Extraction and In Vitro Skincare Effect Assessment of Polysaccharides Extract from the Roots of Abelmoschus manihot (L.).

Obtaining high-added value compounds from agricultural waste receives increasing attention, as it can both improve resource utilization efficiency and reduce waste generation. In this study, polysaccharides are extracted from the discarded roots of Abelmoschus manihot (L.) by the high-efficiency ultrasound-assisted extraction (UAE). The optimized condition was determined as solid-liquid ratio SL ratio = 1:20, temperature T = 30 °C and time T = 40 min, achieving an extraction yield of 13.41%. Composition analysis revealed that glucose (Glc, 44.65%), rhamnose (Rha, 26.30%), galacturonic acid (GalA, 12.50%) and galactose (Gal, 9.86%) are the major monosaccharides of the extract. The extract showed a low degree of esterification (DE) value of 40.95%, and its Fourier-transform infrared (FT-IR) spectrum exhibited several characteristic peaks of polysaccharides. Inspired by the wide cosmetic applications of polysaccharides, the skincare effect of the extract was evaluated via the moisture retention, total phenolic content (TPC) quantification, 2,2-Diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH)-free radical scavenging activity, anti-hyaluronidase and anti-elastase activity experiments. The extract solutions demonstrated a 48 h moisture retention rate of 10.75%, which is superior to that of commercially available moisturizer hyaluronic acid (HA). Moreover, both the TPC value of 16.16 mg GAE/g (dw) and DPPH-free radical scavenging activity of 89.20% at the concentration of 2 mg/mL indicated the strong anti-oxidant properties of the extract. Furthermore, the anti-hyaluronidase activity and moderate anti-elastase activity were determined as 72.16% and 42.02%, respectively. In general, in vitro skincare effect experiments suggest moisturizing, anti-oxidant, anti-radical and anti-aging activities of the A. manihot root extract, indicating its potential applications in the cosmetic industry.

Arginine-rhamnosylation as new strategy to activate translation elongation factor P.

Ribosome stalling at polyproline stretches is common and fundamental. In bacteria, translation elongation factor P (EF-P) rescues such stalled ribosomes, but only when it is post-translationally activated. In Escherichia coli, activation of EF-P is achieved by (R)-ß-lysinylation and hydroxylation of a conserved lysine. Here we have unveiled a markedly different modification strategy in which a conserved arginine of EF-P is rhamnosylated by a glycosyltransferase (EarP) using dTDP-L-rhamnose as a substrate. This is to our knowledge the first report of N-linked protein glycosylation on arginine in bacteria and the first example in which a glycosylated side chain of a translation elongation factor is essential for function. Arginine-rhamnosylation of EF-P also occurs in clinically relevant bacteria such as Pseudomonas aeruginosa. We demonstrate that the modification is needed to develop pathogenicity, making EarP and dTDP-L-rhamnose-biosynthesizing enzymes ideal targets for antibiotic development.