Trends in the Potential of Stilbenes to Improve Plant Stress Tolerance: Insights of Plant Defense Mechanisms in Response to Biotic and Abiotic Stressors.

Stilbenes belong to the naturally synthesized plant phytoalexins, produced de novo in response to various biotic and abiotic stressors. The importance of stilbenes in plant resistance to stress and disease is of increasing interest. However, the defense mechanisms and potential of stilbenes to improve plant stress tolerance have not been thoroughly reviewed. This work overviewed the pentose phosphate pathway, glycolysis pathway, shikimate pathway, and phenylalanine pathway occurred in the synthesis of stilbenes when plants are subjected to biotic and abiotic stresses. The positive implications and underlying mechanisms regarding defensive properties of stilbenes were demonstrated. Ten biomimetic chemosynthesis methods can underpin the potential of stilbenes to improve plant stress tolerance. The prospects for the application of stilbenes in agriculture, food, cosmetics, and pharmaceuticals industries are anticipated. It is hoped that some of the detailed ideas and practices may contribute to the development of stilbene-related products and improvement of plant resistance breeding.

Residue behaviors of six pesticides during apple juice production and storage.

The residue behaviors of carbendazim, thiamethoxam, imidacloprid, acetamiprid, prochloraz, and difenoconazole during the production and accelerated storage of apple clear and cloudy juice was systemically evaluated. The pesticides were determined by liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) after each processing step and at different storage times. The results indicated that the different processing steps in the apple clear and cloudy juices production have different effects on the reduction of pesticide residues. The pre-processing steps including washing and pressing reduced the pesticide residues significantly by 36.8 % to 67.9 % and 32.9 % to 89.8 %, respectively, mainly due to the water solubility and log Kow of pesticides. The enzymation step in clear juice production slightly reduced six pesticide residues from 1.9 % to 31.6 %, and the filtration step after clarification and purification decreased the pesticide residues from 14.0 % to 87.5 % with no significance, while prochloraz was not detected. The centrifugation step in cloudy juice production reduced the pesticide residues from 6.3 % to 88.9 %. The pasteurization step in clear and cloudy juice production lowered the pesticide residues slightly on account of the short heating time of 30 s. The accelerated storage of clear and cloudy juices was effective in the reduction of pesticide residue levels. The processing factors (PFs) in the whole process of clear and cloudy juice production were equal to or lower than 0.2, especially for prochloraz and difenoconazole, illustrating that apple juice production could decrease the pesticide residues greatly. The results will provide important references to predict the levels of pesticide residues in apple juice during processing and storage. Meanwhile, the PFs identified in the study could be helpful in the risk assessment of pesticides in apple juice.

Repair mechanism and application of self-healing materials for food preservation.

The traditional packaging concept has reached its limits when it comes to ensuring the quality of food and extending its shelf life. Compared to traditional packaging materials, food packaging with self-healing function is becoming more and more popular. This is because they can automatically repair the damaged area, restore the original properties and prevent the decline of food quality and loss of nutrients. Materials based on various self-healing mechanisms have been developed and used on a laboratory scale in the form of coatings and films for food packaging. However, more efforts are needed for the commercial application of these new self-healing packaging materials. Understanding the self-healing mechanism of these packaging materials is very important for their commercial application. This article first discusses the self-healing mechanism of different packaging materials and compares the self-healing efficiency of self-healing materials under different conditions. Then, the application potential of self-healing coatings and films in the food industry is systematically analyzed. Finally, we give an outlook on the application of self-healing materials in the field of food packaging.

Anti-glycation and anti-inflammatory activities of anthocyanins from purple vegetables.

Anthocyanins may be effective bioactive constituents to reduce the potential risk of chronic diseases induced by glycation and inflammation. In the present study, the anti-glycation and anti-inflammatory activities of anthocyanins derived from purple cabbage (PCA), purple sweet potato (PSP), purple corn (PCO) and gynura bicolor (GB) were evaluated. According to the results from the bovine serum albumin (BSA)-fructose and BSA-methylglyoxal (MGO) model, the inhibition effects of anthocyanins on non-enzymatic glycosylation not only acted on the intermediate stage, but also played a certain role in the entire non-enzymatic glycosylation process, among which anthocyanins from PCA exhibited the best inhibitory effect. The anthocyanins from all four purple vegetables could trap MGO effectively (p > 0.05). The anthocyanins also presented a good inhibitory effect on amyloid beta peptide (Aß)1-42 fibrillation, even better than that of aminoguanidine (AG), in a thermal induction assay. Furthermore, anthocyanins from PCA, PSP, PCO and GB showed significant anti-inflammatory effects, inhibiting pro-inflammatory factor (i.e., NO and TNF-α) production, among which the anthocyanins from PCA and PSP exhibited a higher inhibition effect than the others. This is probably due to the suppression of the TLR4-mediated MyD88 signaling pathway in the lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced BV2 cells based on the western blot analysis. Anthocyanins from purple vegetables could be used as a value-added food ingredient for the food industry. Food fortification with anthocyanins might be a promising way to protect humans against various chronic diseases caused by glycation and inflammation.

Dynamics of Physicochemical Properties, Functional Compounds and Antioxidant Capacity during Spontaneous Fermentation of Lycium ruthenicum Murr. (Qinghai-Tibet Plateau) Natural Vinegar.

Functional fermented fruit drinks are known worldwide for their health-promoting potential. Black wolfberry (BW) has high nutritional value, and its relative product development can be enriched through fermentation technology, so that its market might be broadened. Total acid, sugars, proteins, enzymes, anthocyanins, flavonoids, polyphenols, organic acids and DPPH free radical scavenging ability (DPPH) were tracked and determined by colorimetric method and HPLC during spontaneous fermentation of BW vinegar. The antioxidant capacity in vitro of BW vinegar was evaluated based on the dynamics of antioxidant contents and DPPH. The results showed that total acid continuously increased during fermentation, yet total sugar and reducing sugar shared a similar decreasing trend. The composition of samples differed in terms of total anthocyanins, total flavonoid, total polyphenol, total protein, superoxide dismutase (SOD), amylase, organic acids and DPPH through spontaneous fermentation. Functional compounds including total polyphenol, total flavonoid and three organic acids (γ-aminobutyric acid, lactic acid and gallic acid) played the main roles in antioxidation. Unexpectedly, SOD and ascorbic acid as antioxidants did not correlate with DPPH, but they were rich in the final products at 754.35 U/mL and 3.39 mg/mL, respectively. Generally, the quality of BW vinegar has been improved based on analyzing dynamics on functional compounds, organic acids and antioxidant capacity, which proves that BW vinegar obtained by spontaneous fermentation should be a potential source of fermented food with antioxidant effects for consumers.

Degradation of pesticides in wheat flour during noodle production and storage.

The fate of five pesticides comprising triadimefon, imidacloprid, fenitrothion, chlorpyrifos-methyl, and chlorpyrifos in wheat flour during noodle production and accelerated storage was systematically investigated. Pesticide residues were determined by high-performance liquid chromatography with diode array detection (HPLC-DAD) after each processing step and accelerated storage. The results indicated that dough mixing reduced the concentration of five pesticide residues by 23-42%, mainly owing to the increase of moisture content. Dough resting had little effect on the residues of triadimefon, imidacloprid, and fenitrothion, but decreased chlorpyrifos-methyl and chlorpyrifos significantly by 24% and 15%, respectively. The pesticide residues increased by 3% to 69% during the drying step, attributed to the different role played by thermal evaporation or thermal degradation and concentration of the different pesticides. Boiling lowered the pesticide residues significantly by 56% to 74% in both fresh noodles and dried noodles. All the pesticide residues decreased during accelerated storage, especially for fenitrothion, chlorpyrifos-methyl, and chlorpyrifos. The processing factors (PFs) of the five pesticides in the drying step were greater than 1, while the others were all less than 1. The whole process for noodle production was beneficial to reduce the pesticide residues with PFs ranging from 0.15 to 0.35. The PFs of five pesticides in accelerated storage were all below 1.

Residue changes of five pesticides during the production and storage of rice flour.

The residue changes of five pesticides in samples from different steps of rice flour production and accelerated storage were systematically investigated. Rice flour was produced both by the extrusion process and the drying on roller process. The change of pesticide residues varied in different processing steps and storage time. The water adjusting step had little influence on the pesticide residues. The pesticide residues were decreased significantly in the extruding, soaking, and grinding steps with reduction from 21% to 76%. The drying step increased or decreased the pesticide residues in varying degrees through concentration due to water evaporation and thermal evaporation or thermal degradation. All the pesticide residues decreased during the accelerated storage, especially for methidathion and chlorpyrifos, neither was detected after accelerated stored for 14 days. The processing factors (PFs) for imidacloprid and isocarbophos in the drying step were greater than 1, and the others were all less than 1. The whole drying on roller process had lower PFs than the whole extrusion process, indicated that the drying on roller process had a greater effect on pesticide residues. The PFs of accelerated storage for five pesticides were all below 1. Overall, this study provides important references for monitoring pesticide residues in the processing and storage of rice flour. Moreover, the PFs obtained in this study could be useful in the dietary exposure and risk assessment of pesticides in rice flour.