Feruloylated Oligosaccharides from Maize Bran Modulated the Gut Microbiota in Rats.

Corn bran is a byproduct produced from corn milling; it is rich in ferulic acid and hemicellulose. In this research, the effects of feruloylated oligosaccharides (FOs) from maize bran on the microbial diversity and profiles in rat feces were investigated through 16S rRNA sequencing. FOs significantly increased bacterial richness and diversity compared with the control and xylooligosaccharides (XOS) alone. In comparison with the control group and the group administrated with XOS, FOs orally administered at 300 mg/kg increased OTU in feces by 57.0 and 24.8 %, and Chao value by 93.4 and 37.6 %, respectively. FOs also influenced obesity- and diabetes-associated bacteria. Oral administration of FOs at 300 mg/kg decreased the ratio of Firmicutes to Bacteroidetes from 477.7:1 to 55.1:1; greatly increased the reads of bacteria that were previously found resistant against diabetes in rats, such as Actinobacteria, Bacteroides, and Lactobacillus; whereas decreased diabetes-prone bacteria, such as Clostridium and Firmicutes.

Changes in colonic microbiotas in rat after long-term exposure to low dose of okadaic acid.

Okadaic acid (OA), one of the most important phycotoxins, is widely distributed around the world, concerning diarrheic shellfish poisoning (DSP), and even colorectal cancer. Here, we found that long-term exposure of OA at a low dose (80 µg kg-1 body weight) had certain effects on colonic microbiotas and tract in rat. In the OA-exposed rat, colonic epithelium layer was damaged, and relative abundance of some microbiotas were significantly changed, especially genera in Clostridiales. However, no intestinal inflammation or significant disease was observed. Combined with the increase in relative abundance of some genera in Clostridiales induced by OA in the fermentation experiment, we proposed that OA could cause damage to the intestinal epithelium and increase the relative abundance of pathogenic bacteria, thereby increasing the probability of contact between intestinal epithelium and pathogenic bacteria and leading to an easier pathogenicity.

Reporter gene assay for detection of shellfish toxins.

OBJECTIVE: To explore the potential reporter gene assay for the detection of sodium channel-specific toxins in shellfish as an alternative for screening harmful algal bloom (HAB) toxins, considering the fact that the existing methods including HPLC and bioassay are inappropriate for identifying HAB toxins which poses a serious problem on human health and shellfish industry. METHODS: A reporter plasmid pEGFP-c-fos containing c-fos promoter and EGFP was constructed and transfected into T24 cells using LipofectAMINE 2000. Positive transfectants were screened by G418 to produce a pEGFP-c-fos-T24 cell line. After addition of increasing neurotoxic shellfish poison (NSP) or GTX2,3, primary components of paralytic shellfish poison (PSP), changes in expression of EGFP in the cell line were observed under a laser scanning confocal microscope and quantified with Image-pro Plus software. RESULTS: Dose-dependent changes in the intensity of green fluorescence were observed for NSP in a range from 0 to 10 ng/mL and for GTX2,3 from 0 to 16 ng/mL. CONCLUSION: pEGFP-c-fos-T24 can be applied in detecting HAB toxins, and cell-based assay can be used as an alternative for screening sodium channel-specific HAB toxins.

Encapsulation of Vitamin E and Soy Isoflavone Using Spiral Dextrin: Comparative Structural Characterization, Release Kinetics, and Antioxidant Capacity during Simulated Gastrointestinal Tract.

Spiral dextrin subfraction (SD-40) obtained through enzyme debranching and gradient ethanol precipitation could interact with vitamin E (VE) or soy isoflavone (SIO) to form V-type inclusion complexes. The formation of two inclusion complexes was confirmed by Fourier transform-infrared spectroscopy, atomic force microscopy, and differential scanning calorimetry. In this study, an in vitro gastrointestinal model was used to investigate the breakdown of inclusion complexes and release behavior of bioactive compounds. The results indicated that the two inclusion complexes exhibited a controlled and sustained release behavior during digestion. In addition, the SD-40/VE inclusion complex presented higher stability and stronger antioxidant capacity than the SD-40/SIO inclusion complex. Furthermore, the first and zero order models were applied to understand the release kinetics of VE and SIO from inclusion complexes in the stomach, whereas the first order model was chosen to describe the release of VE and SIO from inclusion complexes in the intestine.

Fabrication and Characterization of Quinoa Protein Nanoparticle-Stabilized Food-Grade Pickering Emulsions with Ultrasound Treatment: Interfacial Adsorption/Arrangement Properties.

The natural quinoa protein isolate (QPI) was largely reflected in the nanoparticle form at pH 7.0 (∼401 nm), and the ultrasound at 20 min progressively improved the contact angle (wettability) and surface hydrophobicity of the nanoparticles. Ultrasound process also modified the type of intraparticle interaction, and the internal forces of sonicated particles were largely maintained by both disulfide bonds and hydrophobic interaction forces. In emulsion system, the ultrasound progressively increased the emulsification efficiency of the QPI nanoparticles, particularly at high protein concentration ( c > 1%, w/ v) and higher emulsion stability against coalescence. As compared with the natural QPI-stabilized emulsions, the 20 min sonicated emulsions exhibited higher packing and adsorption at the protein interface. The microstructure of emulsions that occurs is bridging flocculation of droplets at low c (≤1%, w/ v), while the amount of protein particles could be high enough to cover the droplet surface at high c ( >1%, w/ v) with hexagonal array model arrangement. Thus these results illustrated that both natural and sonicated QPI nanoparticles could be performed as effective food-grade stabilizer for Pickering emulsion; however, the sonicated QPI nanoparticles exhibited much better emulsifying and interfacial properties.

Fabrication and Characterization of Quinoa Protein Nanoparticle-Stabilized Food-Grade Pickering Emulsions with Ultrasound Treatment: Effect of Ionic Strength on the Freeze-Thaw Stability.

The development of multilayered interfacial engineering on the emulsion freeze-thaw properties has recently attracted widespread attention, because of the essential freeze-thaw storage process in some emulsion-matrix food products. In this research, we studied the role of salt concentration on the freeze-thaw properties of quinoa protein (QPI) nanoparticles-stabilized Pickering emulsions. The QPI nanoparticles (particle concentration c = 2%, w/v) with increasing particle size and surface hydrophobicity ( H0) were fabricated by ultrasound treatment at 100 W for 20 min, by varying the NaCl addition (salt concentrations, 0-500 mM). The sonicated QPI nanoparticles with increasing salt concentrations showed higher ß-sheet structure contents and stronger hydrophobic interactions, which were attributed to the decreasing charged groups and particle aggregation by electrostatic interactions. As compared to the sonicated QPI nanoparticles-stabilized Pickering emulsions ( c = 2%, oil fraction φ = 0.5) without salt accretion, the emulsions with salt accretion exhibited better freeze-thaw properties after three freeze-thaw circulations, which might be mainly caused by the generation of gel-like three-dimensional structure and multilayered network at the droplets' interface with smaller droplet sizes. Increasing the salt concentration progressively enhanced the freeze-thaw properties of sonicated QPI nanoparticles-stabilized Pickering emulsions probably due to the inhibit formation of ice crystal by the "salting-out" effects. The results of this study would provide great significance to investigate the role of salt concentration in the freeze-thaw properties of protein-stabilized Pickering emulsions.

Comparative Structural Characterization of Spiral Dextrin Inclusion Complexes with Vitamin E or Soy Isoflavone.

In this study, the preparation and structural properties of spiral dextrin (SD)/vitamin E and SD/soy isoflavone inclusion complexes were studied. SD was obtained from debranched normal maize starch using isoamylases. After fractionation using a novel method of gradient ethanol precipitation, SD was separated into different fractions, among which SD-40 was found to be the optimal host molecule to prepare SD inclusion complexes with vitamin E or soy isoflavone. X-ray diffraction (XRD) and 13C cross-polarization magic angle spinning nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) suggested that the crystalline structures of SD-40/vitamin E and SD-40/soy isoflavone were V6II and V6III types, respectively. Small-angle X-ray scattering revealed that the SD-40/vitamin E inclusion complex formed a tighter and more compact crystallite than the SD-40/soy isoflavone inclusion complex. Furthermore, the connection structures of inclusion complexes were investigated by two-dimensional nuclear Overhauser effect spectroscopy NMR, indicating that part of vitamin E with an alkyl chain was encapsulated in the helix cavity of SD-40, whereas the aromatic ring B of the soy isoflavone molecule was complexed by the helix cavity and screw of SD.

Preparation and properties of octenyl succinate ß-cyclodextrin and its application as an emulsion stabilizer.

The aim of this study was to synthesize and characterize the octenyl succinic-ß-cyclodextrin (OS-ß-CD) and assess its application as a potential emulsion stabilizer. OS-ß-CD was prepared by esterifying ß-CD with OSA under alkaline conditions. The properties of OS-ß-CD were characterized by Fourier transform infrared, 13C and 1H NMR spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction (XRD), which demonstrated that OS groups had been introduced into the ß-CD molecules and most of OS substitution occurred at the C-6 hydroxyl group of glycosyl units. The properties of emulsions stabilized by ß-CD and OS-ß-CD were evaluated via surface and interface tensiometry, determination of the creaming index and droplet size. The results showed that emulsions stabilized by ß-CD broke just after 24h storage at 25°C. The emulsions prepared by OS-ß-CD with all degree of substitution (DS) possessed a smaller oil droplet size and improved storage stability compared with that of the emulsion generated using ß-CD.

Protection of feruloylated oligosaccharides from corn bran against oxidative stress in PC 12 cells.

Feruloylated oligosaccharides (FOs) were prepared by autoclaving corn bran in oxalic acid (0.6%) solution, and their protection effects against oxidative stress in pheochromocytoma cells (PC 12) cells were investigated. The FOs samples, which comprised a mixture of feruloylated mono- and dipentoses with 4.88% bound ferulic acid (FA), as well as xylose, arabinose, galactose, and glucose amounting to 46.43, 40.46, 3.76, and 8.68% of the total sugars, respectively, were prepared by autoclaving the pretreated corn bran in 0.6% oxalic acid and then further separated. Antioxidant activity was tested by 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl radical 2,2-diphenyl-1-(2,4,6-trinitrophenyl)hydrazyl (DPPH) scavenging and oxygen radical absorbance capacity (ORAC) methods. Oxidative stress was induced by H2O2 in PC 12 neuronal cell culture model. The results showed that FOs exhibited higher antioxidant activity than free ferulic acid, with an IC50 value of 11 versus 128 µM for DPPH and an ORAC value of 4.77 versus 2.62 µmol Trolox/µmol. Tetrazolium blue assay showed that the addition of FOs with an FA concentration >50 µM significantly increased cell viability after treatment with H2O2. Flow cytometry analysis showed that the addition of FOs at concentrations of 800, 200, and 50 µM significantly decreased the apoptosis rate at the sub-G0 phase from 37.5 to 12.7, 16.2, and 20.9% (P < 0.01), respectively. FOs also significantly decreased the malonic dialdehyde content and lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) activity, but increased superoxide dismutase activity in PC 12 cells treated with H2O2 and prevented the damage of cellular membranes by decreasing the release of LDH to the cultures. The addition of FA at 800 µM showed an effect similar to that of FOs at 200 µM. Therefore, the FOs prepared from corn bran are potential functional ingredients for protection against oxidative stress.

[The status on care and nutrition of 774 children staying in rural areas while parents were in towns].

OBJECTIVE: To understand the status on care and nutrition of children living in the rural areas (so called 'left-behind' children) while their parents were seeking for jobs in the urban areas. METHODS: Cross-sectional study was employed in this investigation. The group of 'left-behind' children (n = 774) and the comparison group (n = 774) were identified. The ascertainment methods mainly included questionnaire, anthropometrics measurements, food-frequency, and laboratory examination. RESULTS: Data from this study revealed that the guardians of the 'left-behind' children had less ability to ensure daily food that the children demanded than the control group and the 'left-behind' children were more likely to be poorly attended (chi2 = 6.671, P = 0.036; xhi2 = 15.053, P = 0.001). Mothers who chose to work outside of their households would tend to choose bottle-feeding or decrease the duration of breastfeeding for their infants (chi2 = 5. 051, P = 0.031; t = -7.201, P = 0.001). The intake of milk and bean products in children younger than 2 years old and cereal intake in children aged 2 to 4 in the group of 'left-behind' children were obviously lower than that seen in the control group (t = -2.150, P = 0.032; t = -2.054, P = 0.040 respectively). The 'left-behind' children were in high prevalence of anemia, and showed significant difference when comparing with the control group (chi2 = 4.560, P = 0.033). CONCLUSION: Children under 'left-behind' situation were in poor nutrition. Recognition of this situation by the communities, parents and extended families would facilitate more attention and effective intervention programs to improve the situation.