Fucoidan from Fucus vesiculosus Inhibits Inflammatory Response, Both In Vitro and In Vivo.

Fucoidan has been reported to present diverse bioactivities, but each extract has specific features from which a particular biological activity, such as immunomodulation, must be confirmed. In this study a commercially available pharmaceutical-grade fucoidan extracted from Fucus vesiculosus, FE, was characterized and its anti-inflammatory potential was investigated. Fucose was the main monosaccharide (90 mol%) present in the studied FE, followed by uronic acids, galactose, and xylose that were present at similar values (3.8-2.4 mol%). FE showed a molecular weight of 70 kDa and a sulfate content of around 10%. The expression of cytokines by mouse bone-marrow-derived macrophages (BMDMs) revealed that the addition of FE upregulated the expression of CD206 and IL-10 by about 28 and 22 fold, respectively, in respect to control. This was corroborated in a stimulated pro-inflammatory situation, with the higher expression (60 fold) of iNOS being almost completely reversed by the addition of FE. FE was also capable of reverse LPS-caused inflammation in an in vivo mouse model, including by reducing macrophage activation by LPS from 41% of positive CD11C to 9% upon fucoidan injection. Taken together, the potential of FE as an anti-inflammatory agent was validated, both in vitro and in vivo.

Stabilization of Natural Pigments in Ethanolic Solutions for Food Applications: The Case Study of Chlorella vulgaris.

Chlorella vulgaris is a green microalga with a high chlorophyll content, representing a valuable source of green pigments for food applications. As the application of whole biomass can promote an unpleasant fish-like flavor, the use of chlorophyll extract can overcome this drawback. However, chlorophylls tend to easily degrade when out of the chloroplasts, decreasing their potential as a food ingredient. Thus, to study the suitable conditions for isolated chlorophylls preservation, in this work, the influence of temperature (4 to 60 °C), light (dark or 24 h photoperiod), alkaline conditions (with or without aqueous NaOH addition), and modified atmosphere (air or argon atmosphere) on the stability of the color in ethanolic solutions obtained from C. vulgaris were studied. The loss of green color with temperature followed the first-order kinetics, with an activation energy of 74 kJ/mol. Below 28 °C and dark conditions were suitable to preserve isolated chlorophylls. The addition of NaOH and an inert argon-rich atmosphere did not exhibit a statistically positive effect on color preservation. In the case study, cooked cold rice was colored to be used in sushi. The color remained stable for up to 3 days at 4 °C. Therefore, this work showed that C. vulgaris chlorophylls could be preserved in ethanolic solutions at room or lower temperatures when protected from light, allowing them to obtain a suitable natural food ingredient to color foodstuffs.

Insights on Single-Dose Espresso Coffee Capsules' Volatile Profile: From Ground Powder Volatiles to Prediction of Espresso Brew Aroma Properties.

Single-dose coffee capsules have revolutionized the coffee market, fueling espresso coffee popularity and offering access to a wide selection of coffee blends. Nevertheless, scarce information related to coffee powder and brew's combined volatile characterization is available. In this study, it is hypothesized that coffee brew aroma characteristics can be predicted based on coffee powder's volatile composition. For this, headspace solid-phase microextraction (HS-SPME) combined with comprehensive two-dimensional gas chromatography with time-of-flight mass spectrometry detection (GC × GC-ToFMS) was used. The data were combined via chemometric tools to characterize in depth the volatile composition of eight blends of capsule-coffee powder and respective espresso brews, simulating the consumer's perception. A total of 390 volatile compounds were putatively identified, 100 reported for the first time in roasted coffee or brews. Although the same chemical families were determined among the coffee powders and espresso brews, a different volatile profile was determined for each matrix. The Pearson correlation of coffee powders and respective brews allowed to identify 15 volatile compounds, mainly terpenic and esters recognized by their pleasant notes, with a strong relationship between the amounts present in both matrices. These compounds can be key markers to predict the volatile aroma potential of an espresso brew when analyzing the coffee powder.

Structure, rheology, and copper-complexation of a hyaluronan-like exopolysaccharide from Vibrio.

MO245 exopolysaccharide (EPS) was produced in laboratory conditions from Vibrio genus microorganism isolated from bacterial mats found in Moorea Island. Its structure consists of a linear tetrasaccharide repeating unit →4)-ß-D-GlcpA-(1→4)-α-D-GalpNAc-(1→3)-ß-D-GlcpNAc-(1→4)-ß-D-GlcpA-(1→ containing covalently-linked 5% of glucose, galactose, and rhamnose, determined by methylation analyses and NMR spectroscopy. The molecular weight, radius of gyration (Rg) and intrinsic viscosity, [η], determined by gel permeation chromatography with light scattering and viscosity detection, were 513 ± 4 kDa (PDI, 1.42 ± 0.01), 6.7 ± 0.3 dl/g and 56 ± 0.3 nm respectively. The chelation of the EPS with copper divalent ions leads to the instantaneous formation of gels. The structural similitude proposed, based in an equal ratio of GlcA to N-acetylated sugars and in the same type of glyosidic linkages present in the repeating unit (alternated 1→3 and 1→4 linkages), is translated into analogous physicochemical properties: MO245 EPS is a flexible polyelectrolyte, with scaling exponents similar to that described for HA. This similitude opens opportunities in future drug delivery, tissue engineering, and cosmetic applications.

Comparison of high pressure treatment with conventional red wine aging processes: impact on phenolic composition.

High hydrostatic pressure (HHP) applied to wine in flexible plastic bottles has been studied as an enological practice for red wine aging, due to the oxidative reactions that can be promoted by this technology. To evaluate the effect of HHP on wine phenolic composition, a red wine treated with HHP was compared with different conventional wine aging processes, such as the use of wood and microoxygenation. The wine was pressurized at 500 MPa for 5 min at 20 °C and the same wine was also stored in oak barrels and treated with oak chips with or without microoxygenation. For comparison of the HHP effect, all wines were stored in polyethylene bottles. After 5 months, the monomeric anthocyanins, phenolic acids, and flavonols content of pressurized wines were lower in comparison with the other wine treatments. Nevertheless, pressurized wines showed a similar degree of tannin polymerization, pyranoanthocyanins content, and percentage of prodelphinidins in relation to the wine treated with microoxygenation and oak chips. HHP, possible by promoting a higher diffusion of oxygen into the wine, has the potential to be a novel oenological practice, producing red wines with a polymeric phenolic composition similar to those treated with wood aging processes.

The Key Role of Sulfation and Branching on Fucoidan Antitumor Activity.

There is an urgent need for antitumor bioactive agents with minimal or no side effects over normal adjacent cells. Fucoidan is a marine-origin polymer with known antitumor activity. However, there are still some concerns about its application due to the inconsistent experimental results, specifically its toxicity over normal cells and the mechanism behind its action. Herein, three fucoidan extracts (FEs) have been tested over normal and breast cancer cell lines. From cytotoxicity results, only one of the extracts shows selective antitumor behavior (at 0.2 mg mL-1 ), despite similarities in sulfation degree and carbohydrates composition. Although the three FEs present different molecular weights, depolymerization of selected samples discarded Mw as the key factor in the antitumor activity. Significant differences in sulfates position and branching are observed, presenting FE 2 the higher branching degree. Based on all these experimental data, it is believed that these last two properties are the ones that influence the cytotoxic effects of fucoidan extracts.

Influence of grape pomace extract incorporation on chitosan films properties.

Chitosan has been studied as a renewable polymer to form edible films allowing the incorporation of functional compounds. The aim of this work was to evaluate the effects in the chitosan films properties of the incorporation of grape pomace extracts: 0.15% of hot water extract (mainly polysaccharides), 0.15 and 0.3% of chloroform extract (wax), and 0.3 and 0.75% of n-hexane extract (oil). The evaluation of the surface morphology revealed that the films with the aqueous extract had the most homogeneous and smoother topography. The incorporation of higher proportion of wax and oil led to changes in mechanical properties of the films, namely lower resistance and stiffness. The chitosan-based films with 0.75% oil demonstrated a 75% decrease of solubility in water, due to their hydrophobicity, as confirmed by the contact angle and surface free energy measurements. The hydrophobic films showed higher antioxidant capacity in organic medium (ABTS and DPPH assays) whereas the most hydrophilic films showed an improvement in FRAP and reducing power assays. Therefore, all the chitosan-based films prepared by incorporation of these grape pomace extracts are promising for food shelf life extension.