Isolation, purification, and structural characterization of polysaccharides from Codonopsis pilosula and its therapeutic effects on non-alcoholic fatty liver disease in vitro and in vivo.

Codonopsis pilosula is a famous edible and medicinal plants, in which polysaccharides are recognized as one of the important active ingredients. A neutral polysaccharide (CPP-1) was purified from C. pilosula. The structure was characterized by HPSEC-MALLS-RID, UV, FT-IR, GC-MS, methylation analysis, and NMR. The results showed that CPP-1 was a homogeneous pure polysaccharide, mainly containing fructose and glucose, and a small amount of arabinose. Methylation analysis showed that CPP-1 composed of →1)-Fruf-(2→, Fruf-(1→ and Glcp-(1→ residues. Combined the NMR results the structure of CPP-1 was confirmed as α-D-Glcp-(1 â†’ [2)-ß-D-Fruf-(1 â†’ 2)-ß-D-Fruf-(1]26 â†’ 2)-ß-D-Fruf with the molecular weight of 4.890 × 103 Da. The model of AML12 hepatocyte fat damage was established in vitro. The results showed that CPP-1 could increase the activity of SOD and CAT antioxidant enzymes and reduce the content of MDA, thus protecting cells from oxidative damage. Subsequently, the liver protective effect of CPP-1 was studied in the mouse model of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) induced by the high-fat diet. The results showed that CPP-1 significantly reduced the body weight, liver index, and body fat index of NAFLD mice, and significantly improved liver function. Therefore, CPP-1 should be a potential candidate for the treatment of NAFLD.

Optimization of Three Extraction Methods and Their Effect on the Structure and Antioxidant Activity of Polysaccharides in Dendrobium huoshanense.

Dendrobium huoshanense is a famous edible and medicinal herb, and polysaccharides are the main bioactive component in it. In this study, response surface methodology (RSM) combined with a Box-Behnken design (BBD) was used to optimize the enzyme-assisted extraction (EAE), ultrasound-microwave-assisted extraction (UMAE), and hot water extraction (HWE) conditions and obtain the polysaccharides named DHP-E, DHP-UM, and DHP-H. The effects of different extraction methods on the physicochemical properties, structure characteristics, and bioactivity of polysaccharides were compared. The differential thermogravimetric curves indicated that DHP-E showed a broader temperature range during thermal degradation compared with DHP-UM and DHP-H. The SEM results showed that DHP-E displayed an irregular granular structure, but DHP-UM and DHP-H were sponge-like. The results of absolute molecular weight indicated that polysaccharides with higher molecular weight detected in DHP-H and DHP-UM did not appear in DHP-E due to enzymatic degradation. The monosaccharide composition showed that DHPs were all composed of Man, Glc, and Gal but with different proportions. Finally, the glycosidic bond types, which have a significant effect on bioactivity, were decoded with methylation analysis. The results showed that DHPs contained four glycosidic bond types, including Glcp-(1→, →4)-Manp-(1→, →4)-Glcp-(1→, and →4,6)-Manp-(1→ with different ratios. Furthermore, DHP-E exhibited better DPPH and ABTS radical scavenging activities. These findings could provide scientific foundations for selecting appropriate extraction methods to obtain desired bioactivities for applications in the pharmaceutical and functional food industries.

Contamination and Health Risk Assessment of Multiple Mycotoxins in Edible and Medicinal Plants.

Edible and medicinal plants (EMPs) are widely used but are easily infected by harmful fungi which produce mycotoxins. Herein, 127 samples from 11 provinces were collected to investigate 15 mycotoxins based on geographic, demographic, processing, and risk characteristics. A total of 13 mycotoxins were detected, and aflatoxin B1 (0.56~97.00 µg/kg), deoxynivalenol (9.41~1570.35 µg/kg), fumonisin B1 (8.25~1875.77 µg/kg), fumonisin B2 (2.74~543.01 µg/kg), ochratoxin A (0.62~19.30 µg/kg), and zearalenone (1.64~2376.58 µg/kg) occurred more frequently. Mycotoxin levels and species were significantly different by region, types of EMPs, and method of processing. The margin of exposure (MOE) values was well below the safe MOE (10,000). AFB1 exposure from Coix seed and malt consumption in China was of high health concern. The hazard Index (HI) method showed the range of 113.15~130.73% for malt, indicating a public health concern. In conclusion, EMPs should be concerned because of the cumulative effects of co-occurred mycotoxins, and safety management strategies should be developed in follow-up studies.

Preparation and Application of Standardized Typical Volatile Components Fraction from Turmeric (Curcuma longa L.) by Supercritical Fluid Extraction and Step Molecular Distillation.

A green and reliable method using supercritical fluid extraction (SFE) and molecular distillation (MD) was optimized for the separation and purification of standardized typical volatile components fraction (STVCF) from turmeric to solve the shortage of reference compounds in quality control (QC) of volatile components. A high quality essential oil with 76.0% typical components of turmeric was extracted by SFE. A sequential distillation strategy was performed by MD. The total recovery and purity of prepared STVCF were 97.3% and 90.3%, respectively. Additionally, a strategy, i.e., STVCF-based qualification and quantitative evaluation of major bioactive analytes by multiple calibrated components, was proposed to easily and effectively control the quality of turmeric. Compared with the individual calibration curve method, the STVCF-based quantification method was demonstrated to be credible and was effectively adapted for solving the shortage of reference volatile compounds and improving the QC of typical volatile components in turmeric, especially its functional products.

Effects of polysaccharides from different species of Dendrobium (Shihu) on macrophage function.

Dendrobium spp. are precious medicinal plants, used in China for thousands of years as health foods and nutrients. Polysaccharides are the main effective ingredients in Dendrobium plants. In this study, the chemical characteristics and the effects of crude polysaccharides (CPs) from five species of Dendrobium on macrophage function were investigated and compared in vitro for the first time. Chemical characteristic studies showed that CPs from different species of Dendrobium were diverse, displaying widely varied Mw distributions and molar ratios of monosaccharides. Their effects on macrophage functions, such as promoting phagocytosis, release of NO and cytokines IL-1α, IL-6, IL-10 and TNF-α, were also different. Moreover, CPs from D. officinale, especially collected from Yunnan Province, exerted the strongest immunomodulatory activities and could be explored as a novel potential functional food. The diverse chemical characteristics of CPs from different species of Dendrobium might contribute to their varied effects on macrophage functions, which should be further investigated.

Advanced development in analysis of phytochemicals from medicine and food dual purposes plants used in China.

The concept of "Let food be thy medicine and medicine be thy food" was widely accepted for thousand years. It is now well known that some foods and food components have beneficial physiological and psychological effects. In China, the Ministry of Health of the People's Republic of China announced 87 items of materials, including 81 plants, could be used as both medicine and food. Increasing consumer demand for safety and health benefits, it is of critical importance to have high-quality and comprehensive data on bioactive compounds (phytochemicals) in these materials. In this review, we summarized the advanced development (2006-2010) in analysis of phytochemicals from medicine and food dual purposes plants (MFDPP) used in China.