptor activities, inducers and inhibitors of gene expression etc.