Biostimulated-sesame sprout extracts as potential agents against Leishmania mexicana.

Leishmania mexicana is one of the causal agents of cutaneous leishmaniasis. Current antileishmanial chemotherapeutics have demonstrated adverse side effects; thus, alternative treatments are needed. In this study, we performed in silico and in vitro analyses of the leishmanicidal potential of the most abundant phenolic compounds identified in black sesame sprouts biostimulated with Bacillus clausii. The molecular docking analysis showed strong interactions (binding free energies between -6.5 and -9.5 kcal/mol) of sesaminol 2-O-triglucoside, pinoresinol dihexoside, isoverbascoside, and apigenin with the arginase, leishmanolysin, cysteine peptidase B, and pyruvate kinase leishmanial enzymes. Furthermore, almost all phenolic compounds interacted with the active site residues of L. mexicana enzymes. In vitro, the B. clausii-biostimulated sprout phenolic extracts and apigenin inhibited the growth of promastigotes with IC50 values of 0.08 mg gallic acid equivalent/mL and 6.42 µM (0.0017 mg/mL), respectively. Additionally, in the macrophage infection model, cells treated with B. clausii-biostimulated sprout phenolic extracts and infected with L. mexicana exhibited significantly (P < 0.05) reduced nitric oxide production and decreased parasite burden. Altogether, our study provides important data related to high efficacy and less toxic natural antileishmanial candidates against promastigotes of L. mexicana.

In Vitro Intestinal Bioaccessibility and Colonic Biotransformation of Polyphenols from Mini Bell Peppers (Capsicum annuum L.).

To the best of our knowledge, "sweet mini bell" peppers have not been extensively investigated. In this study, we evaluated the bioaccessible phenolic compounds released during intestinal digestion and identified and quantified the microbial metabolites derived from phenolic compounds bioconversion during the in vitro colonic fermentation. A total of 66 phenolic compounds were determined. The results obtained in this study indicate that hydroxycinnamic acids (22 to 32 mg/100 g dw) and flavonoids (99 to 102 mg/100 g dw) headed by quercetin, luteolin and kaempferol glycosidic derivatives were the main bioaccessible phenolic compounds during in vitro intestinal digestion of mini bell peppers. The yellow variety contained the highest concentration of bioaccessible flavonoids (80 mg/100 g dw). For the first time in mini bell peppers, dihydroferulic acid was detected, in the three varieties studied. 3-(4-hydroxyphenyl)propionic acid was the major metabolite found after 12-24 h fermentation of all samples (44 to 102 µM/L). Further cell culture or in vivo studies are needed to elucidate the biological activities of the phenolic compounds identified in mini bell peppers.

Incremento del valor nutrimental, actividad antioxidante y potencial inhibitorio de α-glucosida en brownies a base de leguminosas cocidas / Increase in nutritional value, antioxidant activity and inhibitory potential of α-glucoside in brownies from cooked legumes

El objetivo de la presente investigación fue evaluar el valor nutrimental, actividad antioxidante e inhibición de la enzima α-glucosidasa de brownies libres de gluten enriquecidos principalmente con leguminosas. Los brownies fueron elaborados principalmente con leguminosas cocidas de frijol pinto (Phaseolus vulgaris L.), alubia chica (Phaseolus vulgaris L.), garbanzo (Cicer arietinum L.) o lenteja (Lens culinaris L.) (300 g de producto). Cada producto fue dividido en porciones de 100 g cada uno. Posteriormente, se determinó su composición nutrimental, y de los extractos etanólicos libres y ligados obtenidos, se evaluó el contenido de fenólicos totales, flavonoides, actividad antioxidante y el potencial inhibitorio de la enzima α-glucosidasa. Los brownies a base de leguminosas cocidas fueron significativamente mejores que los comerciales, y presentaron un contenido de proteínas entre 6.2 y 6.9%, 1.6-4.2% de lípidos, 1.2-5.8% de fibra dietaria soluble y 11.7-21.5% de fibra dietaria insoluble. Los productos presentaron en mayor proporción a los ácidos grasos linolénico y linoleico, además fueron ricos en minerales. El contenido de fenólicos totales, y flavonoides varió dependiendo de la leguminosa con la cual se desarrolló el producto, así como de la fracción que se evaluó. La actividad antioxidante total fue mayor en los brownies de alubia. La mayor inhibición de α-glucosidasa la presentaron los extractos de brownies elaborados a base de lenteja (fracción libre) y garbanzo (fracción ligada). Los brownies elaborados con lenteja fueron sensorialmente los más aceptados. La introducción de este tipo de productos promoverá un consumo nutritivo de alimentos por personas de diferentes edades y con efectos benéficos en la salud(AU)

The aim of the present study was to evaluate the nutritional value, antioxidant activity and inhibition of α-glucosidase enzyme of gluten-free brownies enriched mainly with legumes. The brownies were elaborated mainly with cooked legumes of pinto (Phaseolus vulgaris L.), haricot bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.), chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.) or lentils (Lens culinaris L.) (300 g of product). Each product was divided into portions of 100 g and the chemical and nutritive composition were determined. From the free and bound ethanolic extracts obtained, the content of total phenolics, flavonoids, antioxidant activity and the potential inhibitor of the α-glucosidase enzyme were evaluated. Brownies based on cooked legumes were significantly better than commercial brownies, with a protein content between 6.2 and 6.8%, 1.6-4.2% lipids, 1.2-5.8% soluble dietary fiber and 11.7-21.5% insoluble dietary fiber. The products had a higher proportion of linolenic and linoleic fatty acids, and they were rich in minerals. The content of total phenolics and flavonoids varied depending on the legume as well as the fraction that was evaluated. Total antioxidant activity was higher in haricot bean-brownies. The highest inhibition of α-glucosidase was detected in extracts obtained from lentil (free fraction) and chickpea (bound fraction) brownies. Brownies based on lentil were the most accepted in the sensory test. The introduction of this type of products promotes a nutritious consumption of foods by people of different ages with beneficial effects on health(AU)

Use of whey as a culture medium for Bacillus clausii for the production of protein hydrolysates with antimicrobial and antioxidant activity.

The use of whey as a natural culture medium to produce hydrolysates with antimicrobial from Bacillus clausii is the objective of this research. The fermentation process was carried out at 25 ℃ for five days, where proteolytic activity, soluble peptides quantification, and antimicrobial activity using the disc diffusion method were determined every day. The fermented whey reached values ​​of proteolytic activity between 90 and 260 U ml-1 and a production of soluble peptides between 100 and 2070 µg ml-1. The maximum values ​​were reached after three days of fermentation to all determinations. In addition, the inhibition zone of fermented whey against Salmonella Typhimurium, Escherichia coli, Shigella flexneri, Staphylococcus aureus, Listeria monocytogenes, and Enterococcus faecalis strains were 13.7, 13.2, 14.4, 14.6, 9.8, 15.7 mm, respectively. The hydrolysates inhibited the 2, 2'-azinobis (3-ethylbenzothiazoline- 6-sulfonic acid) (ABTS) and 2, 2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) radicals by 85 and 80%, respectively. The whey was used to allow the growth of B. clausii and to generate peptides with antioxidant and antimicrobial activity through the hydrolysis of proteins present in the natural culture medium. This process could be used for the development of new dairy products added with probiotics.

Enhancement of nutritional properties, and antioxidant and antihypertensive potential of black common bean seeds by optimizing the solid state bioconversion process.

The aim of this work was to obtain a functional flour with enhanced nutritional properties, and antioxidant and antihypertensive potential from black bean seeds by optimizing the solid state bioconversion (SSB) process using a Rhizopus oligoporus strain. Response surface methodology was applied as optimization technique. A central composite experimental design with two factors [fermentation temperature (FT) = 30-40 °C/fermentation time (Ft) = 6-108 h] and five levels was used (13 treatments). The bioprocessed cotyledons from each treatment were dried, milled, and blended with its previously dried-milled seed coats. The best combination FT/Ft of SSB to obtain the functional flour was 38 °C/100 h. SSB increased the calculated protein efficiency ratio (from 1.59 to 2.40), antioxidant activity (from 13 948 to 22 733 µmol ET/100 g, dw), total phenolic compounds (TPC) (from 190 to 432 mg EGA/100 g, dw) and antihypertensive potential (IC(50) from 95.57 to 0.0321 µg/mL). SSB is an effective strategy to improve the TPC of common beans for enhanced functionality.

High antioxidant activity mixture of extruded whole quality protein maize and common bean flours for production of a nutraceutical beverage elaborated with a traditional Mexican formulation.

The objective of this study was to determine the best combination of extrusion process variables for the production of whole quality protein maize (EQPMF) and common bean (ECBF) flours to prepare a high antioxidant activity mixture (EQPMF + ECBF) suitable to produce a nutraceutical beverage with high acceptability elaborated with a traditional Mexican formulation. Processing conditions were obtained from a factorial combination of barrel temperature (BT = 120-170 °C) and screw speed (SS = 120-200 rpm). Response surface methodology was applied to obtain maximum values for antioxidant activity (A ( ox ) A) of the flour mixture (EQPMF + ECBF) and acceptability (A) of the nutraceutical beverage. The best combinations of extrusion process variables for EQPMF and ECBF to prepare an optimized mixture (60%EQPMF + 40%ECBF) were BT = 98 °C/SS = 218 rpm and BT = 105 °C/SS = 83 rpm, respectively. The optimized mixture had A ( ox ) A = 14,320 µmol Trolox equivalent (TE)/100 g sample dry weight (dw) and a calculated protein efficiency ratio (C-PER) of 2.17. A 200 ml portion of a beverage prepared with 25 g of the optimized flour mixture had A ( ox ) A = 3,222 µmol TE, and A = 89 (level of satisfaction "I like it extremely"). This nutraceutical beverage could be used as an alternative to beverages with low nutritional/nutraceutical value, such as those prepared with water, simple sugars, artificial flavoring and colorants, which are widely offered in the market.