Edible Osmanthus fragrans flowers: aroma and functional components, beneficial functions, and applications.

Osmanthus fragrans (O. fragrans) has been cultivated in China for over 2,500 years as a traditional fragrant plant. Recently, O. fragrans has drawn increasing attention due to its unique aroma and potential health benefits. In this review, the aroma and functional components of O. fragrans are summarized, and their biosynthetic mechanism is discussed. The beneficial functions and related molecular mechanism of O. fragrans extract are then highlighted. Finally, potential applications of O. fragrans are summarized, and future perspectives are proposed and discussed. According to the current research, O. fragrans extracts and components have great potential to be developed into value-added functional ingredients with preventive effects on certain chronic diseases. However, it is crucial to develop efficient, large-scale, and commercially viable extraction methods to obtain the bioactive components from O. fragrans. Furthermore, more clinical studies are highly needed to explore the beneficial functions of O. fragrans and guide its development into functional food products.

Microalgal proteins: Unveiling sustainable alternatives to address the protein challenge.

Recent breakthroughs emphasized the considerable potential of microalgae as a sustainable protein source. Microalgae are regarded as a substitute for protein-rich foods because of their high protein and amino acid content. However, despite their nutritional value, microalgae cannot be easily digested by humans due to the presence of cell walls. In the subsequent sections, protein extraction technology, the overview of the inherent challenges of the process, and the summary of the factors affecting protein extraction and utilization have been deliberated. Moreover, the review inspected the formation of proteolytic products, highlighting their diverse bioactivities, including antioxidant, antihypertensive, and immunomodulatory activities. Finally, the discussion extended to the emerging microalgal protein sourced foods, such as baked goods and nutritional supplements, as well as the sensory and marketing challenges encountered in the production of microalgal protein foods. The lack of consumer awareness about the health benefits of microalgae complicates its acceptance in the market. Long-standing challenges, such as high production costs, persist. Currently, multi-product utilization strategies are being developed to improve the economic viability of microalgae. By integrating economic, environmental, and social factors, microalgae protein can be sustainably developed to provide a reliable source of raw materials for the future food industry.

Interleukin-2 enhancer binding factor 2 (ILF2) in pacific white shrimp (Litopenaeus vannamei): Alternatively spliced isoforms with different responses in the immune defenses against vibrio infection.

Alternative splicing is an essential molecular mechanism that increase the protein diversity of a species to regulate important biological processes. As a transcription factor, Interleukin-2 enhancer binding factor 2 (ILF2) regulates the functions of interleukin-2 (IL-2) at the levels of transcription, splicing and translation, and plays other critical roles in the immune system. ILF2 is well-documented in vertebrates, while little is currently known in crustacean species such as the Pacific white shrimp (Litopenaeus vannamei). In the present study, five cDNA for spliced isoforms of Lv-ILF2 were identified, in which four of them are the full-length long isoforms (Lv-ILF2-L1, Lv-ILF2-L2, Lv-ILF2-L3 and Lv-ILF2-L4) and one of them is a truncated short isoform (Lv-ILF2-S). The whole sequence of ILF2 gene from L. vannamei was obtained, which is 11,680 bp in length with 9 exons separated by 8 introns. All five isoforms contain a domain associated with zinc fingers (DZF). Two alternative splicing types (alternative 5' splice site and alternative 3' splice site) were identified in the five isoforms. The Lv-ILF2 mRNA showed a broad distribution in all detected tissues, and the Lv-ILF2-L transcript levels were higher than those of Lv-ILF2-S in corresponding tissues. The mRNA levels of Lv-ILF2-S in the hepatopancreas, heart, muscle and stomach, but not in the eyestalk, were significantly increased after challenges with Vibrio harveyi or lipopolysaccharide (LPS), while no significant changes were observed for the transcript levels of Lv-ILF2-L in these tissues under the same immune stimulants. On the contrary, the transcript levels of neither Lv-ILF2-S nor Lv-ILF2-L were affected by challenges of polyinosinic: polycytidylic acid [Poly (I:C)]. In addition, after knockdown of the Lv-ILF2 mRNA level by siRNA, the mortality of shrimp and the hepatopancreatic bacterial numbers were significantly increased under V. harveyi challenge, indicating that Lv-ILF2 might participate in the immune defenses against V. harveyi invasion. Collectively, our study here supplied the first evidence for a novel splicing mechanism of ILF2 transcripts, and provided a functional link between the Lv-ILF2 isoforms and the capacity against pathogenic Vibrio in penaeid shrimp.

[Comparison of ICP-MS and two other analytical methods for determination of selenium content in Cordyceps militaris].

Samples were digested by microwave digestion. The selenium content in selenium enriched Cordyceps militaris was determined by ICP-MS method, HPLC/fluorometric method, and 3,3-diaminobenzidine method separately. And the detection conditions, the lowest detection limit and the relative standard deviation (RSD) of the three determination methods were compared. The detection conditions of the three methods for the detection of selenium content in selenium enriched Cordyceps militaris were established. It was showed that the lowest detection limit of ICP-MS method, HPLC/fluorometric method, and 3,3-diaminobenzidine method was 0.260 7, 0.182 1 and 10.485 9 microg x L(-1) respectively, and this means that the lowest detection limit of ICP-MS method was the lowest and that of 3,3-diaminobenzidine method was the highest. For the same sample the relative standard deviation (RSD) of ICP-MS method was the lowest and the RSD of 3,3-diaminobenzidine method was the highest. It was recommended that selenium content is determined by ICP-MS and HPLC/fluorometric method when the selenium in the sample is very low and by 3,3-diaminobenzidine method when the content is rather high.