Physicochemical properties and in vitro digestibility of ginseng starches under citric acid-autoclaving treatment.

In this study, the effects of citric acid-autoclaving (CA-A) treatment on physicochemical and digestive properties of the native ginseng starches were investigated. The results showed that ginseng starch exhibited a B-type crystal structure with a low onset pasting temperature of 44.23 ± 0.80 °C, but high peak viscosity and setback viscosity of 5897.34 ± 53.72 cP and 692.00 ± 32.36 cP, respectively. The granular morphology, crystal and short-range ordered structure of ginseng starches were destroyed after CA-A treatment. The more short-chain starches were produced, resulting in the ginseng starches solubility increased. In addition, autoclaving, citric acid (CA) and CA-A treatment promoted polymerization and recrystallization of starch molecules, increased the proportion of amylopectin B1, and B3 chains, and improved molecular weight and resistant starch (RS) content of ginseng starches. The most significant multi-scale structural change was induced by CA-A treatment, which reduced the relative crystallinity of ginseng starch from 28.26 ± 0.24 % to 2.75 ± 0.08 %, and increased the content of RS to 54.30 ± 0.14 %. These findings provided a better understanding of the structure and properties of Chinese ginseng starches and offered new ideas for the deep processing of ginseng foods.

Ginseng Glucosyl Oleanolate from Ginsenoside Ro, Exhibited Anti-Liver Cancer Activities via MAPKs and Gut Microbiota In Vitro/Vivo.

Ginseng is widely recognized for its diverse health benefits and serves as a functional food ingredient with global popularity. Ginsenosides with a broad range of pharmacological effects are the most crucial active ingredients in ginseng. This study aimed to derive ginseng glucosyl oleanolate (GGO) from ginsenoside Ro through enzymatic conversion and evaluate its impact on liver cancer in vitro and in vivo. GGO exhibited concentration-dependent HepG2 cell death and markedly inhibited cell proliferation via the MAPK signaling pathway. It also attenuated tumor growth in immunocompromised mice undergoing heterograft transplantation. Furthermore, GGO intervention caused a modulation of gut microbiota composition by specific bacterial populations, including Lactobacillus, Bacteroides, Clostridium, Enterococcus, etc., and ameliorated SCFA metabolism and colonic inflammation. These findings offer promising evidence for the potential use of GGO as a natural functional food ingredient in the prevention and treatment of cancer.

Metabolite analysis of soybean oil on promoting astaxanthin production of Phaffia rhodozyma.

BACKGROUND: Astaxanthin is a carotenoid with strong antioxidant property. In addition, it has anti-cancer, anti-tumor, anti-inflammatory and many other functions. The micro-organisms that mainly produce astaxanthin are Haematococcus pluvialis and Phaffia rhodozyma. Compared with H. pluvialis, P. rhodozyma has shorter fermentation cycle and easier to control culture conditions, but the yield of astaxanthin in P. rhodozyma is low. This article studied how to improve the astaxanthin production of P. rhodozyma. RESULTS: The results showed that when 10 mL L-1 soybean oil was added to the culture medium, astaxanthin production increased significantly, reaching 7.35 mg L-1 , which was 1.4 times that of the control group, and lycopene and ß-carotene contents also increased significantly. Through targeted metabolite analysis, the fatty acids in P. rhodozyma significantly increased under the soybean oil stimulation, especially the fatty acids closely related to the formation of astaxanthin esters, included palmitic acid (C16:0), stearic acid (C18:0), oleic acid (C18:1n9), linoleic acid (C18:2n6), α-linolenic acid (C18:3n3) and γ-linolenic acid (C18:3n6), thereby increasing the astaxanthin esters content. CONCLUSION: It showed that the addition of soybean oil can promote the accumulation of astaxanthin by promoting the increase of astaxanthin ester content. © 2022 Society of Chemical Industry.

Sr and Mg Doped Bi-Phasic Calcium Phosphate Macroporous Bone Graft Substitutes Fabricated by Robocasting: A Structural and Cytocompatibility Assessment.

Bi-phasic calcium phosphates (BCPs) are considered prominent candidate materials for the fabrication of bone graft substitutes. Currently, supplemental cation-doping is suggested as a powerful path to boost biofunctionality, however, there is still a lack of knowledge on the structural role of such substituents in BCPs, which in turn, could influence the intensity and extent of the biological effects. In this work, pure and Mg- and Sr-doped BCP scaffolds were fabricated by robocasting from hydrothermally synthesized powders, and then preliminarily tested in vitro and thoroughly investigated physically and chemically. Collectively, the osteoblast cell culture assays indicated that all types of BCP scaffolds (pure, Sr- or Sr-Mg-doped) delivered in vitro performances similar to the biological control, with emphasis on the Sr-Mg-doped ones. An important result was that double Mg-Sr doping obtained the ceramic with the highest ß-tricalcium phosphate (ß-TCP)/hydroxyapatite mass concentration ratio of ~1.8. Remarkably, Mg and Sr were found to be predominantly incorporated in the ß-TCP lattice. These findings could be important for the future development of BCP-based bone graft substitutes since the higher dissolution rate of ß-TCP enables an easier release of the therapeutic ions. This may pave the road toward medical devices with more predictable in vivo performance.

Protective effects of enhanced minor ginsenosides in Lactobacillus fermentum KP-3-fermented ginseng in mice fed a high fat diet.

Lactobacillus fermentum KP-3 was isolated from Korean pickle and used to ferment ginseng. The changes in the minor ginsenosides in the fermented ginseng were analyzed and the material was evaluated in high fat diet-fed mice. Total ginsenosides increased from 0.746 mg g-1 to 0.939 mg g-1 after fermentation, and the levels of minor ginsenosides (Rg2, Rg3, Rh1, Rh2, F2, and Ro) increased from 0.186 mg g-1 to 0.704 mg g-1. In an animal study, the serum TC and LDL levels in the HFD group were significantly higher than those of the control group. Compared with the HFD group, the probiotic-fermented ginseng significantly decreased the serum TC and LDL levels. In addition, the serum and liver ALT and AST levels were dramatically increased in the HFD group, but these increases were significantly inhibited by treatment with the probiotic-fermented ginseng. Furthermore, fermented ginseng reduced high fat diet-induced liver lipid accumulation. Overall, fermentation with L. fermentum KP-3 enhanced minor ginsenosides in ginseng and this probiotic-fermented ginseng ameliorated hyperlipidemia and liver injury induced by a high fat diet.

[Cloning and sequence analysis of squalene synthase gene and cDNA in Glycyrrhiza uralensis].

OBJECTIVE: To clone and sequence the open reading frame and genomic sequence of squalene synthase (SQS) from Glycyrrhiza uralensis. METHOD: The primers were designed according to cDNA sequence of SQS from G. glabra reported by Hiroaki HAYASHI, SQS cDNA was cloned with total RNA extracted from roots of G. uralensis. Specific fragments were amplified by RT-PCR and then were cloned and sequenced. SQS DNA was cloned with total DNA extracted from roots of G. uralensis. Specific fragments were amplified by PCR and then were cloned and sequenced. RESULT: GuSQS1 (GenBank accession number: GQ266154) was 1 242 bp in length encoding proteins with 412 amino acid. NCBI Blast x search results showed GuSQS1 had the highest amino acid similarity to the corresponding proteins from G. uralensis. The identities of GuSQS1 with the two proteins were 98. 55% and 88. 62%. SQS (GenBank accession number: GQ180932) gene with 4 484 bp containing 13 exons and 12 introns was then amplified by PCR with genomic DNA extracted from roots of G. uralensis. CONCLUSION: These findings of cloning and sequencing the open reading frame and genomic sequence of squalene synthase (SQS) from G. uralensis brought some new clues for the further exploration of SmSQS function in sterol and terpenes biosynthesis.