Evaluation of Methylene Blue Migration from Time-Temperature Indicators Using LC-MS/MS.

The purpose of this study was to evaluate and validate methylene blue migration from printed time-temperature indicators (TTIs) into food. It also highlights the importance of establishing regulatory measures and safety standards for food packaging, suggesting that this can contribute to improving food packaging safety. Liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) was used to quantify methylene blue migration in various food simulant and food matrix samples. The results show that the level of methylene blue migration varies significantly depending on the chemical properties of the food mimetic and the composition of the food matrix. The established method demonstrated a high sensitivity, with limits of detection (LODs) of 0.0019-0.0706 µg/L (kg) and limits of quantification (LOQs) of 0.0057-0.2138 µg/L (kg). This study highlights the need for a regulatory framework to mitigate the health risks associated with methylene blue in intelligent packaging systems and argues that regulatory thresholds should be set to ensure food safety and quality.

Sustainable Utilization of Food Biowaste (Papaya Peel) Extract for Gold Nanoparticle Biosynthesis and Investigation of Its Multi-Functional Potentials.

Papaya contains high amounts of vitamins A, C, riboflavin, thiamine, niacin, ascorbic acid, potassium, and carotenoids. It is confirmed by several studies that all food waste parts such as the fruit peels, seeds, and leaves of papaya are potential sources of phenolic compounds, particularly in the peel. Considering the presence of numerous bioactive compounds in papaya fruit peels, the current study reports a rapid, cheap, and environmentally friendly method for the production of gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) employing food biowaste (vegetable papaya peel extract (VPPE)) and investigated its antioxidant, antidiabetic, tyrosinase inhibition, anti-inflammatory, antibacterial, and photocatalytic degradation potentials. The phytochemical analysis gave positive results for tannins, saponins, steroids, cardiac steroidal glycoside, protein, and carbohydrates. The manufactured VPPE-AuNPs were studied by UV-Vis scan (with surface plasmon resonance of 552 nm), X-ray diffraction analysis (XRD) (with average crystallite size of 44.41 nm as per the Scherrer equation), scanning electron microscopy-energy-dispersive X-ray (SEM-EDS), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), particle size, zeta potential, etc. The mean dimension of the manufactured VPPE-AuNPs is 112.2 d.nm (PDI-0.149) with a -26.1 mV zeta potential. The VPPE-AuNPs displayed a significant antioxidant effect (93.24% DPPH scavenging and 74.23% SOD inhibition at 100 µg/mL); moderate tyrosinase effect (with 30.76%); and substantial α-glucosidase (95.63%) and α-amylase effect (50.66%) at 100 µg/mL. Additionally, it was found to be very proficient in the removal of harmful methyl orange and methylene blue dyes with degradation of 34.70% at 3 h and 24.39% at 5 h, respectively. Taken altogether, the VPPE-AuNPs have been proven to possess multiple biopotential activities, which can be explored by the food, cosmetics, and biomedical industries.

Development of an analytical method to determine methyl alcohol and isopropyl alcohol in food using static headspace gas chromatography.

A method to determine methanol (MeOH) and isopropyl alcohol (IPA) was developed using static headspace sampling (HSS) with gas chromatography (GC) and gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC/MS). The optimized HSS-GC and HSS-GC/MS methods were validated according to the parameters. The limit of quantification (LOQ) values for MeOH analyzed by HSS-GC/MS and HSS-GC were 0.50-0.56 and 1.97 mg/L, and the corresponding values for IPA were 0.14-0.21 and 1.51 mg/L, respectively. Recoveries were determined by spiking sample matrices, such as vinegar and tea. MeOH and IPA showed excellent recoveries of 93.80-107.60% and 93.92-104.32% with corresponding precisions of 0.51-7.38% and 0.90-7.70%, respectively. Compared to solid-phase microextraction-GC/MS and HSS-GC, the HSS-GC/MS method showed outstanding values for limit of detection and LOQ with improved precision and accuracy. This HSS-GC/MS method was successfully used to monitor residual solvents in 100 food and functional food products.

Evaluation of Oxygen Absorbers Using Food Simulants and Inductively Coupled Mass Spectrometry.

In this study, we developed and validated an analytical method to evaluate the heavy metal elution from an active packaging material's oxygen absorber to a food simulant. Using water, 4% acetic acid, n-heptane, 20% ethanol, and 50% ethanol as food simulants, we quantified cobalt, copper, platinum, and iron with inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry. The method was thoroughly validated for linearity, accuracy, precision, LOD, and LOQ through inter-day and intra-day analysis repetitions. R2 values ranged from 0.9986 to 1.0000, indicating excellent linearity. The LOD values ranged from 0.00002 to 0.2190 mg/kg, and the LOQ values ranged from 0.00007 to 0.6636 mg/kg. The method's accuracy was 95.14% to 101.98%, with the precision ranging from 0.58% to 10.37%. Our results confirmed the method's compliance with CODEX standards. Monitoring the oxygen absorber revealed undissolved platinum, cobalt levels from 0.10 to 19.29 µg/kg, copper levels from 0.30 to 976.14 µg/kg, and iron levels from 0.06 to 53.08 mg/kg. This study established a robust analytical approach for evaluating the heavy metal elution from oxygen absorbers, ensuring safety in the food industry.

Risk Assessment and Determination of Arsenic and Heavy Metals in Fishery Products in Korea.

The purpose of this study is to quantify several heavy metals (Pb, Cd, Hg, Me-Hg, and metalloid arsenic) contained in Korean fishery products (seven categories, 1186 samples) and assess their health risk. Heavy metals quantification was conducted using inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) and a direct mercury analysis (DMA). The good linearity (R2 > 0.999), limits of detection (1.0-3.2 µg/kg), limits of quantification (3.1-9.6 µg/kg), accuracy (88.14-113.80%), and precision (0.07-6.02%) of the five heavy metals were obtained, and these results meet the criteria recommended by the AOAC. The average heavy metal concentrations of fishery products were in the following order: As > Cd > Pb > Hg > Me-Hg for sea algae, crustaceans, mollusks, and echinoderms, As > Hg > Me-Hg > Pb > Cd for freshwater fish and marine fish, and As > Pb > Cd > Hg > Me-Hg for tunicates. Heavy metal concentrations were lower than MFDS, EU, CODEX, and CFDA standards. In addition, the exposure, non-carcinogenic, and carcinogenic evaluation results, considering the intake of aquatic products for Koreans, were very low. It was concluded that this study will provide basic data for food safety and risk assessment.

Green chemical and hybrid enzymatic pretreatments for lignocellulosic biorefineries: Mechanism and challenges.

The greener chemical and enzymatic pretreatments for lignocellulosic biomasses are portraying a crucial role owing to their recalcitrant nature. Traditional pretreatments lead to partial degradation of lignin and hemicellulose moieties from the pretreated biomass. But it still restricts the enzyme accessibility for the digestibility towards the celluloses and the interaction of lignin-enzymes, nonproductively. Moreover, incursion of certain special chemical treatments and other lignin sulfonation techniques to the enzymatic pretreatment (hybrid enzymatic pretreatment) enhances the lignin structural modification, solubilization of the hemicelluloses and both saccharification and fermentation processes (SAF). This article concentrates on recent developments in various chemical and hybrid enzymatic pretreatments on biomass materials with their mode of activities. Furthermore, the issues on strategies of the existing pretreatments towards their industrial applications are highlighted, which could lead to innovative ideas to overcome the challenges and give guideline for the researchers towards the lignocellulosic biorefineries.

Higenamine Reduces Fine-Dust-Induced Matrix Metalloproteinase (MMP)-1 in Human Keratinocytes.

Environmental pollutants such as fine dust are increasingly linked to premature skin aging. In this study, we investigated the protective effects of higenamine, a natural plant alkaloid, against fine-dust-induced skin aging in human keratinocytes (HaCaT cells). We found that higenamine significantly attenuated fine-dust-induced expression of matrix metalloproteinase-1 (MMP-1), a key enzyme involved in collagen degradation. Furthermore, higenamine was found to modulate fine-dust-induced AP-1 and NF-κB transactivation, which are crucial factors for MMP-1 transcription. Higenamine also impeded fine-dust-induced phosphorylation in specific pathways related to AP-1 and NF-κB activation, and effectively alleviated reactive oxygen species (ROS) production, a key factor in oxidative stress caused by fine dust exposure. These results suggest that higenamine exerts protective effects against fine-dust-induced skin aging, primarily through its MMP-1 inhibitory properties and ability to mitigate ROS-induced oxidative damage. Our data highlight the potential of higenamine as an effective ingredient in skincare products designed to combat environmental skin damage.

Fish Freshness Indicator for Sensing Fish Quality during Storage.

This study aims to develop a freshness indicator for fish products that changes color to indicate ammonia among volatile base compounds (TVB-N) generated during storage. Through an optimization experiment, we observed the indicator's color change relative to the ammonia concentration standard, finally selecting cresol red and bromocresol purple for the indicator mixture. In addition, eco-DEHCH and Breathron film were applied to the freshness indicator, considering environmental and economic values. For the storage experiment, Chub mackerel (Scomber japonicus), Spanish mackerel (Scomberomorus niphonius), and Largehead hairtail (Trichiurus lepturus) samples were stored at three different temperatures (4, 10, and 20 °C) for seven days, and we measured pH, TVB-N, total bacterial count, and ammonia content every 24 h. The pH-sensitive sensors' color changes monitor amine release, especially ammonia, from decomposing fish. The chromatic parameter ∆E value increased significantly with fish product storage periods. We confirmed that when the freshness limit and bacterial spoilage level were reached, the color of the indicator changed from yellow to black and sequentially changed to purple as the storage period increased. Therefore, a developed freshness indicator can be used for determining the quality of fish products quickly and non-destructively by reflecting the freshness and spoilage degree of fish products during storage.

Sericin mediated gold/silver bimetallic nanoparticles and exploration of its multi-therapeutic efficiency and photocatalytic degradation potential.

The current investigation aimed at bimetallic gold-silver nanoparticles (Au/Ag NPs), here called BM-GS NPs, synthesis using sericin protein as the reducing agent in an easy, cost-effective, and sustainable way. The obtained BM-GS NPs were characterized by UV-Visible spectroscopy, Transmission electron microscopy (TEM), energy dispersive X-ray analysis (EDS), atomic force microscopy (AFM), Dynamic light scattering (DLS) and Zeta potential, X-ray Powder Diffraction (XRD), Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), and Thermogravimetric analysis followed by evaluation of its multitherapeutic and photocatalytic degradation potentials. The TEM analysis revealed its spherical nature and the EDS result displayed the presence of both Ag and Au elements, confirming the synthesis of BM-GS NPs. The XRD pattern verified the crystalline nature of the nanoparticles (NPs). The DLS analysis showed an average size of 86.08 d nm and the zeta potential showed a highly negative value (-26.3 mV) which specifies that the generated bimetallic NPs are stable. The BM-GS NPs exhibited positive wound healing potential (with 63.38% of wound closure rate at 25 µg/ml, as compared to 54.42% by the untreated control) with very negligible toxicity effect on the cell viability of the normal keratinocyte cells. It also demonstrated promising antioxidant properties with 65.00%, 69.23%, and 63.03% activity at 100 µg/ml concentration for ABTS (2, 2-azinobis) (3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonic acid)), DPPH (1, 1 diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl) and SOD (superoxide dismutase enzyme) assays respectively, antidiabetic potential (with a significantly high α-glucosidase inhibition potential of 99.69% at 10µg/ml concentration and 62.11% of α-amylase enzyme inhibition at 100 µg/ml concentration) and moderate tyrosinase inhibitory potential (with 17.09% at 100 µg/ml concentration). Besides, it displayed reasonable antibacterial potential with the diameter of zone of inhibition ranging between 10.89 and 12.39 mm. Further, its antibacterial mode of action reveals that its effects could be due to being very smaller, the NPs could have penetrated inside the cellular membrane thereby causing rupture and damage to the interior materials leading to cellular lysis. The photocatalytic evaluation showed that synthesized BM-GS NPs have the efficiency of degrading methylene blue dye by 34.70% within 3 h of treatment. The above findings revealed the multi-therapeutic efficacy of the sericin globular protein-mediated BM-GS NPs and its potential future applications in the cosmetics and food sector and environmental contamination management industries.

Major Bioactive Compounds from Java Plum Seeds: An Investigation of Its Extraction Procedures and Clinical Effects.

Java plum is widely recognized as a plant with valuable medicinal properties, originating from Indonesia and India and distributed globally in the tropic and sub-tropic regions of the world. The plant is rich in alkaloids, flavonoids, phenyl propanoids, terpenes, tannins, and lipids. The phytoconstituents of the plant seeds possess various vital pharmacological activities and clinical effects including their antidiabetic potential. The bioactive phytoconstituents of Java plum seeds include jambosine, gallic acid, quercetin, ß-sitosterol, ferulic acid, guaiacol, resorcinol, p-coumaric acid, corilagin, ellagic acid, catechin, epicatechin, tannic acid, 4,6 hexahydroxydiphenoyl glucose, 3,6-hexahydroxy diphenoylglucose, 1-galloylglucose, and 3-galloylglucose. Considering all the potential beneficial effects of the major bioactive compounds present in the Jamun seeds, in the current investigation, the specific clinical effects and the mechanism of action for the major bioactive compounds along with the extraction procedures are discussed.

Silk Sericin Protein Materials: Characteristics and Applications in Food-Sector Industries.

There is growing concern about the use of plastic in packaging for food materials, as this results in increased plastic waste materials in the environment. To counter this, alternative sources of packaging materials that are natural and based on eco-friendly materials and proteins have been widely investigated for their potential application in food packaging and other industries of the food sector. Sericin, a silk protein that is usually discarded in large quantities by the sericulture and textile industries during the degumming process of manufacturing silk from silk cocoons, can be explored for its application in food packaging and in other food sectors as a functional food and component of food items. Hence, its repurposing can result in reduced economic costs and environmental waste. Sericin extracted from silk cocoon possesses several useful amino acids, such as aspartic acid, glycine, and serine. Likewise, sericin is strongly hydrophilic, a property that confers effective biological and biocompatible characteristics, including antibacterial, antioxidant, anticancer, and anti-tyrosinase properties. When used in combination with other biomaterials, sericin has proved to be effective in the manufacture of films or coating or packaging materials. In this review, the characteristics of sericin materials and their potential application in food-sector industries are discussed in detail.

Synthesis of Biogenic Gold Nanoparticles by Using Sericin Protein from Bombyx mori Silk Cocoon and Investigation of Its Wound Healing, Antioxidant, and Antibacterial Potentials.

Introduction: A number of biological wastes and factory waste materials have been tested recently for the eco-friendly biosynthesis of nanoparticles. Sericin protein (SSP) is usually removed from the silk cocoon during the degumming process in the process of making the silk, and this sericin protein is normally thrown away by the sericulture industries as waste materials. It is found that this sericin protein possesses a number of biological properties. Methods: Considering this, in the present study, an effort has been made to biosynthesize gold nanoparticles (SSP-AuNPs) using the waste sericin solution as the reducing and capping agent and investigate its biopotential in terms of its wound healing, antioxidant and antibacterial activities. Results: The synthesis of SSP-AuNPs was perceived by the visual color change and confirmed by UV-Vis spectroscopy with absorption maxima at 522 nm. Further characterization of SSP-AuNPs was done by TEM, EDS, XRD, FTIR, DLS, zeta potential, TGA, AFM, etc. The size of SSP-AuNPs was found out to be 54.82 nm as per the particle size analyzer and the zeta potential is -19.8 mV. The SSP-AuNPs displayed promising wound healing potential of 70.96 and 69.76% wound closure rate at 5 and 10 µg/mL respectively as compared to 74.91% by the Centella asiatica taken as a positive control. It also exhibited promising antioxidant potential in terms of the DPPH, ABTS free radical scavenging, reducing power potential, and total antioxidant capacity. Besides, the SSP-AuNPs also displayed significant antibacterial activities against the tested pathogenic bacterial with the diameter of inhibition zones ranging between 12.10 and 14.96 mm as compared to the positive control cephalexin that displayed inhibition zones ranging between 12.08 and 13.24 mm. Discussion: Taken together, SSP-AuNPs could serve as an interesting candidate for food, cosmetics, and biomedical fields in the applications of wound healing, cosmetics, antibacterial bandages, and ointments, etc.

Evaluation of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons content of herbal medicine products in Korea by HPLC-FLD.

The objective of this study was to quantify four polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH4) in herbal medicine products in Korea. The PAH4 (benzo[a]anthracene, benzo[b]fluoranthene, chrysene, and benzo[a]pyrene) were analyzed in 70 popularly used herbal medicine products without containing essential oil and containing essential oil matrices, using 3-methylcholanthrene as the internal standard. Ultrasonication and liquid-liquid extraction were followed by HPLC-FLD analysis. Satisfactory linearity (R 2 = 0.99), limit of detection (0.05-0.18 µg/kg), limit of quantification (0.14-0.54 µg/kg), recovery (85.72-112.18%), and precision (0.22-2.90%) of PAH4 were acquired. PAH contamination was detected in all herbal medicine products without containing essential oil and containing essential oil matrices types. In 44 samples of herbal medicine products, all PAH4 were detected, and in two samples of the other herbal medicine products, only benzo[b]fluoranthene was detected. The average concentration of PAH4 was 3.88 µg/kg. The validated analytical method was used for preventing human health risks related to the consumption of herbal medicines.

Nutraceuticals, a Bridge Between Past and Future: Focus on Mushrooms Biological Activities and Myco-Chemistry.

BACKGROUND: Mushrooms are consumed worldwide due to their high nutritional and nutraceutical values. In addition to the presence of various vitamins, low-fat, and proteins, they are also an important source of trace elements, dietary fibers, and bioactive compounds. Their potential therapeutic properties are due to their multiple biological effects, such as antimicrobial, antiviral, antioxidant, anticancer, immune-modulating, cardioprotective, and antidiabetic properties. The global market of mushroom farming is anticipated to witness remarkable progress for its potential application in health products, profitable production and a rising demand for the healthy foods across the globe. The Asia Pacific marketplace seems to represent the major market of mushrooms, due to the higher per capita consumption of culinary and medical purposes. OBJECTIVE: Mushrooms have generally low calories, low levels of cholesterol, fats, gluten and sodium. Several biological effects of mushroom are due to the presence of phenolic components, polysaccharides, terpenoids, terphenyl-related compounds, and many other lower molecular weight molecules. This review aims at describing the chemical characterization of several mushrooms species and their biological effects. CONCLUSION: The current review describes different secondary metabolites found in several mushrooms and mushrooms extracts, and the molecular mechanisms underlying the biological activities. Also the antimicrobial activities of mushrooms, mushrooms extracts and isolated compounds from mushrooms were described. The description of these activities, related to the presence of specific classes of secondary metabolites and isolated compounds, may lead to the identification of mycomplexes and mushrooms compounds that may be further studied for their potential application in nutraceutical products.

Comparative Bio-Potential Effects of Fresh and Boiled Mountain Vegetable (Fern) Extract Mediated Silver Nanoparticles.

This current investigation was designed to synthesize Ag nanoparticles (AgNPs) using both the fresh (Fbf) and boiled (Bbf) Korean mountain vegetable fern (named Gosari) extracts and make a comparative evaluation of its multi-therapeutic potentials. The screening of phytochemicals in the fern extract was undertaken. The synthesized fern-mediated silver nanoparticles are characterized and investigated for their bio-potential like α-glucosidase inhibition, antioxidant, and cytotoxicity prospects. The obtained AgNPs were characterized by the UV-Vis Spectra, SEM, EDS, XRD, FTIR, DLS, Zeta potential analysis, etc. The synthesis of the Fbf-AgNPs was very fast and started within 1 h of the reaction whereas the synthesis of the Bbf-AgNPs synthesis was slow and it started around 18 h of incubation. The UV-Vis spectra displayed the absorption maxima of 424 nm for Fbf-AgNPs and in the case of Bbf-AgNPs, it was shown at 436 nm. The current research results demonstrated that both Fbf-AgNPs and Bbf-AgNPs displayed a strong α-glucosidase inhibition effect with more than 96% effect at 1 µg/mL concentration, but the Bbf-AgNPs displayed a slightly higher effect with IC50 value slightly lower than the Fbf-AgNPs. Both Fbf-AgNPs and Bbf-AgNPs displayed good antioxidant effects concerning the in vitro antioxidant assays. In the case of the cytotoxicity potential assay also, among both the investigated Fbf-AgNPs and Bbf-AgNPs nanoparticles, the Bbf-AgNPs showed stronger effects with lower IC50 value as compared to the Fbf-AgNPs. In conclusion, both the fern-mediated AgNPs displayed promising multi-therapeutic potential and could be beneficial in the cosmetics and pharmaceutical sectors. Though the synthesis process is rapid in Fbf-AgNPs, but it is concluded from the results of all the tested bio-potential assays, Bbf-AgNPs is slightly better than Fbf-AgNPs.

Natural Occurrence of Alternaria Toxins in Agricultural Products and Processed Foods Marketed in South Korea by LC-MS/MS.

Alternaria mycotoxins including alternariol (AOH), alternariol monomethyl ether (AME), altenuene (ALT), altertoxin-I (ATX-I), tentoxin (TEN), and tenuazonic acid (TeA), are ubiquitous contaminants in agricultural products. A method for the simultaneous determination of these six toxins by ultrahigh performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) with solid phase extraction (SPE) was validated in rice, sesame, tomato, and apple juice matrices. The performance of the method was evaluated in terms of linearity (R2 > 0.999), the limit of detection (0.04-1.67 µg/kg), the limit of quantification (0.12-5.06 µg/kg), recovery (80.0-114.7%), and precision (<17.7%). The validated method was applied to monitor 152 marketed food samples in South Korea, as well as to investigate the co-occurrence and correlation between Alternaria toxins. The mean occurrence levels were 2.77 µg/kg for AOH, 4.36 µg/kg for AME, 0.14 µg/kg for ALT, 0.11 µg/kg for ATX-I, 0.43 µg/kg for TEN, and 104.56 µg/kg for TeA. Mean and extreme (95th percentile) daily dietary exposures of South Koreans to Alternaria toxins were estimated to be 22.93 ng/kg b.w./day and 86.07 ng/kg b.w./day, respectively.

A critical review on biomass-based sustainable biorefineries using nanobiocatalysts: Opportunities, challenges, and future perspectives.

Biocatalysts, including live microbial cells/enzymes, have been considered a predominant and advantageous tool for effectively transforming biomass into biofuels and valued biochemicals. However, high production costs, separation, and reusability limit its practical application. Immobilization of single and multi-enzymes by employing different nano-supports have gained massive attention because of its elevated exterior domain and high enzymatic performance. Application of nanobiocatalyst can overcome the drawbacks mainly, stability and reusability, thus reflecting the importance of biomass-based biorefinery to make it profitable and sustainable. This review provides an in-depth, comprehensive analysis of nanobiocatalysts systems concerning nano supports and biocatalytic performance characteristics. Furthermore, the effects of nanobiocatalyst on waste biomass to biofuel and valued bioproducts in the biorefinery approach and their critical assessment are discussed. Lastly, this review elaborates commercialization and market outlooks of the bioconversion process using nanobiocatalyst, followed by different strategies to overcome the limitations and future research directions on nanobiocatalytic-based industrial bioprocesses.

Validation of analytical methods for acrylic acid from various food products.

Acrylic acid (AA) chemical that endangers human health through contamination of water, soil, and foods. In this study, the extraction, purification, and detection of AA in various food products were established. The contamination level of AA in food products was investigated as well. Food matrices that were used for method validation were crop, fruit, vegetable, seaweed, beverage, sauce, paste, and pickled food, where the validation was confirmed through cross-checking between two different laboratories by checking the accuracy and precision. Furthermore, sample volume for analysis was optimized. Sonication and syringe filtering were all steps preparing headspace analyzer (HA) before GC-MS analysis. Linearity (R2), limit of detection (LOD), limit of quantitation (LOQ), accuracy and precision of AA, were > 0.99, 0.06-0.17 mg/L, 0.18-0.52 mg/L, 90.97-111.93% and 0.12-9.61 RSD% of intra, inter-day, respectively. White rice sample was the only one sample where AA detected (6.19 mg/L) among 102 food samples. Supplementary Information: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s10068-022-01131-x.

Glucosinolates and Omega-3 Fatty Acids from Mustard Seeds: Phytochemistry and Pharmacology.

Seeds from mustard (genera Brassica spp. and Sinapsis spp.), are known as a rich source of glucosinolates and omega-3 fatty acids. These compounds are widely known for their health benefits that include reducing inflammation and lowering the risk of cardiovascular diseases and cancer. This review presented a synthesis of published literature from Google Scholar, PubMed, Scopus, Sci Finder, and Web of Science regarding the different glucosinolates and omega-3 fatty acids isolated from mustard seeds. We presented an overview of extraction, isolation, purification, and structure elucidation of glucosinolates from the seeds of mustard plants. Moreover, we presented a compilation of in vitro, in vivo, and clinical studies showing the potential health benefits of glucosinolates and omega-3 fatty acids. Previous studies showed that glucosinolates have antimicrobial, antipain, and anticancer properties while omega-3 fatty acids are useful for their pharmacologic effects against sleep disorders, anxiety, cerebrovascular disease, neurodegenerative disease, hypercholesterolemia, and diabetes. Further studies are needed to investigate other naturally occurring glucosinolates and omega-3 fatty acids, improve and standardize the extraction and isolation methods from mustard seeds, and obtain more clinical evidence on the pharmacological applications of glucosinolates and omega-3 fatty acids from mustard seeds.

Key Health Benefits of Korean Ueong Dry Root Extract Combined Silver Nanoparticles.

Introduction: Nowadays, in nanotechnology and material science, biosynthesis of the metal nanoparticle is a promising approach. Methods: In the current research, the extract of the Korean Ueong dry root (BdkR), which belongs to the Asteraceae family, was used as a reducing and capping agent, for the green synthesis of the BdkR-Ag nanoparticles in a cost-effective and highly efficient manner. In this study for the reaction measures, UV-Vis spectroscopy was applied. SEM, EDX, FTIR, XRD, mean size distribution, and zeta potential were used for the characterization of the green synthesized BdkR-AgNPs. In the beginning, the primary phytochemical screening of BdkR extract was estimated and the cytotoxicity, antidiabetic, antioxidant, and antibacterial activities of the green synthesized BdkR-AgNPs were evaluated. Results: According to the results, the BdkR extract is rich in various phytochemicals and the generated AgNPs were crystalline in nature. The surface plasmon resonance value of the BdkR-AgNPs was 444 nm confirming the synthesis of AgNPs. The BdkR-AgNPs displayed four clear diffraction peaks at 2 theta angles (38.22); (46.15); (64.88); (76.83), respectively, which are equivalent to (111), (200), (220) and (311). The obtained nanoparticles have a zeta potential of -17.0 mV. Furthermore, the generated BdkR-AgNPs exhibited considerable antidiabetic effect in terms of the inhibition of α-glucosidase with a maximum inhibition value of 95.41% at 5.0 µg/mL and more than 86% inhibition at 2.5 µg/mL and the estimated IC50 value was found to be 0.653 µg/mL. Further, it also displayed a significant cytotoxicity activity against the HepG2 cancer cell lines at 10 µg/mL and 100 µg/mL concentrations with 86% and 88% of inhibition, respectively. Besides this, the synthesized AgNPs also displayed promising antioxidant activities in terms of the DPPH (IC50 value - 56.26 µg/mL), ABTS (IC50 value - 171.43 µg/mL) and reducing power (IC0.5 value - 227.42 µg/mL). Discussion: The multipotential effects of the synthesized BdkR-AgNPs might be attributed to the presence of the bioactive compounds in the BdkR extract that acted as the capping and reducing agent in the synthesis process. The green synthesized BdkR-AgNPs exhibited promising bioactive potential for their future applications in the food and biomedical field.