Updated insights into anthocyanin stability behavior from bases to cases: Why and why not anthocyanins lose during food processing.

Anthocyanins have received considerable attention for the development of food products with attractive colors and potential health benefits. However, anthocyanin applications have been hindered by stability issues, especially in the context of complex food matrices and diverse processing methods. From the natural microenvironment of plants to complex processed food matrices and formulations, there may happen comprehensive changes to anthocyanins, leading to unpredictable stability behavior under various processing conditions. In particular, anthocyanin hydration, degradation, and oxidation during thermal operations in the presence of oxygen represent major challenges. First, this review aims to summarize our current understanding of key anthocyanin stability issues focusing on the chemical properties and their consequences in complex food systems. The subsequent efforts to examine plenty of cases attempt to unravel a universal pattern and provide thorough guidance for future food practice regarding anthocyanins. Additionally, we put forward a model with highlights on the role of the balance between anthocyanin release and degradation in stability evaluations. Our goal is to engender updated insights into anthocyanin stability behavior under food processing conditions and provide a robust foundation for the development of anthocyanin stabilization strategies, expecting to promote more and deeper progress in this field.

Harnessing polyphenol power by targeting eNOS for vascular diseases.

Vascular diseases arise due to vascular endothelium dysfunction in response to several pro-inflammatory stimuli and invading pathogens. Thickening of the vessel wall, formation of atherosclerotic plaques consisting of proliferating smooth muscle cells, macrophages and lymphocytes are the major consequences of impaired endothelium resulting in atherosclerosis, hypercholesterolemia, hypertension, type 2 diabetes mellitus, chronic renal failure and many others. Decreased nitric oxide (NO) bioavailability was found to be associated with anomalous endothelial function because of either its reduced production level by endothelial NO synthase (eNOS) which synthesize this potent endogenous vasodilator from L-arginine or its enhanced breakdown due to severe oxidative stress and eNOS uncoupling. Polyphenols are a group of bioactive compounds having more than 7000 chemical entities present in different cereals, fruits and vegetables. These natural compounds possess many OH groups which are largely responsible for their strong antioxidative, anti-inflammatory antithrombotic and anti-hypersensitive properties. Several flavonoid-derived polyphenols like flavones, isoflavones, flavanones, flavonols and anthocyanidins and non-flavonoid polyphenols like tannins, curcumins and resveratrol have attracted scientific interest for their beneficial effects in preventing endothelial dysfunction. This article will focus on in vitro as well as in vivo and clinical studies evidences of the polyphenols with eNOS modulating activity against vascular disease condition while their molecular mechanism will also be discussed.

Flavonoids nanoparticles in cancer: Treatment, prevention and clinical prospects.

The conventional therapies for cancer have a major concern of poor accessibility to tumor tissues. Furthermore, the requirement of higher doses and non-selective nature of therapeutic are associated with a range of adverse drug reactions (ADRs). However, flavonoids are documented to be effective against various types of cancer, but they are not evaluated for their safety profile and tumor site-specific action. Low solubility, rapid metabolism and poor absorption of dietary flavonoids in gastrointestinal tract hinder their pharmacological potential. Some studies have also suggested that flavonoids may act as pro-oxidant in some cases and may interact with other therapeutic agents, especially through biotransformation. Nanocarriers can alter pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamic profile of incorporating drug. Moreover, nanocarriers are designed for targeted drug delivery, improving the bioavailability of poorly water-soluble drugs, delivery of macromolecules to site of action within the cell, combining therapeutic agents with imaging techniques which may visualize the site of drug delivery and co-delivery of two or more drugs. Combining two or more anti-cancer agents can reduce ADRs and nanotechnology played a pivotal role in this regard. In vitro and in vivo studies have shown the potential of flavonoids nano-formulations, especially quercetin, naringenin, apigenin, catechins and fisetin in the prevention and treatment of several types of cancer. Similarly, clinical trials have been conducted using flavonoids alone or in combination, however, the nano-formulations effect still needs to be elucidated. This review focuses on the impact of flavonoids nano-formulations on the improvement of their bioavailability, therapeutic and safety profile and will open new insights in the field of drug discovery for cancer therapeutics.

Application of Nanomaterials in Isothermal Nucleic Acid Amplification.

Because of high sensitivity and specificity, isothermal nucleic acid amplification are widely applied in many fields. To facilitate and improve their performance, various nanomaterials, like nanoparticles, nanowires, nanosheets, nanotubes, and nanoporous films are introduced in isothermal nucleic acid amplification. However, the specific application, roles, and prospect of nanomaterials in isothermal nucleic acid amplification have not been comprehensively reviewed. Here, the application of different nanomaterials (0D, 1D, 2D, and 3D) in isothermal nucleic acid amplification is comprehensively discussed and recent progress in the field is summarized. The nanomaterials are mainly used for reaction enhancer, signal generation/amplification, or surface loading carriers. In addition, 3D nanomaterials can be also functioned as isolated chambers for digital nucleic acid amplification and the tools for DNA sequencing of amplified products. Challenges and future recommendations are also proposed to be better used for recent covid-19 detection, point-of-care diagnostic, food safety, and other fields.

A comprehensive review on phenolic compounds from edible mushrooms: Occurrence, biological activity, application and future prospective.

Phenolic compounds are minor metabolites usually present in mushroom species. Because of their potential advantages for human health, such as antioxidant and other biological activities, these bioactive components have been gaining more interest as functional foods, nutraceutical agents for providing better health conditions. This review aims to comprehensively discuss the recent advances in mushroom phenolic compounds, including new sources, structural characteristics, biological activities, potential uses and its industrial applications as well as the future perspectives. Phenolic acids as well as flavonoids are considered the most common phenolics occurring in mushroom species. These are responsible for its bioactivities, including antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, antitumor, antihyperglycaemic, antiosteoporotic, anti-tyrosinase and antimicrobial activities. Several edible mushroom species with good phenolic content and show higher biological activity were highlighted, in a way for its futuristic applications. Trends on mushroom research highlighting new research areas, such as nanoformulation were discussed. Furthermore, the use of phenolic compounds as nutraceutical and cosmeceutical agents as well as the future perspectives and recommendations were made.

Phytostilbenes as agrochemicals: biosynthesis, bioactivity, metabolic engineering and biotechnology.

Covering: 1976 to 2020. Although constituting a limited chemical family, phytostilbenes represent an emblematic group of molecules among natural compounds. Ever since their discovery as antifungal compounds in plants and their ascribed role in human health and disease, phytostilbenes have never ceased to arouse interest for researchers, leading to a huge development of the literature in this field. Owing to this, the number of references to this class of compounds has reached the tens of thousands. The objective of this article is thus to offer an overview of the different aspects of these compounds through a large bibliography analysis of more than 500 articles. All the aspects regarding phytostilbenes will be covered including their chemistry and biochemistry, regulation of their biosynthesis, biological activities in plants, molecular engineering of stilbene pathways in plants and microbes as well as their biotechnological production by plant cell systems.

Amphiphilic and Biocompatible DNA Origami-Based Emulsion Formation and Nanopore Release for Anti-Melanogenesis Therapy.

Programmable engineered DNA origami provides infinite possibilities for customizing nanostructures with controllable precision and configurable functionality. Here, a strategy for fabricating an amphiphilic triangular DNA origami with a central nanopore that integrates phase-stabilizing, porous-gated, and affinity-delivering effects is presented. By introducing the DNA origami as a single-component surfactant, the water-in-oil-in-water (W/O/W) emulsion is effectively stabilized with decreased interfacial tension. Microscopic observation validates the attachment of the DNA origami onto the water-in-oil and oil-in-water interfaces. Furthermore, fluorescence studies and molecular docking simulations indicate the binding interactions of DNA origami with arbutin and coumaric acid at docking sites within central nanopores. These central nanopores are functionalized as molecular gates and affinity-based scaffold for the zero-order release of arbutin and coumaric acid at a constant rate regardless of concentration gradient throughout the whole releasing period. In vivo zebrafish results illustrate the advantages of this zero-order release for anti-melanogenesis therapy over direct exposure or Fickian diffusion. The DNA origami-based W/O/W emulsion presents anti-melanogenic effects against UV-B exposure without cardiotoxicity or motor toxicity. These results demonstrate that this non-toxic amphiphilic triangular DNA origami is capable of solely stabilizing the W/O/W emulsion as well as serving as nanopore gates and affinity-based scaffold for constant release.

Targeting epigenetics in cancer: therapeutic potential of flavonoids.

Irrespective of sex and age, cancer is the leading cause of mortality around the globe. Therapeutic incompliance, unwanted effects, and economic burdens imparted by cancer treatments, are primary health challenges. The heritable features in gene expression that are propagated through cell division and contribute to cellular identity without a change in DNA sequence are considered epigenetic characteristics and agents that could interfere with these features and are regarded as potential therapeutic targets. The genetic modification accounts for the recurrence and uncontrolled changes in the physiology of cancer cells. This review focuses on plant-derived flavonoids as a therapeutic tool for cancer, attributed to their ability for epigenetic regulation of cancer pathogenesis. The epigenetic mechanisms of various classes of flavonoids including flavonols, flavones, isoflavones, flavanones, flavan-3-ols, and anthocyanidins, such as cyanidin, delphinidin, and pelargonidin, are discussed. The outstanding results of preclinical studies encourage researchers to design several clinical trials on various flavonoids to ascertain their clinical strength in the treatment of different cancers. The results of such studies will define the clinical fate of these agents in future.

Insights into chemometric algorithms for quality attributes and hazards detection in foodstuffs using Raman/surface enhanced Raman spectroscopy.

Raman spectroscopy and surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) have been extensively explored in the design of accurate, transparent, and conclusive food safety and quality control assays. Its hyphenation with chemometric algorithms is instrumental in securing safe food campaigns. To provide valuable recommendations and meet the growing demands for food screening, the current study begins with a brief description of the Raman spectroscopy and SERS theory followed by a comprehensive overview of spectral preprocessing, qualitative algorithms, variable selection methods, and quantitative algorithms. The review emphasizes on the importance of food monitoring practices using multivariate regression models. The applicability of the distinct chemometrics modes toward monitoring pesticide, food and illicit additives, heavy metals, pathogens, and its metabolites in Raman spectroscopy and SERS is covered in dairy, poultry, oil, honey, beverages, and other selected food matrices. Its pertinence toward classification and/or discrimination in food quality and safety monitoring and authentication is examined. Finally, it also complies with the limitations, key challenges, and prospects. The chemometrics processing spectra implemented with simpler or no complicated sample pretreatment step make Raman spectroscopy/SERS technique a potential approach that is expected to achieve simultaneous and fast detection of multiple analytes in food matrices.

Oral microbiota and Alzheimer's disease: Do all roads lead to Rome?

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a progressive neurodegenerative pathology affecting milions of people worldwide associated with deposition of senile plaques. While the genetic and environmental risk factors associated with the onset and consolidation of late onset AD are heterogeneous and sporadic, growing evidence also suggests a potential link between some infectious diseases caused by oral microbiota and AD. Oral microbiota dysbiosis is purported to contribute either directly to amyloid protein production, or indirectly to neuroinflammation, occurring as a consequence of bacterial invasion. Over the last decade, the development of Human Oral Microbiome database (HOMD) has deepened our understanding of oral microbes and their different roles during the human lifetime. Oral pathogens mostly cause caries, periodontal disease, and edentulism in aged population, and, in particular, alterations of the oral microbiota causing chronic periodontal disease have been associated with the risk of AD. Here we describe how different alterations of the oral microbiota may be linked to AD, highlighting the importance of a good oral hygiene for the prevention of oral microbiota dysbiosis.

Fruits of Terminalia chebula Retz.: A review on traditional uses, bioactive chemical constituents and pharmacological activities.

Fruits of Terminalia chebula Retz. (Combretaceae) are widely used as crude drugs in various traditional medicine systems. The aim of this article is to review the available scientific information regarding the traditional uses, bioactive chemical constituents and the pharmacological activities of T. chebula. Numerous researches conducted on T. chebula have confirmed the presence of wide range of the phytochemicals such as flavonoids, tannins, phenolic acids and other bioactive compounds. T. chebula is also widely studied regarding its pharmacological activities such as antioxidant, hepatoprotective, neuroprotective, cytotoxic, antidiabetic, anti-inflammatory activities among others. However, more in vivo and clinical studies for mechanism-based pharmacological evaluation should be conducted in future to provide stronger scientific evidences for their traditional uses.

High Carbon Dioxide Treatment Modulates Sugar Metabolism and Maintains the Quality of Fresh-Cut Pear Fruit.

The purpose of this study is to explore the effect of 10% carbon dioxide (CO2) on the fruit quality and sugar metabolism of fresh-cut pear during storage. The results indicated that carbon dioxide treatment maintained fruit quality by delaying the decline of firmness and promoting the accumulation of total soluble solids (TSS). Moreover, carbon dioxide enhanced activities of sucrose synthase (SS), and sucrose phosphate synthase (SPS). The activities of amylase, acid invertase (AI), neutral invertase (NI), SS-cleavage, fructokinase (FK), hexokinase (HK), sorbitol oxidase (SOX), NAD-dependent sorbitol dehydrogenase (NAD-SDH), and NADP-SDH in CO2-treated fruit were inhibited. Expression levels of key genes were found to correspond with the related enzyme activities. As a result, the accumulation of glucose, fructose, sorbitol, and sucrose were accelerated by CO2, which were 12.58%, 13.86%, 24.7%, and 13.9% higher than those of the control at the end of storage, respectively. The results showed that CO2 could maintain the quality of fresh-cut pears by regulating the conversion of various sugar components to enhance soluble sugars content.

Nanomaterial-based biosensors for sensing key foodborne pathogens: Advances from recent decades.

Foodborne pathogen contamination has become a severe threat to human health. Traditional methods for foodborne pathogen detection have several disadvantages, including long detection time, low sensitivity, and low selectivity. The emergence of multiple excellent nanomaterials enables the construction of novel biosensors for foodborne pathogen detection. Based on the outstanding properties of nanomaterials, the novel biosensors possess the advantages of sensitivity, specificity, rapidity, accuracy, and simplicity. The present review comprehensively summarizes the advanced biosensors, including electrochemical, colorimetric, fluorescent, and surface enhanced Raman scattering biosensors for sensing key foodborne pathogens in recent decades. Furthermore, several issues are identified for further exploration, and possible directions for the development of biosensors are discussed.

Phytosterols and their derivatives: Potential health-promoting uses against lipid metabolism and associated diseases, mechanism, and safety issues.

Consumption of phytosterols (PSs), the plant-based analogs of cholesterol, can reduce serum cholesterol levels. This review discusses the current state of the art into the research of the structural features and dietary sources of PSs and their derivatives. The effect of PSs on individual lipid metabolites is summarized in the present review. PS-related nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), obesity, and the alleviation of inflammatory bowel diseases are discussed. PSs reduce the risk of having NAFLD by improving the blood biochemical parameters related to lipid transport and metabolism. However, current research on the circulating PSs indicates its safety concern regarding fatty liver disease induction. In addition, PS oxidation products exhibit pro-atherogenic properties, cytotoxicity oxidative stress, apoptosis, and pro-inflammatory properties. Further research is needed to investigate the bioavailability and safety issues of PSs and their derivatives in animal models and clinical trials.

Evaluation of the status quo of polyphenols analysis: Part I-phytochemistry, bioactivity, interactions, and industrial uses.

Phytochemicals, especially polyphenols, are gaining more attention from both the scientific community and food, pharmaceutical, and cosmetics industries due to their implications in human health. In this line, lately new applications have emerged, and of great importance is the selection of accurate and reliable analytical methods for better evaluation of the quality of the end-products, which depends on diverse process variables as well as on the matrices and on the physicochemical properties of different polyphenols. The first of a two-part review on polyphenols will address the phytochemistry and biological activities of different classes of polyphenols including flavonoids, lignans and flavanolignans, stilbenoids, tannins, curcuminoids, and coumarins. Moreover, the possible interactions of polyphenols and current and potential industrial applications of polyphenols are discussed.

Phenolic compounds, antioxidant capacity and antimutagenic activity in different growth stages of in vitro raised plants of Origanum vulgare L.

Efficient micropropagation procedure was developed for Origanum vulgare, a high-value culinary herb, and the phytochemicals, phenolic content, antioxidant and antimutagenic activity of leaf and stem, derived from different growing stages were analyzed. The agar solidified Murashige and Skoog (MS) medium supplemented with a combination of 6-benzylaminopurine and α-naphthaleneacetic acid was optimized as best shoot-multiplication-medium. Shoots were rooted best on 1/2 strength MS medium supplemented with 50 µM indole-3-butyric acid (IBA). The plantlets were successfully acclimatized ex vitro in a soil, sand and farmyard manure mixture (2:1:1 v/v/v) with 100% survival rate in greenhouse. The total anthocyanin and total phenolic content were observed significantly higher in leaves of in vitro-raised plants. However, total tannin, flavonoid and antioxidant activity remained higher in leaves of mother plant maintained under ployhouse condition. All the plant extracts have shown significant antimutagenic activity except in vitro-growing plants. A total of 13 polyphenolic compounds were detected in different extracts using high performance liquid chromatography. Among these, catechin was detected maximum in in vitro-growing cultures and chlorogenic acid in leaves of mother plant. These findings will help the farmers, medicinal plant growers, and industries for mass multiplication and effective extraction of phytochemicals from O. vulgare.

Exogenous Melatonin and Abscisic Acid Expedite the Flavonoids Biosynthesis in Grape Berry of Vitis vinifera cv. Kyoho.

Grape polyphenols contributing to more than half of the global polyphenol market were well studied; however, how melatonin (MLT), a potential plant hormone, and abscisic acid (ABA) affects polyphenols profile is still poorly understood. To explore whether these hormones are involved in polyphenolic biosynthesis, grape (Vitis vinifera cv. Kyoho) was exposed to MLT, ABA, and NDGA (nordihydroguaiaretic acid, an ABA biosynthesis inhibitor) treatments, and 16 polyphenols were identified from grape extracts by high performance liquid chromatography quadrupole time of flight mass spectrometry (HPLC-Q-TOF-MS). Both exogenous MLT and ABA significantly enhanced the biosynthesis of each flavonol and flavanol component, especially catechin, which was almost increased double by 200 µM of MLT treatment. Furthermore, the expression of genes involved in flavonoid biosynthesis, including 4-coumaroyl-CoA synthase, chalcone synthase, flavonoid 3'-hydroxylase, anthocyanin 3'-methyltransferase, flavonol synthase, flavonoid-3-O-glucosyltransferase, and flavonoid 3',5'-methyltransferase were highly up-regulated as well but were down-regulated by NDGA. The present study provided new insights for improving flavonoids accumulation in agricultural production and its underlying mechanism.

Effect of Nano-SiOx/Chitosan Complex Coating on the Physicochemical Characteristics and Preservation Performance of Green Tomato.

A novel nano-silicon oxides (SiOx)/chitosan complex film was prepared using ultrasonic assistant in the process of dissolving chitosan and silicon oxides (SiOx), and characterized by transmission electron microscopy. Its effect on quality preservation of tomatoes (Solanum lycopersicum L. cv. Zheza 205) was investigated under ambient temperature. The results revealed that the nano-SiOx/chitosan complex (NSCC) film retarded weight loss and softness, delayed the titratable acids and total soluble solids loss, and thus markedly extended shelf life of green tomatoes. The antimicrobial activity of tomatoes coated with NSCC film was also recorded higher compared to chitosan (Ch) films and control. In addition, the NSCC film-coated tomatoes prevent the increase of malondialdehyde content and total polyphenol content. Moreover, the peroxidase activity, phenylalanine ammonia-lyase activity, and polyphenoloxidase activity of tomatoes coated with NSCC film were found lower than that in other treatments. These data indicated that the beneficial effects of nano-SiOx/chitosan complex coating on postharvest quality were possibly associated with the lower rate of O2/CO2 transmission coefficient, limiting food-borne pathogenic bacterial growth, higher antioxidant activities, and also higher reactive oxygen species (ROS) scavenging and anti-browning activities of related enzymes in the tomatoes. Further, the results of the study could be used to successfully develop a novel nano-SiOx/chitosan complex film for improving the postharvested quality of tomatoes and thus effectively utilized by the food packaging industry.

Targeting mTORs by omega-3 fatty acids: A possible novel therapeutic strategy for neurodegeneration?

Neurodegenerative diseases (NDs) such as Parkinson's (PD), Alzheimer's (AD), Huntington's disease (HD), and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) cause significant world-wide morbidity and mortality. To date, there is no drug of cure for these, mostly age-related diseases, although approaches in delaying the pathology and/or giving patients some symptomatic relief have been adopted for the last few decades. Various studies in recent years have shown the beneficial effects of omega-3 poly unsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) through diverse mechanisms including anti-inflammatory effects. This review now assesses the potential of this class of compounds in NDs therapy through specific action against the mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) signaling pathway. The role of mTOR in neurodegenerative diseases and targeted therapies by PUFAs are discussed.

Neuroprotective Potential of Bacopa monnieri: Modulation of Inflammatory Signals.

BACKGROUND: To date, much evidence has shown the increased interest in natural molecules and traditional herbal medicine as alternative bioactive compounds to fight many inflammatory conditions, both in relation to immunomodulation and in terms of their wound healing potential. Bacopa monnieri is a herb that is used in the Ayurvedic medicine tradition for its anti-inflammatory activity. OBJECTIVE: In this study, we evaluate the anti-inflammatory and regenerative properties of the Bacopa monnieri extract (BME) in vitro model of neuroinflammation. METHODS: Neuronal SH-SY5Y cells were stimulated with TNFα and IFNγ and used to evaluate the effect of BME on cell viability, cytotoxicity, cytokine gene expression, and healing rate. RESULTS: Our results showed that BME protects against the Okadaic acid-induced cytotoxicity in SH-SY5Y cells. Moreover, in TNFα and IFNγ primed cells, BME reduces IL-1ß, IL-6, COX-2, and iNOS, mitigates the mechanical trauma injury-induced damage, and accelerates the healing of wounds. CONCLUSION: This study indicates that BME might become a promising candidate for the treatment of neuroinflammation.