Antioxidant, Antimicrobial and Anti-Inflammatory Activities of Essential Oil Derived from the Wild Rhizome of Atractylodes macrocephala.

The present study investigated the chemical composition, antioxidant, antimicrobial, and anti-inflammatory activities of essential oil (EO) derived from the wild rhizomes of Atractylodes macrocephala Koidz. (AMA) growing in Qimen County (eastern China). GC/MS analysis identified fifteen compounds, representing 92.55 % of AMA EO. The major compounds were atractylone (39.22 %), ß-eudesmol (27.70 %), thymol (5.74 %), hinesol (5.50 %), and 11-isopropylidenetricyclo[4.3.1.1(2,5)]undec-3-en-10-one (4.71 %). Ferricyanide reducing, 1,1-diphenyl-2-picyrlhydrazyl (DPPH) and 3-ethyl-benzothiazoline-6-sulfonic acid (ABTS) scavenging assays revealed that AMA EO exhibited strong antioxidant capacities. Additionally, AMA EO showed inhibitory effects on growth of Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Salmonella enterica, Staphylococcus aureus, and Bacillus subtilis, with the minimum inhibitory concentrations (MIC) ranging from 0.5 to 2.0 mg/mL. Treatments with AMA EO also significantly inhibited nitric oxide (NO) and prostaglandin E2 (PGE2 ) production in lipopolysaccharide-stimulated RAW264.7 cells, indicating anti-inflammatory activity of AMA EO. Furthermore, treatments with AMA EO decreased the transcriptional levels of inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) and cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2), which might be the molecular mechanisms underlying its anti-inflammatory effects. Overall, these results provide a theoretical basis for further study and application of AMA EO in food and medicine products.

Rheological properties of a polysaccharide from floral mushrooms cultivated in Huangshan Mountain.

A polysaccharide fraction (FMPS) was isolated from floral mushrooms cultivated in Huangshan Mountain, and the rheological properties of FMPS in aqueous solutions were investigated. The FMPS solution showed shear-thinning behavior at 25°C. Dynamic viscoelastic tests revealed that G' and G″ exhibited strong dependences on the concentration and temperature. The FMPS/water system exhibited sol and weak gel behavior with the change of concentration and temperature. The exponent n of G'∼ω(n) and tan δ also exhibited strong dependences on the concentration and temperature. The gel point (cgel) of FMPS solution was 1.16×10(-2)g/mL at 15°C, and the Tgel of 1.4×10(-2)g/mL FMPS solution was 20.6°C. Dynamic frequency sweep measurements indicated that the FMPS gel system was stable in the selected range of frequency. The heating-cooling process proved that the sol-gel transition of FMPS in aqueous solutions was thermally reversible.

Physicochemical properties and adsorption of cholesterol by okra (Abelmoschus esculentus) powder.

Okra (Abelmoschus esculentus) is a widely used medicine and functional food. In order to clarify the effects of the particle size on its functional properties, okra pods were subjected to superfine grinding, and its properties were determined using different methods. Four particle size levels of okra powders were prepared: 380 to 250, 250 to 75, 75 to 40 and less than 40 µm. The results showed that superfine grinding technology could efficiently pulverize the particles into the submicron scale, whose distribution was close to a Gaussian distribution. With decreasing okra powder size, the specific surface area, water holding capacity (WHC), water-retention capacity (WRC), oil-binding capacity (OBC), tapped density and total flavonoids extraction were increased significantly (p < 0.05). Moreover, the adsorption of cholesterol by okra powder was improved after superfine grinding. These results suggest that okra powder can be used in food manufacturing as a functional food ingredient.

Physicochemical properties and antioxidant activities of polysaccharide from floral mushroom cultivated in Huangshan Mountain.

In this paper, a polysaccharide fraction (FMPS) was purified from the floral mushroom cultivated in Huangshan Mountain for the first time. Physicochemical properties and antioxidant activities of FMPS were investigated. FMPS had an average molecular weight of 7.2×10(5)Da and was composed of glucose. On the basis of FT-IR, NMR and methylation analysis, the repeating unit of FMPS was established as (1→3)-linked ß-d-glucopyranosyl backbone with 1-linked ß-d-glucopyranosyl branches substituted at O-6 position of (1→3)-linked ß-d-glucopyranosyl residues. The advanced structure studies indicated that FMPS was a triple-helical polysaccharide. The main hydrodynamic radius (Rh) of FMPS was 23.4nm and it could form a stable system with water in 1.2×10(-2)g/mL solutions. In addition, FMPS exhibited high DPPH radical scavenging activities (79.46% at 5mg/mL) and hydroxyl radical scavenging activities (74.18% at 5mg/mL), as well as Fe(2+)chelating activities and ABTS radical scavenging activities to some extent.

Pectin from Abelmoschus esculentus: optimization of extraction and rheological properties.

Response surface methodology (RSM) was applied to optimize the parameters of pectin extraction from okra pods. The extracted okra pectin was then investigated by steady-shear and oscillatory rheological measurements. Statistical analysis showed that the linear term of the liquid-solid ratio, the quadratic term of the pH, and the linear term of the extraction time showed highly significant effects on pectin yield. The optimal extraction conditions that maximized the pectin yield within the experimental range of the variables researched were a pH of 3.9, an extraction time of 64 min, an extraction temperature of 60°C, and a liquid-solid ratio of 42:1. Under these conditions, the pectin yield was predicted to be 2.71%. At a liquid-solid ratio less than 2.5% w/w in aqueous solution, the pectin extracted from okra presented non-Newtonian shear-thinning behavior and could be well described by the Cross model. The okra pectin showed predominantly viscous responses (G'

Purification and characterization of polyphenol oxidase from rape flower.

The purification and partial enzymology characteristics of polyphenol oxidase (PPO) from rape flower were studied. After preliminary treatments, the crude enzyme solution was in turn purified with ammonium sulfate, dialysis, and Sephadex G-75 gel chromatography. The optimal conditions and stability of PPO were examined at different pH values and temperatures. Subsequently, PPO was also characterized by substrate (catechol) concentrations, inhibitors, kinetic parameters, and molecular weight. Results showed that the optimal pH for PPO activity was 5.5 in the presence of catechol and that PPO was relatively stable at pH 3.5-5.5. PPO was moderately stable at temperatures from 60 to 70 °C, whereas it was easily denatured at 80-90 °C. Ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid, sodium chloride, and calcium chloride had little inhibitive effects on PPO, whereas citric acid, sodium sulfite, and ascorbic acid had strongly inhibitive effects. The Michaelis-Menten constant (K(m)) and maximal reaction velocity (V(max)) of PPO were 0.767 mol/L and 0.519 Ab/min/mL of the crude PPO solution, respectively. PPO was finally purified to homogeneity with a purification factor of 4.41-fold and a recovery of 12.41%. Its molecular weight was 60.4 kDa, indicating that the PPO is a dimer. The data obtained in this research may help to prevent the enzymatic browning of rape flower during its storage and processing.