Phyto-Chemistry, Magic Components

Around 200 experts from all over the world consisting of pharmaceutical, biochemistry, chemistry, nutrition and food experts gathered at the Guh Moon Go Hall, one of the magnificent rooms at the Temf Hotel, Seoul, South Korea some time ago.

They didn't watch the World Cup soccer together, but discussed the bioactive components of food that have amazing health effects, one of which is phyto-chemicals.

Prof. Bernhard Watzl from the Institute of Nutritional Physiology (FRCN) Karlshure, Germany stated that phyto-chemicals consist of carotenoids, phyto-sterols, saponins, glucosinlates, polyphenols, protease inhibitors, monoterpenes, and phyto-estrogen sulfides.

Phyto-chemicals provide a specific aroma, taste and color for plants to integrate with the environment, and one that causes humans to choose them. As bioactive components, phyto-chemicals have endogenous and exogenous effects on physiology, metabolism through various mechanisms of the body's reactions.

Phyto-chemicals have biological effects that effectively inhibit cancer growth, act as antioxidants, have properties that inhibit microbial growth, lower blood cholesterol, lower blood glucose levels, are antibiotics, and have an immune-boosting effect. Of the approximately 30,000 known phyto-chemicals, as many as 5,000-10,000 are present in foodstuffs. And almost 400,000 types of plants contain phyto-chemicals.

For those who like or like fruits, vegetables and whole grains, they consume about 1.5 grams of phytochemicals in a day. For vegetarians of course even higher. The attractive colors of fruits and vegetables come from phyto-chemical compounds, and the distinctive aroma of tea and coffee comes from phyto-chemical compounds.

Anticancer
Experts believe that vegetables, fruits and whole grains can prevent cancer and reduce the risk of tumors. Upon further investigation, it turned out that the components present in the plant-based foodstuffs are vitamins, minerals, fiber and phyto-chemicals.

For this reason, one of the cancer research centers in America, namely the National Cancer Institute and the European School of Oncology Task Force on Diet, Nutrition and Cancer, recommends consuming enough fruits and vegetables to prevent cancer. Phyto-chemicals have been shown to prevent colon, breast and intestinal and stomach cancers. Isoflavones which are abundant in soybeans, ginseng, fruits and vegetables can reduce the risk of getting breast cancer.

Curcumin phenolic compounds from turmeric and catechin polyphenols from tea are protective against gastric and intestinal cancer. Besides being suspected of being able to delay menopause in women, phyto-estrogens are also very effective in preventing cancer.

Trypsin inhibitors, which have been thought to reduce protein absorption, can actually prevent cancer. Bowman-Birk Inhibitor (BBI) is one of the trypsin inhibitors found in soybeans, which can prevent colon and liver cancer. It was reported that only BBI can prevent cancer and not for other types of inhibitors.

As an Antioxidant
Oxidative stress is a state of imbalance between pro-oxidants and antioxidants. Oxidative stress can actually be induced by various factors, including a lack of antioxidants or excess production of free radicals. Free radicals are actually produced physiologically by cells as a logical consequence of biochemical reactions in aerobic life.

However, if there are excessive free radicals and cellular antioxidants, the number remains or is less, then these excess free radicals cannot be neutralized and will result in damage to the cell itself. Conditions of oxidative stress which results in cell damage, can cause acceleration of the aging process, and can cause heart disease, cancer and diabetes mellitus.

Phyto-chemicals that are active antioxidants are carotenoids, polyphenols, phyto-estrogens, protease inhibitors and sulfides. Carotenoids such as lycopene and canthaxanthin, are types of antioxidants that have a high ability to protect against oxidation caused by free radicals.

Meanwhile, polyphenols are known as superior plant antioxidants. Polyphenols from red wine and flavanol quercentin are phyto-chemicals that successfully prevent the oxidation of LDL (low density lipoprotein) and cholesterol, thereby preventing chronic disease.

Lowering Cholesterol
Low cholesterol is everyone's dream, because high blood cholesterol levels are one of the triggers of heart disease. Some of the phyto-chemicals that have been noted to significantly reduce cholesterol levels are saponins, phytosterols, sulfides and tocotrienols. In fact, it's not just total cholesterol that can be lowered, blood fat levels can also be lowered.

Phyto-chemicals have two key uses in lowering blood cholesterol. First, the phyto-chemical compounds of saponins and phytosterols can reduce the rate of cholesterol absorption and increase excretion, so that they can directly reduce cholesterol that enters the body.

Phyto-chemical tocotrienols can inhibit the action of enzymes in liver cholesterol metabolism. There is a lot of literature that proves that phyto-chemicals can reduce cholesterol effectively. The latest information reports, phyto-chemicals can lower blood pressure, glucose levels, and inhibit the inflammatory process.

Antimicrobial
As antimicrobials, several phyto-chemical compounds are reported to inhibit the growth of disease-causing bacteria. Isoflavones from soybeans are known as anti-infective against E.coli and anti-diarrhea. Polyphenols from guava leaf extract are often used as anti-diarrheal and antimicrobial drugs for people with stomach aches. Sulfides from garlic, isothiocyanates and thiocyanates have been proven very well as antimicrobials. Frenol compounds from strawberries of the cranberry and black strawberry species were found to be very effective as antimicrobials. The j types of phyto-chemicals are:

1. Carotenoids
Carotenoids have a yellow to red color which gives fruit and vegetables their color. Carotenoids consist of lycopene, alpha and beta carotene, xanthophyll, lutein, zeaxanthin and cryptoxanthin. Of the more than 600 types of carotenoids found in nature, only 40 types are found in food.

Sources of carotenoids are green vegetables. Fruits also contain carotenoids, especially those that are yellow to red. Tomatoes and carrots are known as the main sources of carotenoids. While types of vegetables such as spinach and kale are sources of carotenoids. The average daily consumption of carotenoids for those who like to eat vegetables and fruit is around 6 mg. Its usefulness is as an antioxidant.

2. Phyto-sterols
The main phyto-sterols are beta-sitosterol, stigmasterol and campesterol. Phyto-sterols play a role in inhibiting cholesterol absorption so that they can reduce total cholesterol absorption. The main sources of phytosterols are seeds and vegetable oils. For those who like to consume seeds and vegetable oils, an average of 150-400 mg of phytosterols can be consumed in a day.

3. Saponins
Saponins give a bitter taste to vegetable foodstuffs. The main source of saponins is grains, especially soybeans. Saponins can inhibit the growth of colon cancer and help normalize cholesterol levels. Depending on the type of food consumed, you can consume 10-200 mg of saponins a day.

4. Polyphenols
Polyphenols are phenolic acids and flavonoids. Polyphenols are found in many fruits, vegetables and grains. The average human can consume up to 23 mg of polyphenols in a day. The efficacy of polyphenols is antimicrobial and lowers blood sugar levels.

5. Phyto-estrogens
Phyto-estrogens consist of isoflavones and lignin. Phyto-estrogens are found in many grains and nuts, especially soybeans. Phyto-estrogens can inhibit breast cancer and are thought to delay menopause in women.

6. Sulfide
Sulfide is more identical to the sulfur compound in garlic. Apart from garlic, sulfide is also found in shallots. Sulfides can inhibit microbial growth.

7. Monoterpenes
Monoterpenes are folate compounds found in plants. The well-known monoterpenes are menthol (peppermint), carvon and limonene. Monoterpenes can inhibit cancer growth, especially breast.

8. Protease Inhibitors
The most common protease inhibitors are trypsin inhibitors. The main source of proteade inhibitors is legumes, especially soybeans. Protease inhibitors are also efficacious as anticancer.

Traditional foods rich in phyto-chemicals
Traditional Indonesian food menus are generally rich in phyto-chemicals. Not only imported fruits or vegetables which are rich in phyto-chemicals, but traditional fruits such as Malang apple, simanalagi, guava, guava, starfruit and many other fruits from Indonesia which are rich in phyto-chemicals.

Vegetables such as pecai (white cabbage), spinach, kale and so on also contain quite a lot of phyto-chemicals. Seeds and nuts such as soybeans, koro beans, green beans also contain quite good phyto-chemicals.

Also includes cereals that are often consumed by the people of Indonesia. Therefore, the traditional food menu that is usually consumed is quite good when viewed from the source of the bioactive phyto-chemical components.

There are also many traditional herbal medicines from Indonesia that claim to contain bioactive phyto-chemical components. Even some large herbal medicine factories, specifically conduct research and create herbal medicine in the form of capsules or tablets with bioactive phyto-chemical components. Likewise, several large pharmaceutical factories have produced a kind of traditional medicine with active phyto-chemical components.

Source: Kompas | August 8, 2002 | By: Amalia (Bogor Nutrition Research and Development Center)