Antidiabetic Effect of Fermented Mesembryanthemum crystallinum L. in db/db Mice Involves Regulation of PI3K-Akt Pathway.

Type 2 diabetes (T2D) is a serious health issue with increasing incidences worldwide. However, current medications have limitations due to side effects such as decreased appetite, stomach pain, diarrhea, and extreme tiredness. Here, we report the effect of fermented ice plant (FMC) in the T2M mouse model of db/db mice. FMC showed a greater inhibition of lipid accumulation compared to unfermented ice plant extract. Two-week oral administration with FMC inhibited body weight gain, lowered fasting blood glucose, and improved glucose tolerance. Serum parameters related to T2D including insulin, glycosylated hemoglobin, adiponectin, and cholesterols were improved as well. Histological analysis confirmed the protective effect of FMC on pancreas and liver destruction. FMC treatment significantly increased the expression and phosphorylation of IRS-1, PI3K, and AKT. Additionally, AMP-activated protein kinase phosphorylation and nuclear factor erythroid 2-related factor 2 were also increased in the liver tissues of db/db mice treated with FMC. Overall, our results indicate the anti-diabetic effect of FMC; therefore, we suggest that FMC may be useful as a therapeutic agent for T2D.

Immune-Enhancing Effect of Sargassum horneri on Cyclophosphamide-Induced Immunosuppression in BALB/c Mice and Primary Cultured Splenocytes.

Sargassum horneri (SH) is a seaweed that has several features that benefit health. In this study, we investigated the immune-enhancing effect of SH, focusing on the role of spleen-mediated immune functions. Chromatographic analysis of SH identified six types of monosaccharide contents, including mannose, rhamnose glucose, galactose xylose and fucose. SH increased cell proliferation of primary cultured naïve splenocytes treated with or without cyclophosphamide (CPA), an immunosuppression agent. SH also reversed the CPA-induced decrease in Th1 cytokines. In vivo investigation revealed that SH administration can increase the tissue weight of major immune organs, such as the spleen and thymus. A similar effect was observed in CPA-injected immunosuppressed BALB/c mice. SH treatment increased the weight of the spleen and thymus, blood immune cell count and Th1 cytokine expression. Additionally, the YAC-1-targeting activities of natural killer cells, which are important in innate immunity, were upregulated upon SH treatment. Overall, our study demonstrates the immune-enhancing effect of SH, suggesting its potential as a medicinal or therapeutic agent for pathologic conditions involving immunosuppression.

Determination of macro, micro, trace essential, and toxic elements in Garcinia cambogia fruit and its anti-obesity commercial products.

BACKGROUND: Garcinia (Clusiaceae) species are traditionally used as flavoring agents in curries and to cure several human health complications. This study investigated 31 macro, micro, and trace elements in microwave-assisted digested samples of Garcinia cambogia fruit and its anti-obesity commercial products by inductively coupled plasma-optical emission spectroscopy (ICP-OES) and inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometric (ICP-MS) techniques. The methods were also validated using the coefficient of determination (R2 ), limits of detection and quantification (LOD, LOQ), precision (CV%), analysis of certified reference materials, spiking recovery experiments, and participation in an accredited laboratory proficiency test organized by Food Analysis Performance Assessment Scheme (FAPAS). RESULTS: Quality assurance confirmed that the methods were efficient and in accordance with criteria set by the Association of Official Analytical Chemists (AOAC). In the elemental analysis, the analyzed macro, micro, and trace essential elements were present in appreciable concentrations, which could meet the human nutritional requirements. Traces of toxic elements were within safe limits. CONCLUSION: From the results of the current study, the fruit and its commercial products could be considered potential sources of mineral elements without posing any threats to consumers. © 2018 Society of Chemical Industry.

Determination of macro, micro and trace elements in citrus fruits by inductively coupled plasma-optical emission spectrometry (ICP-OES), ICP-mass spectrometry and direct mercury analyzer.

BACKGROUND: Citrus fruits are widely consumed around the world. Several elements are known to have important physiological functions in living things, whereas others are reported to have toxic effects. This study was aimed to analyze the concentration of macro, micro and trace elements in citrus fruit varieties. Samples were acid digested using a microwave system and analyzed for macro elements by inductively coupled plasma-optical emission spectrometry (ICP-OES) and for micro and trace elements by inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry (ICP-MS). The application of analytical techniques was analyzed by determining method validation parameters including limits of detection and quantification, linearity, precision, spiking experiments and analyzing certified reference material (NIST CRM-1570a), Spinach leaves. RESULTS: The elemental levels of citrus fruits were found largely to be dependent upon the type of analyzed samples. Among nutritionally important elements, citrus fruits were good sources of potassium (95.13-270.4 mg kg-1 ), calcium (10.57-75.29 mg kg-1 ), zinc (466.5-1611 µg kg-1 ) and manganese (35.35-1902 µg kg-1 ). The concentrations of toxic elements (Pb, Cd, As, Al, Hg) were very low. CONCLUSION: In general, the concentrations of analyzed elements were within the critical levels specified by the Food and Agriculture Organization/World Health Organization and Food and Nutrition Board USA. Linear discriminant analysis successfully separated the samples into clear groups with 93.9% correct classification. © 2018 Society of Chemical Industry.

Determination of Volatile Flavour Profiles of Citrus spp. Fruits by SDE-GC-MS and Enantiomeric Composition of Chiral Compounds by MDGC-MS.

INTRODUCTION: Citrus fruits are known to have characteristic enantiomeric key compounds biosynthesised by highly stereoselective enzymatic mechanisms. In the past, evaluation of the enantiomeric ratios of chiral compounds in fruits has been applied as an effective indicator of adulteration by the addition of synthetic compounds or natural components of different botanical origin. OBJECTIVE: To analyse the volatile flavour compounds of Citrus junos Sieb. ex Tanaka (yuzu), Citrus limon BURM. f. (lemon) and Citrus aurantifolia Christm. Swingle (lime), and determine the enantiomeric ratios of their chiral compounds for discrimination and authentication of extracted oils. METHODOLOGY: Volatile flavour compounds of the fruits of the three Citrus species were extracted by simultaneous distillation extraction and analysed by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. The enantiomeric composition (ee%) of chiral camphene, sabinene, limonene and ß-phellandrene was analysed by heart-cutting multidimensional gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. RESULTS: Sixty-seven (C. junos), 77 (C. limon) and 110 (C. aurantifolia) volatile compounds were identified with limonene, γ-terpinene and linalool as the major compounds. Stereochemical analysis (ee%) revealed 1S,4R-(-) camphene (94.74, 98.67, 98.82), R-(+)-limonene (90.53, 92.97, 99.85) and S-(+)-ß-phellandrene (98.69, 97.15, 92.13) in oil samples from all three species; R-(+)-sabinene (88.08) in C. junos; and S-(-)-sabinene (81.99, 79.74) in C. limon and C. aurantifolia, respectively. CONCLUSION: The enantiomeric composition and excess ratios of the chiral compounds could be used as reliable indicators of genuineness and quality assurance of the oils derived from the Citrus fruit species. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Determination of volatile organic compounds, catechins, caffeine and theanine in Jukro tea at three growth stages by chromatographic and spectrometric methods.

Tea contains characteristic volatile organic compounds, polyphenols, caffeine and catechins, and is therefore among the most widely consumed beverages all over the world. In this study, fresh Jukro tea leaves collected from Damyang-gun (Jeollanam-do) at 40, 60 and 90day growth stages, were semi-fermented. The volatile organic compounds (VOCs) were extracted by simultaneous distillation-solvent extraction (SDE) and analyzed by gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC/MS). Catechins, caffeine and theanine were analyzed by high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). A total of 159 VOCs were identified in the analyzed Jukro tea leaves. Comparatively, the increase in the concentrations of VOCs was high in 60day leaves. The content of catechins increased along the three growth stages, whereas caffeine, compared to 90day leaves, was higher for 40 and 60day leaves. Based on the results, the 60day leaves were found to be the most suitable and useful for making semi-fermented Jukro tea.

Identification and quantification of adulteration in Garcinia cambogia commercial products by chromatographic and spectrometric methods.

Species of genus Garcinia are rich sources of bioactive constituents with antimicrobial, anticancer, anti-inflammatory, hepatoprotective and anti-HIV activities. Commercial products of Garcinia cambogia are used as anti-obesity drugs with increasing market demand. Because of the high price of its products, it can be adulterated with similar lower-priced species. This study was designed to develop and validate an accurate and efficient method for the detection of any adulteration (G. indica) in G. cambogia products. For this purpose, high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) was used to analyse the ethanolic fruit rind extracts of G. cambogia and G. indica, their formulations of 0.5, 1, 2, 5, 10, 20, 30, 40, 50, 60, 70, 80, 90 and 95% G. indica with G. cambogia, and 11 G. cambogia commercial products. The analytical methods were validated by quality assurance parameters of linearity, sensitivity, precision and accuracy. Two marker peaks were detected in G. indica fruit extract, whereas G. cambogia did not show these peaks. The detected peaks were identified as anthocyanins; cyanidin-3-O-sambubioside and cyanidin-3-O-glucoside. In the study to determine the effect of pH and temperature on the stability of its anthocyanin content, HPLC analysis of G. indica extract showed the highest content at pH 1 and 50°C. Using two different mobile phases, the limits of detection (LOD) for cyanidin-3-O-sambubioside and cyanidin-3-O-glucoside were 0.036 and 0.059, and 0.022 and 0.033 mg kg-1, respectively. Furthermore, the inter-day precision (< 3.2%) confirmed that the applied analytical method fulfils the required criteria of Association of Official Analytical Chemists (AOAC). From this study, it was found that the HPLC method used for the detection of adulteration in G. cambogia products is rapid and accurate.

Elemental profiling and geographical differentiation of Ethiopian coffee samples through inductively coupled plasma-optical emission spectroscopy (ICP-OES), ICP-mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) and direct mercury analyzer (DMA).

This study was aimed to establish the elemental profiling and provenance of coffee samples collected from eleven major coffee producing regions of Ethiopia. A total of 129 samples were analyzed for forty-five elements using inductively coupled plasma (ICP)-optical emission spectroscopy (OES), ICP-mass spectrometry (MS) and direct mercury analyzer (DMA). Among the macro elements, K showed the highest levels whereas Fe was found to have the lowest concentration values. In all the samples, Ca, K, Mg, P and S contents were statistically significant (p<0.05). Micro elements showed the concentrations order of: Mn>Cu>Sr>Zn>Rb>Ni>B. Contents of the trace elements were lower than the permissible standard values. Inter-regions differentiation by cluster analysis (CA), linear discriminant analysis (LDA) and principal component analysis (PCA) showed that micro and trace elements are the best chemical descriptors of the analyzed coffee samples.

Determination of toxic heavy metals and speciation of arsenic in seaweeds from South Korea.

This study aimed at determining the levels of toxic heavy metals including As, Pb, Cd, Al, Hg and As species, such as, As-III, As-V, MMA, DMA, AsB, and AsC in various edible species of seaweeds from South Korea. ICP-MS was used for determination of As, Pb and Cd, ICP-OES was used for Al, DMA was used for Hg, and LC-ICP-MS was used for As speciation. The analytical methods were validated by linearity, detection limits, precision, accuracy and recovery experiments, obtaining satisfactory results in all cases. From the results toxic heavy metals were found in the decreasing order of: Al>As>Pb-Cd>Hg. Generally concentrations of all analysed heavy metals and both organic and inorganic species of As were very low compared to PTWIs specified by JECFA and EC. Their contribution to the overall intake by the subject seafoods was found very low and thus would not pose any threat to consumers.

Determination of minor and trace elements in aromatic spices by micro-wave assisted digestion and inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry.

This study aimed at analyzing the concentrations of 23 minor and trace elements in aromatic spices by inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry (ICP-MS), after wet digestion by microwave system. The analytical method was validated by linearity, detection limits, precision, accuracy and recovery experiments, obtaining satisfactory values in all cases. Results indicated the presence of variable amounts of both minor and trace elements in the selected aromatic spices. Manganese was high in cinnamon (879.8 µg/g) followed by cardamom (758.1 µg/g) and clove (649.9 µg/g), strontium and zinc were high in ajwain (489.9 µg/g and 84.95 µg/g, respectively), while copper was high in mango powder (77.68 µg/g). On the whole some of the minor and essential trace elements were found to have good nutritional contribution in accordance to RDA. The levels of toxic trace elements, including As, Cd, and Pb were very low and did not found to pose any threat to consumers.

Determination of toxic heavy metals in Echinodermata and Chordata species from South Korea.

This study aimed at analysing concentrations of heavy metals including arsenic, lead, cadmium, aluminium and mercury in commonly consumed seafood species belonging to Echinodermata (Anthocidaris crassispina and Stichopus japonicus) and Chordata (Halocynthia roretzi and Styela plicata). The samples were digested by a microwave system and analysed for As, Cd and Pb by inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometer, for Al by inductively coupled plasma-optical emission spectrometer and Hg by Direct Mercury Analyser. The analytical method was validated by determining sensitivity, linearity, precision, spiking recoveries and analysis of the Standard Reference Material (SRM) NIST 1566-b, an Oyster Tissue. Results showed considerably higher accumulation of Al and As in analysed samples, compared to Pb and Cd, while Hg had the lowest contamination. On comparison, the obtained results with the recommended standards by the Food and Agriculture Organization, European Commission and Ministry of Food and Drug Safety of Korea, it was concluded that the analysed seafoods were safe and thus would not pose a threat to consumers.

Analysis of minor and trace elements in milk and yogurts by inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry (ICP-MS).

This study aimed at analysing the content of 22 minor and trace elements in milk and yogurts from South Korea, using inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry (ICP-MS), after digestion using heating block. The analytical method was validated by detection limits, precision, accuracy and recovery experiments, obtaining satisfactory results in all cases. Results of both minor and trace elements were found mostly similar in all varieties of milk and yogurts studied. Copper and manganese were comparatively high in fruit mixed yogurts, while selenium was high in milk samples. The overall concentrations of minor elements were found to have good nutritional values in accordance to RDA. Zn showed the highest concentration, followed by Rb, Se, Sr and Cr. The level of toxic trace elements, including As, Cd and Pb were very low and did not pose any threat to consumers.

Method validation for simultaneous determination of chromium, molybdenum and selenium in infant formulas by ICP-OES and ICP-MS.

This study aimed to validate the analytical method for simultaneous determination of chromium (Cr), molybdenum (Mo), and selenium (Se) in infant formulas available in South Korea. Various digestion methods of dry-ashing, wet-digestion and microwave were evaluated for samples preparation and both inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometry (ICP-OES) and inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) were compared for analysis. The analytical techniques were validated by detection limits, precision, accuracy and recovery experiments. Results showed that wet-digestion and microwave methods were giving satisfactory results for sample preparation, while ICP-MS was found more sensitive and effective technique than ICP-OES. The recovery (%) of Se, Mo and Cr by ICP-OES were 40.9, 109.4 and 0, compared to 99.1, 98.7 and 98.4, respectively by ICP-MS. The contents of Cr, Mo and Se in infant formulas by ICP-MS were found in good nutritional values in accordance to nutrient standards for infant formulas CODEX values.