Mechanistic insights into the enhanced texture of potato noodles by incorporation of small granule starches.

Potato noodles are a popular food due to their unique texture and taste, but native potato starch often fails to meet consumer demands for precise textural outcomes. The effect of blending small granule (waxy amaranth, non-waxy oat and quinoa) starch with potato starch on the properties of noodles was investigated to enhance quality of noodles. Morphological results demonstrated that small granule starch filled gaps between potato starch granules, some of which gelatinized incompletely. Meanwhile, XRD and FTIR analysis indicated that more ordered structures and hydrogen bonding among starch granules increased with addition of small granule starch. The addition of oat or quinoa starch increased gel elasticity, decreased viscosity of the pastes, and increased the tensile strength of noodles, while addition of 30 % and 45 % waxy amaranth starch did not increase G' value of gel or tensile strength of noodles. These results indicated that amylose molecules played an important role during retrogradation, and may intertwine and interact with each other to enhance the network structure of starch gel in potato starch blended with oat or quinoa starch. This study provides a natural way to modify potato starch for desirable textural properties of noodle product.

Granular architecture of lotus seed starch and its impact on physicochemical properties.

Lotus seed starch has high apparent amylose content (AAM). A representative definition of its granular architecture (e.g., lamellar structure) remained absent. This study defined the granular shape, crystalline and lamellar structures, and digestibility of twenty-two samples of lotus seed starch (LS) by comparing with those of potato and maize starches. LS granules had more elongated shape and longer repeat distance of lamellae than potato and maize starch granules. The enzymatic susceptibility of LS granules was more affected by AAM than granular architecture. Using these LSs as a model system, the relationships between lamellar structure of starch granules and properties of their gelatinized counterparts were investigated. In LSs, thinner amorphous lamella and thicker crystalline lamella were associated with higher swelling power and yield stress. The relationships were found to be connected via certain structural characteristics of amylopectin.

Anti-quorum sensing effects of batatasin III: in vitro and in silico studies.

The spread of multidrug resistant bacteria has fueled the development of new antibiotics to combat bacterial infections. Disrupting the quorum sensing (QS) mechanism with biomolecules is a promising approach against bacterial infections. Plants used in Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) represent a valuable resource for the identification of QS inhibitors. In this study, the in vitro anti-QS activity of 50 TCM-derived phytochemicals against the biosensor Chromobacterium violaceum CV026 was tested. Among the 50 phytochemicals, 7-methoxycoumarin, flavone, batatasin III, resveratrol, psoralen, isopsoralen, and rhein inhibited violacein production and showed good QS inhibitory effects. Batatasin III was selected as the best QS inhibitor based on drug-likeness, physicochemical properties, toxicity, and bioactivity score prediction analyses using SwissADME, PreADMET, ProtoxII, and Molinspiration. At 30 µg/ mL, Batatasin III inhibited violacein production and biofilm formation in C. violaceum CV026 by more than 69% and 54% respectively without affecting bacterial growth. The in vitro cytotoxicity evaluation by MTT assay demonstrated that batatasin III reduced the viability of 3T3 mouse fibroblast cells to 60% at 100 µg/mL. Furthermore, molecular docking studies showed that batatasin III has strong binding interactions with the QS-associated proteins CViR, LasR, RhlR, PqsE, and PqsR. Molecular dynamic simulation studies showed that batatasin III has strong binding interactions with 3QP1, a structural variant of CViR protein. The binding free energy value of batatasin III-3QP1 complex was -146.295 ± 10.800 KJ/mol. Overall results suggested that batatasin III could serve as a lead molecule that could be developed into a potent QS inhibitor.Communicated by Ramaswamy H. Sarma.

Removal of starch granule-associated surface and channel lipids alters the properties of sodium trimetaphosphate crosslinked maize starch.

Starch granule-associated surface and channel lipids (SGALs) were effectively removed from waxy maize starch (WMS) and normal maize starch (NMS), then the starches were crosslinked by different levels of sodium trimetaphosphate (STMP) (0.25 %, 0.5 %, 1 % and 2 %). The effective removal of SGALs and successful crosslinking, were evidenced by the disappearance of surface-fluorescence and channel-fluorescence of Pro-Q Diamond-stained granules, and the increased phosphorus content respectively. STMP crosslinking increased peak and final viscosity for WMS and NMS. Crosslinking at high STMP levels (0.5 %, 1 % and 2 %) transformed the starch pastes from thixotropic to anti-thixotropic. STMP crosslinking significantly decreased the tan δ values of maize starches, enhancing the elastic structure of the gel. Crosslinked maize starches without SGALs had lower breakdown than crosslinked starches at same STMP level, indicating higher tightened crosslinked starch granules after SGALs removal. Removal of SGALs increased the anti-thixotropy of crosslinked starches, facilitating the reorientation of crosslinked amylopectin/amylose molecules during shearing. Removal of SGALs increased the tan δ values from frequency sweep of WMS and NMS during STMP crosslinking, indicating the presence of surface-lipids and channel-lipids could enhance the elastic gel network structure of crosslinked maize starch.

Reducing synthetic colorants release from alginate-based liquid-core beads with a zein shell.

An innovative method to reduce hydrophilic synthetic colorant release at interface was presented in this work, based on the anti-solvent effect at the membrane outside surface of liquid-core beads manufactured by reverse spherification between alginate and calcium ion. Zein, a hydrophobic protein which formed precipitation shell ensured the stability of colorant. Acidification of solvent made zein particles more kinetically stable, allowed zein stretching and collated more orderly secondary structures even in high polarity solvents. Colorants that hydrogen bonded or electrostatically interacted with zein could have optimized release properties. The zein/erythrosine samples had the most orderly secondary structure from circular dichroism and had the highest stability among all zein/colorant systems. The release rate of erythrosine was only 2.76% after 48 h storage after soaking in zein shell solution. This study demonstrated a promising clean and scalable strategy to encapsulate hydrophilic compounds in zein-based shells of liquid-core beads for food, supplement and pharmaceutical applications.

The anticancer potential of the dietary polyphenol rutin: Current status, challenges, and perspectives.

Rutin is one of the most common dietary polyphenols found in vegetables, fruits, and other plants. It is metabolized by the mammalian gut microbiota and absorbed from the intestines, and becomes bioavailable in the form of conjugated metabolites. Rutin exhibits a plethora of bioactive properties, making it an extremely promising phytochemical. Numerous studies demonstrate that rutin can act as a chemotherapeutic and chemopreventive agent, and its anticancer effects can be mediated through the suppression of cell proliferation, the induction of apoptosis or autophagy, and the hindering of angiogenesis and metastasis. Rutin has been found to modulate multiple molecular targets involved in carcinogenesis, such as cell cycle mediators, cellular kinases, inflammatory cytokines, transcription factors, drug transporters, and reactive oxygen species. This review summarizes the natural sources of rutin, its bioavailability, and in particular its potential use as an anticancer agent, with highlighting its anticancer mechanisms as well as molecular targets. Additionally, this review updates the anticancer potential of its analogs, nanoformulations, and metabolites, and discusses relevant safety issues. Overall, rutin is a promising natural dietary compound with promising anticancer potential and can be widely used in functional foods, dietary supplements, and pharmaceuticals for the prevention and management of cancer.

Octenyl succinic anhydride modification alters blending effects of waxy potato and waxy rice starches.

This study compared blending effects of native and octenyl succinic anhydride (OSA) modified blends (waxy rice and waxy potato starch). OSA groups were observed to be present primarily in the outer layer of waxy potato starch granule, but throughout the whole waxy rice granule. A high linear correlation with blending ratio was observed for trough viscosity and final viscosity of native blends, but for peak viscosity (PV) and breakdown viscosity (BD) of esterified blends. PV and BD of esterified blends showed weaker non-additive effects than those of native blends. Consistency coefficient in downward curve, flow behavior index in downward curve, and loss tangent mainly showed non-additive effects in native blends, but additive effects in esterified blends. OSA modification affects interaction between molecules on the outer surfaces of two starch granules by altering molecular structures on the outer surfaces, resulting in different blending effects between native and esterified waxy starch blends.

Soybean lecithin-stabilized oil-in-water (O/W) emulsions increase the stability and in vitro bioaccessibility of bioactive nutrients.

This study was proposed to investigate the possibility of co-delivering essential oils and lipophilic nutrients via lecithin stabilized emulsions. Emulsions with different droplet sizes (62.5-105 nm), zeta potentials (-33.7 to -58.6 mV), and PdI values (0.155-0.275) were successfully prepared. Incorporation of curcumin into emulsions significantly improved its water solubility (1700-fold), thermal and photochemical stability. The droplet size of curcumin-loaded emulsions did not change over 30 days of storage at 4 °C. Gastrointestinal tract (GIT) digestion caused significant changes in the droplet size and interfacial properties of curcumin-loaded emulsions. The bioaccessibility of encapsulated curcumin was 4.79-10.6-fold higher than that of free molecule. This is mainly attributed to the different solubility of curcumin in essential oils, which also showed different bioaccessibility. The findings suggested that emulsions can be novel carriers for co-delivering essential oils and lipophilic nutrients with increased stability and bioaccessibility.

Thermal and pasting properties and digestibility of blends of potato and rice starches differing in amylose content.

In this study, waxy or normal potato starches (WPS or NPS) were blended with waxy, low-amylose or high-amylose rice starch (WRS, LARS or HARS) in different ratios (100:0, 80:20, 60:40, 40:60, 20:80 and 0:100). Pasting profiles of blends were additively between those of the component starches separately except for some mixtures of WRS and potato starches. Twin or even three gelatinization peaks were observed for potato-WRS or potato-HARS blend, while only one peak was observed in potato-LARS blend. Addition of WRS enhanced the nutritional profile of blends containing WPS by decreasing the rapidly digestible starch level. Microscopy revealed that addition of WRS was beneficial for the development of dense and compact structure of gels of blends compared with their counterparts, which may be because few amylose chains leached to inhibit the interaction between swollen potato and rice starch granules. Besides, peak, trough, breakdown and final viscosity as well as gelatinization enthalpy showed significantly negative correlations with amylose leaching. Non-additive behaviours were observed for properties, but more independent behaviour was observed between potato starch and LARS or HARS. Results suggested that properties of blends of potato and rice starches differing in amylose content varied through different extents of amylose leaching.

Large-Scale Screening of 239 Traditional Chinese Medicinal Plant Extracts for Their Antibacterial Activities against Multidrug-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus and Cytotoxic Activities.

Novel alternative antibacterial compounds have been persistently explored from plants as natural sources to overcome antibiotic resistance leading to serious foodborne bacterial illnesses. In this study, the ethanolic extracts from 239 traditional Chinese medicinal plants (TCMP)' materials were screened to discover promising candidates that have strong antibacterial properties against multidrug-resistant Staphylococcus (S.) aureus and low cytotoxicity. The results revealed that 74 extracts exhibited good antibacterial activities (diameter of inhibition zone (DIZ) ≥ 15 mm). Furthermore, 18 extracts (DIZ ≥ 20 mm) were determined their minimum inhibitory concentrations (MIC) and minimum bactericide concentrations (MBC), ranging from 0.1 to 12.5 mg/mL and 0.78 to 25 mg/mL, respectively. In addition, most of the 18 extracts showed relatively low cytotoxicity (a median lethal concentration (LC50) >100 µg/mL). The 18 extracts were further determined to estimate possible correlation of their phenolic contents with antibacterial activity, and the results did not show any significant correlation. In conclusion, this study selected out some promising antibacterial TCMP extracts with low cytotoxicity, including Rhus chinensis Mill., Ilex rotunda Thunb., Leontice kiangnanensis P.L.Chiu, Oroxylum indicum Vent., Isatis tinctorial L., Terminalia chebula Retz., Acacia catechu (L.f.) Willd., Spatholobus suberectus Dunn, Rabdosia rubescens (Hemsl.) H.Hara, Salvia miltiorrhiza Bunge, Fraxinus fallax Lingelsh, Coptis chinensis Franch., Agrimonia Pilosa Ledeb., and Phellodendron chinense C.K.Schneid.

Nanochemoprevention with therapeutic benefits: An updated review focused on epigallocatechin gallate delivery.

Epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG) is a natural phenolic compound found in many plants, especially in green tea, which is a popular and restorative beverage with many claimed health benefits such as antioxidant, anti-cancer, anti-microbial, anti-diabetic, and anti-obesity activities. Despite its great curative potential, the poor bioavailability of EGCG restricts its clinical applcation. However, nanoformulations of EGCG are emerging as new alternatives to traditional formulations. This review focuses on the nanochemopreventive applications of various EGCG nanoparticles such as lipid-based, polymer-based, carbohydrate-based, protein-based, and metal-based nanoparticles. EGCG hybridized with these nanocarriers is capable of achieving advanced functions such as targeted release, active targeting, and enhanced penetration, ultimately increasing the bioavailability of EGCG. In addition, this review also summarizes the challenges for the use of EGCG in therapeutic applications, and suggests future directions for progress.

Health Functions and Related Molecular Mechanisms of Tea Components: An Update Review.

Tea is widely consumed all over the world. Generally, tea is divided into six categories: White, green, yellow, oolong, black, and dark teas, based on the fermentation degree. Tea contains abundant phytochemicals, such as polyphenols, pigments, polysaccharides, alkaloids, free amino acids, and saponins. However, the bioavailability of tea phytochemicals is relatively low. Thus, some novel technologies like nanotechnology have been developed to improve the bioavailability of tea bioactive components and consequently enhance the bioactivity. So far, many studies have demonstrated that tea shows various health functions, such as antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, immuno-regulatory, anticancer, cardiovascular-protective, anti-diabetic, anti-obesity, and hepato-protective effects. Moreover, it is also considered that drinking tea is safe to humans, since reports about the severe adverse effects of tea consumption are rare. In order to provide a better understanding of tea and its health potential, this review summarizes and discusses recent literature on the bioactive components, bioavailability, health functions, and safety issues of tea, with special attention paid to the related molecular mechanisms of tea health functions.

Effects of Tannase and Ultrasound Treatment on the Bioactive Compounds and Antioxidant Activity of Green Tea Extract.

The present study investigated the effects of tannase and ultrasound treatment on the bioactive compounds and antioxidant activity of green tea extract. The single-factor experiments and the response surface methodology were conducted to study the effects of parameters on antioxidant activity of green tea extract. The highest antioxidant activity was found under the optimal condition with the buffer solution pH value of 4.62, ultrasonic temperature of 44.12 °C, ultrasonic time of 12.17 min, tannase concentration of 1 mg/mL, and ultrasonic power of 360 W. Furthermore, phenolic profiles of the extracts were identified and quantified by high-performance liquid chromatography. Overall, it was found that tannase led to an increase in gallic acid and a decrease in epigallocatechin gallate, and ultrasounds could also enhance the efficiency of enzymatic reaction.

Health Benefits of Bioactive Compounds from the Genus Ilex, a Source of Traditional Caffeinated Beverages.

Tea and coffee are caffeinated beverages commonly consumed around the world in daily life. Tea from Camellia sinensis is widely available and is a good source of caffeine and other bioactive compounds (e.g., polyphenols and carotenoids). Other tea-like beverages, such as those from the genus Ilex, the large-leaved Kudingcha (Ilex latifolia Thunb and Ilex kudingcha C.J. Tseng), Yerba Mate (Ilex paraguariensis A. St.-Hil), Yaupon Holly (Ilex vomitoria), and Guayusa (Ilex guayusa Loes) are also traditional drinks, with lesser overall usage, but have attracted much recent attention and have been subjected to further study. This review summarizes the distribution, composition, and health benefits of caffeinated beverages from the genus Ilex. Plants of this genus mainly contain polyphenols and alkaloids, and show diverse health benefits, which, as well as supporting their further popularization as beverages, may also lead to potential applications in the pharmaceutical or nutraceutical industries.

Absorption, metabolism, anti-cancer effect and molecular targets of epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG): An updated review.

Green tea is one of the most popular beverages in the world, especially in Asian countries. Consumption of green tea has been demonstrated to possess many health benefits, which mainly attributed to the main bioactive compound epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG), a flavone-3-ol polyphenol, in green tea. EGCG is mainly absorbed in the intestine, and gut microbiota play a critical role in its metabolism prior to absorption. EGCG exhibits versatile bioactivities, with its anti-cancer effect most attracting due to the cancer preventive effect of green tea consumption, and a great number of studies intensively investigated its anti-cancer effect. In this review, we therefore, first stated the absorption and metabolism process of EGCG, and then summarized its anti-cancer effect in vitro and in vivo, including its manifold anti-cancer actions and mechanisms, especially its anti-cancer stem cell effect, and next highlighted its various molecular targets involved in cancer inhibition. Finally, the anti-cancer effect of EGCG analogs and nanoparticles, as well as the potential cancer promoting effect of EGCG were also discussed. Understanding of the absorption, metabolism, anti-cancer effect and molecular targets of EGCG can be of importance to better utilize it as a chemopreventive and chemotherapeutic agent.

Buckwheat and Millet Affect Thermal, Rheological, and Gelling Properties of Wheat Flour.

Buckwheat (BF) and millet (MF) are recommended as healthy foods due to their unique chemical composition and health benefits. This study investigated the thermal and rheological properties of BF-WF (wheat flour) and MF-WF flour blends at various ratios (0:100 to 100:0). Increasing BF or MF concentration led to higher cold paste viscosity and setback viscosity of pasting properties gel adhesiveness, storage modulus (G') and loss modulus (G″) of dynamic oscillatory rheology, and yield stress (σ0 ) of flow curve of WF. BF and MF addition decreased peak viscosity and breakdown of pasting, gel hardness, swelling volume, and consistency coefficient (K) of flow curve of WF. Thermal properties of the blends appeared additive of that of individual flour. Nonadditive effects were observed for some property changes in the mixtures, and indicated interactions between flour components. This may provide a physicochemical basis for using BF and MF in formulating novel healthy products.

Dietary plant materials reduce acrylamide formation in cookie and starch-based model systems.

BACKGROUND: Dietary plant materials have attracted much attention because of their health benefits to humans. Acrylamide is found in various heated carbohydrate-rich foods. Our previous results showed that crude aqueous extracts from diverse dietary plants and some phenolic compounds could mitigate acrylamide formation in an asparagine-glucose model system. Based on our previous study, several plant materials were selected to further investigate their inhibitory effects on acrylamide formation in cookies and starch-based model systems. RESULTS: Addition of raw powders from selected dietary plants and their crude aqueous extracts could considerably reduce acrylamide formation in both cookie and potato starch-based models. Aqueous extracts of clove at 4% caused the largest reduction (50.9%) of acrylamide in cookies, whereas addition of 2% proanthocyanidins from grape seeds gave the greatest acrylamide reduction (62.2%) in a starch-based model system. CONCLUSION: It may be feasible to use some of the tested dietary plant materials to reduce acrylamide formation in cookies and other starchy foods.

Potential application of spice and herb extracts as natural preservatives in cheese.

This study investigated the antibacterial efficiency of five spice and herb extracts (cinnamon stick, oregano, clove, pomegranate peel, and grape seed) against Listeria monocytogenes, Staphylococcus aureus, and Salmonella enterica in cheese at room temperature (~ 23°C). The lipid oxidation (thiobarbituric acid-reactive substances) of cheese was periodically tested by oxidative analyses. The results showed that all five plant extracts were effective against three foodborne pathogens in cheese. Treatments with these extracts increased the stability of cheese against lipid oxidation. Clove showed the highest antibacterial and antioxidant activity. The reduction of foodborne pathogen numbers and the inhibition of lipid oxidation in cheese indicated that the extracts of these plants (especially clove) have potential as natural food preservatives.

Compositions of phenolic compounds, amino acids and reducing sugars in commercial potato varieties and their effects on acrylamide formation.

BACKGROUND: Potato is consumed as an important source of carbohydrate and other nutrients as well as a good source of phenolics. Acrylamide is a potential carcinogen formed during frying of potato products. This study investigated the compositions of phenolic compounds, amino acids and reducing sugars in 16 commercial potato varieties from eight countries and analysed the relationships between these compositions and the levels of acrylamide generated by heating (185 °C, 25 min) potato powders. RESULTS: Major phenolic compounds in the tested potato varieties were identified as hydroxycinnamoylquinic/hydroxycinnamoyl derivatives by liquid chromatography/mass spectrometry. Great variations in the contents of phenolic compounds, free reducing sugars and amino acids as well as wide variations in acrylamide concentration were found among the different potato varieties. Correlation analysis revealed that fructose (r = 0.956***), glucose (r = 0.826***) and asparagine (r = 0.842***) were positively correlated with acrylamide formation. Interestingly, it was observed that higher levels of phenolic compounds were related to lower levels of acrylamide (r = - 0.692*). CONCLUSION: Careful selection of potato varieties with lower levels of fructose, glucose and asparagine and higher levels of phenolic compounds may mitigate acrylamide formation during thermal processing of potato products.

Anthocyanins, hydroxycinnamic acid derivatives, and antioxidant activity in roots of different chinese purple-fleshed sweetpotato genotypes.

Anthocyanins and hydroxycinnamic acid derivatives in the crude extracts of peel, flesh, and whole roots of 10 Chinese purple-fleshed sweetpotato genotypes were simultaneously characterized by liquid chromatography-photodiode array detector-atmospheric pressure chemical ionization-mass spectrometry (LC-PDA-APCI-MS), as well as their antioxidant activities were systematically investigated and compared. Major anthocyanins were identified as peonidin or cyanidin 3-sophoroside-5-glucoside and their acylated derivatives, e.g., peonidin 3-sophoroside-5-glucoside, peonidin 3-(6''-p-feruloylsophoroside)-5-glucoside, and cyanidin 3-(6''-p-feruloylsophoroside)-5-glucoside, and main hydroxycinnamic acid derivatives were identified as mono- and dicaffeoylquinic acids (e.g., 5-O-caffeoylquinic acid and 3,5-di-O-caffeoylquinic acid) and caffeoyl-hexoside. These main phenolic compounds identified were important contributors to the total antioxidant capacity of the tested sweetpotato samples. Additionally, great variations in contents of both total and individual phenolic compounds as well as antioxidant activities between different genotypes and among various parts of the roots were observed. This study may provide value information for breeding new lines of Chinese purple-fleshed sweetpotato and also for quality control of bioactive components during production and processing.