Metabolomics combined with physiology and transcriptomics reveal key metabolic pathway responses in apple plants exposure to different selenium concentrations.

Selenium (Se) can be absorbed by plants, thereby affects plant physiological activity, interferes gene expression, alters metabolite content and influences plant growth. However, the molecular mechanism underlying the plant response to Se remains unclear. In this study, apple plants were exposed to Se at concentrations of 0, 3, 6, 9, 12, 24, and 48 µM. Low concentrations of Se promoted plant growth, while high Se concentrations (≥24 µM) reduced photosynthesis, disturbed carbon and nitrogen metabolism, damaged the antioxidant system, and ultimately inhibited plant growth. The transcriptome and metabolome revealed that Se mainly affected three pathways, namely the 'biosynthesis of amino acids', 'starch and sucrose metabolism', and 'phenylpropanoid biosynthesis' pathways. 9 µM Se improved the synthesis, catabolism and utilization of amino acids and sugars, ultimately promoted plant growth. However, 24 µM Se up-regulated the related genes expression of PK, GPT, P5CS, SUS, SPS and CYP98A, and accumulated a large number of osmoregulation substances, such as citric acid, L-proline, D-sucrose and chlorogenic acid in the roots, ultimately affected the balance between plant growth and defense. In conclusion, this study reveals new insights into the key metabolic pathway in apple plants responses to Se.

Oligomeric procyanidins of lotus seedpod inhibits the formation of advanced glycation end-products by scavenging reactive carbonyls.

It has been reported that oligomeric procyanidins of lotus seedpod (LSOPC) is effective in the alleviation of Alzheimer's disease and diabetes through its antioxidant and insulin-potentiating activities. This study investigated the anti-glycative activity of LSOPC in a bovine serum albumin (BSA)-glucose model. The level of glycation and conformational alterations were assessed by specific fluorescence, Congo red binding assay and circular dichroism. The results show that LSOPC has a significant anti-glycative activity in vitro and it can also effectively protect the secondary structure of BSA during glycation. LSOPC or catechin (a major constituent unit of LSOPC), were used to react with methylglyoxal. The structures of their carbonyl adducts were tentatively identified using HPLC-MS(2). Their capacity to scavenge methylglyoxal suggested carbonyl scavenging as a major mechanism of antiglycation. Therefore, LSOPC could be helpful to prevent AGEs-associated diseases, and with the potential to be used as functional food ingredients.