Inhibition of cell wall pectin metabolism by plasma activated water (PAW) to maintain firmness and quality of postharvest blueberry.

Blueberry is a class of berries with high nutritional and economic value but has short shelf life due to its rapid softening at room temperature. This study investigated the effects of plasma-activated water (PAW) treatment on the softening quality and cell wall pectin metabolism of blueberries stored for 10 d at 25 °C after being immersed in PAW for 10 min. PAW was generated by plasma with different times (1 and 2 min), fixed frequency (10 kHz) and fixed voltage (50 kV). The analysis showed that the firmness of PAW-treated fruit significantly increased (P < 0.05) by 36.4% after 10 d storage. PAW treatment controlled the solubilization of pectin from water-insoluble to water-soluble. The activities of cell wall pectin-degrading enzymes like polygalacturonase (PG), ß-galactosidase (ß-Gal) and pectin methylesterase (PME) in PAW-treated blueberries decreased by 15.7%, 18.3%, and 27.9%, respectively, on day 10. After PAW treatment, blueberries also maintained better postharvest quality (firmness, colour, soluble solid content and anthocyanin content) and intact epidermal waxy and cell wall structure. These results suggested that PAW showed great potential for postharvest fresh-keeping of blueberry.

Xiaotan Sanjie decoction normalizes tumor permissive microenvironment in gastric cancer (Review).

Gastric cancer (GC) develops in a complex tissue environment, the tumor microenvironment (TME), which it relies on for persistent proliferation, migration, invasion and metastasis. Non­malignant stromal cell types within the TME are regarded as a clinical meaningful target with the lower risk of resistance and tumor relapse. Studies have revealed that the Xiaotan Sanjie decoction, which is formulated on the basis of the theory of phlegm syndrome, a Traditional Chinese Medicine concept, modulates released factors such as transforming growth factor­ß from tumor cells, immune cells, cancer­associated fibroblasts, extracellular matrix, as well as vascular endothelial growth factor involved in the process of angiogenesis within the TME. Clinical studies have also shown that the Xiaotan Sanjie decoction is associated with favorable survival and quality of life. The present review aimed to interpret the hypothesis that Xiaotan Sanjie decoction has the ability to normalize the GC tumor cells by influencing functions of stromal cells within the TME. The possible association between phlegm syndrome and the TME in GC was discussed in the present review. Overall, Xiaotan Sanjie decoction may be suitable to be added to tumor cell­directed agents or emerging immunotherapies becoming a desirable modality in the management of GC and acquire improved outcomes for patients with GC.

Konjac Glucomannan: An Emerging Specialty Medical Food to Aid in the Treatment of Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus.

There are many factors causing T2DM; thus, it is difficult to prevent and cure it with conventional treatment. In order to realize the continuous intervention of T2DM, the treatment strategy of combining diet therapy and traditional medication came into being. As a natural product with the concept of being healthy, konjac flour and its derivatives are popular with the public. Its main component, Konjac glucomannan (KGM), can not only be applied as a food additive, which greatly improves the taste and flavor of food and extends the shelf life of food but also occupies an important role in T2DM. KGM can extend gastric emptying time, increase satiety, and promote liver glycogen synthesis, and also has the potential to improve intestinal flora and the metabolic system through a variety of molecular pathways in order to positively regulate oxidative stress and immune inflammation, and protect the liver and kidneys. In order to establish the theoretical justification for the adjunctive treatment of T2DM, we have outlined the physicochemical features of KGM in this article, emphasizing the advantages of KGM as a meal for special medical purposes of T2DM.

Discrimination of Pericarpium Citri Reticulatae in different years using Terahertz Time-Domain spectroscopy combined with convolutional neural network.

Pericarpium Citri Reticulatae (PCR) in longer storage years possess higher medicinal values, but their differentiation is difficult due to similar morphological characteristics. Therefore, this study investigated the feasibility of using terahertz time-domain spectroscopy (THz-TDS) combined with a convolutional neural network (CNN) to identify PCR samples stored from 1 to 20 years. The absorption coefficient and refractive index spectra in the range of 0.2-1.5 THz were acquired. Partial least squares discriminant analysis, random forest, least squares support vector machines, and CNN were used to establish discriminant models, showing better performance of the CNN model than the others. In addition, the output data points of the CNN intermediate layer were visualized, illustrating gradual changes in these points from overlapping to clear separation. Overall, THz-TDS combined with CNN models could realize rapid identification of different year PCRs, thus providing an efficient alternative method for PCR quality inspection.

Enhancement of Wheat Seed Germination, Seedling Growth and Nutritional Properties of Wheat Plantlet Juice by Plasma Activated Water.

Previous studies have shown the great potential of using plasma-activated water (PAW) on improving agriculture seed germination, however, information on the influence of PAW on crop plantlet juice remains scanty. In this research, the effect of PAW generated by atmosphere pressure Ar-O2 plasma jet for 1-5 min on wheat seed germination, seedling growth and nutritional properties of wheat plantlet juice was investigated. Results revealed that all PAWs could enhance wheat seed germination and seedling growth in 7 days by improving the germination rate, germination index, fresh weight, dry weight and vigour index, and especially that PAW activated for 3 min (PAW-3) showed the best overall performance. In addition, the application of PAWs enhanced the nutritional properties of wheat plantlet juice from those grown for 14 days by improving total soluble solids, protein content, photosynthetic pigments, total phenolic content, antioxidant activity, enzyme activity, free amino acids and minerals content, and the best enhancement was also observed in PAW-3. It was concluded that PAWs would be an effective technique to enhance the growth and nutritional properties of crop sprouts, which could be served as functional foods in many forms. Supplementary Information: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s00344-022-10677-3.

Visualization and quantification of content and hydrogen bonding state of water in apple and potato cells by confocal Raman microscopy: A comparison study.

Water is the most abundant component in fresh fruit and vegetables and its distribution and hydrogen bonding state in cells has a significant influence on food processing. In the current study, an improved method based on our earlier studies was developed to directly visualize the spatial distribution of content and hydrogen bonding state of water in apple and potato cells for the first time and the difference in water distribution in these cells was compared. Additionally, based on the distribution images of content and hydrogen bonding state of water in different regions in apple and potato tissues, the total water and free water contents, and the hydrogen bonding state of free water were quantified and compared with those obtained by nuclear magnetic resonance and Marinchik methods, demonstrating that the method could be successfully used for quantifying the content and hydrogen bonding state of water in fruit and vegetable cells.

Ziyin Huatan Recipe, a Chinese herbal compound, inhibits migration and invasion of gastric cancer by upregulating RUNX3 expression.

OBJECTIVES: Ziyin Huatan Recipe (ZYHT), a traditional Chinese medicine comprised of Lilii Bulbus, Pinelliae Rhizoma, and Hedyotis Diffusa, has shown promise in treating gastric cancer (GC). However, its potential mechanism has not yet been clearly addressed. This study aimed to predict targets and molecular mechanisms of ZYHT in treating GC by network pharmacology analysis and to explore the role of ZYHT in GC both in vitro and in vivo. METHODS: Targets and molecular mechanisms of ZYHT were predicted via network pharmacology analysis. The effects of ZYHT on the expression of metastasis-associated targets were further validated by Western blot and quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction. To explore the specific molecular mechanisms of the effects of ZYHT on migration and invasion, the runt-related transcription factor 3 (RUNX3) gene was knocked out by clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats/Cas9, and lentiviral vectors were transfected into SGC-7901 cells. Then lung metastasis model of GC in nude mice was established to explore the anti-metastasis effect of ZYHT. Western blot and immunohistochemistry were used to explore the impact of ZYHT on the expression of metastasis-related proteins with or without RUNX3 gene. RESULTS: The network pharmacology analysis showed that ZYHT might inhibit focal adhesion, migration, invasion and metastasis of GC. ZYHT inhibited the proliferation, migration and invasion of GC cells in vitro via regulating the expression of metastasis-associated targets. Knocking out RUNX3 almost completely reversed the cell phenotypes (migration and invasion) and protein expression levels elicited by ZYHT. In vivo studies showed that ZYHT inhibited the metastasis of GC cells to the lung and prolonged the survival time of the nude mice. Knocking out RUNX3 partly reversed the metastasis of GC cells to the lung and the protein expression levels elicited by ZYHT. CONCLUSION: ZYHT can effectively inhibit the invasion and migration of GC in vitro and in vivo, and its molecular mechanism may relate to the upregulation of RUNX3 expression.

Optimization of Ultrasonic-Assisted Extraction of Chlorogenic Acid from Tobacco Waste.

Using tobacco waste as raw material, the ultrasonic-assisted extraction of chlorogenic acid was optimized by response surface methodology (RSM). After repeated freezing and thawing of tobacco waste twice, the effect of pH value, ethanol volume fraction, temperature and extraction time on the extraction rate of chlorogenic acid was investigated by a single factor experiment. On the basis of this, the factors affecting the yield of chlorogenic acid were further optimized by using RSM. The optimum extraction conditions for chlorogenic acid were set at pH = 4.1, ethanol volume fraction was 49.57% and extraction time was 2.06 h. Under the above conditions, the extraction rate of chlorogenic acid could reach 0.502%, which was higher than traditional extraction and unpretreated ultrasonic extraction. All these results can be used as a reference for the extraction of effective ingredients in tobacco waste.

Effects of combined treatment of plasma activated liquid and ultrasound for degradation of chlorothalonil fungicide residues in tomato.

The effects of combined treatment (PAL-U) of plasma-activated liquid (PAL) including plasma-activated water (PAW) and plasma-activated buffer solution (PABS) and ultrasound (U) for the degradation of chlorothalonil fungicide on tomato fruit was investigated. Distilled water and buffer solution were activated by radiofrequency plasma jet for durations of 1, 3, 5, and 10 min to obtain PAL1 to PAL10. Fruits were immersed in PAL for 15 min and also in distilled water with sonication for 15 min for individual treatments, and in PAL with sonication for 15 min for combined treatments. The maximum chlorothalonil fungicide residues were reduced by 89.28 and 80.23% for PAW10-U and PABS10-U, respectively. HPLC-MS characterization revealed chlorothalonil degradation pathway and formation of 2,4,5-trichloroisophthalonitrile, 2,4-dichloroisophthalonitrile, 4-chloroisophthalonitrile, isophthalonitrile and phenylacetonitrile as degradation products. Treatments also showed no negative effects on tomato quality. Therefore, PAL and PAL-U treatments could serve as effective methods for degrading pesticides on tomatoes.

Novel postharvest processing strategies for value-added applications of marine algae.

Marine algae are regarded as a promising nutrients resource in future as they can be sustainably cultured without land and high investment. These macroalgae are now widely processed into food and beverages, fertilizers and animal feed. Furthermore, bioactive compounds such as polysaccharides and polyphenols in seaweeds have proven to have antibacterial, antiviral and antifungal properties that can be utilized in cosmeceuticals, nutraceuticals and pharmaceuticals. As a key procedure in seaweed production, the postharvest process not only requires more laboured and energy but also affect the quality of the final product significantly. This article reviewed all current postharvest processes and technologies of seaweed and addressed potential postharvest strategies for seaweed production. © 2021 Society of Chemical Industry.

Core size optimized silver coated gold nanoparticles for rapid screening of tricyclazole and thiram residues in pear extracts using SERS.

Silver-coated gold nanoparticles (Au@AgNPs) were optimized with different gold (Au) core sizes and modified surface with mercaptooctane (MCO) to determine fungicide residues in pear fruit extracts. The developed MCO/Au@AgNPs with a gold core size of 28 nm and silver shell thickness of 6 nm exhibited high sensitivity and significant enhancement of Raman scattering in detecting tricyclazole (TCZ) and thiram fungicides in standard and pear fruit samples. The detection limits for TCZ and thiram in the pear fruit extracts were 0.005 and 0.003 ppm with coefficients of determination of (R2) of 0.9984 and 0.9971, percent recovery ranging from 82.7 to 107.4% and 80.7 to 109.8%, and relative standard deviation (RSD) of 1.5 to 7.9% and 3.7 to 9.5%, respectively. Results showed that this easily prepared method could be employed as SERS active platforms for the rapid assessment of trace contaminants of agrochemicals in agriculture production.

Emerging techniques for determining the quality and safety of tea products: A review.

Spectroscopic techniques, electrochemical methods, nanozymes, computer vision, and modified chromatographic techniques are the emerging techniques for determining the quality and safety parameters (e.g., physical, chemical, microbiological, and classified parameters, as well as inorganic and organic contaminants) of tea products (such as fresh tea leaves, commercial tea, tea beverage, tea powder, and tea bakery products) effectively. By simplifying the sample preparation, speeding up the detection process, reducing the interference of other substances contained in the sample, and improving the sensitivity and accuracy of the current standard techniques, the abovementioned emerging techniques achieve rapid, cost-effective, and nondestructive or slightly destructive determination of tea products, with some of them providing real-time detection results. Applying these emerging techniques in the whole industry of tea product processing, right from the picking of fresh tea leaves, fermentation of tea leaves, to the sensory evaluation of commercial tea, as well as developing portable devices for real-time and on-site determination of classified and safety parameters (e.g., the geographical origin, grade, and content of contaminants) will not only eliminate the strong dependence on professionals but also help mechanize the production of tea products, which deserves further research. Conducting a review on the application of spectroscopic techniques, electrochemical methods, nanozymes, computer vision, and modifications of chromatographic techniques for quality and safety determination of tea products may serve as guide for other types of foods and beverages, offering potential techniques for their detection and evaluation, which would promote the development of the food industry.

Chemical, physical and physiological quality attributes of fruit and vegetables induced by cold plasma treatment: Mechanisms and application advances.

In recent years, applications of cold plasma treatments have shown high efficiency in sterilization of fresh fruit and vegetables. With encouraging results, development of this technique focuses on influences of cold plasma on the quality attributes of these fresh produce. More studies found that the quality attributes are maintained in an acceptable range or can even be improved under certain plasma treatment conditions. This review provides an overview of the multiple effects of cold plasma on the fresh produce, in terms of physical, chemical and physiological aspects. Besides, the possible mechanisms of how plasma influences these quality attributes is elaborated, which is useful for further modification and improvement of the plasma technology, so that quality enhancement and shelf life extension can be achieved. Future trends in the development of cold plasma technology are also presented. Cold plasma treatment is a potential technology for treating fresh fruit and vegetables to enhance their quality and extend their shelf life. However, knowledge of the effects of cold plasma on the quality changes of fresh fruit and vegetables is still limited. Therefore, there is a need for future studies to understand the mechanisms of plasma effects on controlling the interactions between plasma and food products in order to realize the early adoption of the technology to the food industry.

Xiaotan Jieyu Prescription Alleviates Breast Precancerous Lesions through PI3K/Akt Signaling Pathway.

METHODS: The successfully established breast precancerous lesion rat model and normal healthy rats were randomly assigned into the blank (BLA), model (MOD), XTJY-low (LD), XTJY-medium (MD), XTJY-high (HD), and tamoxifen (TAM) groups. Different concentrations of XTJY and saline were supplied by intragastric administration for 4 consecutive weeks to assess the protective effect of XTJY on the progress of the breast precancerous lesion in rats involving the phosphatidylinositol-3-kinase (PI3K)/protein kinase B (Akt) signaling pathway. RESULTS: In this study, it determined that 10 mg/each rat DMBA-combined estrogen and progesterone induction for 10 weeks was the optimal condition for the establishment of the breast precancerous lesion rat model. In vivo administration of XTJY or TAM was found to inhibit the development of the breast precancerous lesion, and the occurrence rate of breast invasive carcinomas was decreased by about 50%. Furthermore, XTJY or TAM markedly reduced protein expressions of PI3K and p-Akt and increased protein expressions of PTEN. CONCLUSION: These data indicated that XTJY can significantly alleviate the development of breast precancerous lesions by inhibiting the activation of the PI3K/Akt signaling pathway. XTJY may be a promising drug for the treatment of precancerous lesions in breast cancer.

Transcriptional profiling reveals molecular basis and the role of arginine in response to low-pH stress in Pichia kudriavzevii.

The non-conventional yeast Pichia kudriavzevii is considered to be a promising biotechnological host for the production of organic acids under low-pH conditions. However, little is known about the low-pH stress response in P. kudriavzevii, which significantly restricts its future development. In this study, P. kudriavzevii N-X showed great tolerance to low-pH stress, but the cell aggregation upon extremely acidic conditions might be unfavorable for low-pH fermentation. We therefore conducted RNA-Seq to compare global gene expression of P. kudriavzevii N-X in response to different pH stresses. Totally 434 genes were identified to be differentially expressed genes (DEGs), and annotation and enrichment analysis suggested that multiple genes associated with regulation of membrane lipid composition, filamentous growth and arginine metabolism were differentially expressed. The increased specific activity of arginase and intracellular ammonia concentration of P. kudriavzevii cultured at pH 2.0 further implied potential roles of arginine in response to extreme low-pH conditions. Extracellular supplementation of 5 mM arginine resulted in increased pHi and cell growth at pH 2.0, meanwhile the cell aggregation was partially suppressed. Additionally, overexpression of ARG J involving in arginine synthesis can also enhance the cell growth and reduce the aggregation effect. These results suggested that increasing arginine flux might be an alternative approach in the developing of P. kudriavzevii as a platform host for production of organic acids under low-pH conditions.

Rapid detection of ziram residues in apple and pear fruits by SERS based on octanethiol functionalized bimetallic core-shell nanoparticles.

Existing approaches for the screening of unsafe materials in food matrices are time-consuming, tiresome and destructive in nature. Therefore, in the current study, a surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) method based on octanethiol-functionalized core-shell nanoparticles (Oct/Au@AgNPs) was established for rapid detection of ziram in apple and pear fruits. The morphology of substrate was evaluated using high-resolution TEM images and superimposed HAADF-STEM-EDS elemental mapping images, which confirmed that Au@AgNPs having gold (Au) core size of 28 nm in diameter and silver (Ag) shell of 5.5 nm in thickness were successfully grafted with octanethiol. The SERS method with the sensitive nanoparticles could detect ziram of up to 0.015 and 0.016 ppm in apple and pear with high coefficients of determination (R2) of 0.9987 and 0.9993, respectively. Furthermore, satisfactory recoveries (80-106%) were also accomplished for the fungicide in real samples. This work demonstrated that the functionalized silver-coated gold nanoparticles were easy to prepare and could be used as sensitive SERS platforms for monitoring of other agrochemicals in foods.

Identification of new dermaseptins with self-assembly tendency: membrane disruption, biofilm eradication, and infected wound healing efficacy.

Severe infections associated with antibiotic-resistant bacteria and biofilms have attracted increasing interest as these diseases are difficult to treat with current antibiotics. Typical cationic antimicrobial peptides dermaseptins are considered to be the most promising next-generation antibiotics because of their broad-spectrum antimicrobial activities and minor side effects. Two new dermaseptin peptides, DMS-PS1 and DMS-PS2, have been identified by "shotgun" molecular cloning of encoding cDNAs in the crude skin secretions of the waxy monkey tree frog, Phyllomedusa sauvagei. The mature peptide sequences predicted from the cloned cDNAs were separated from crude skin secretions and confirmed by mass spectrometry. Chemically synthetic replicates were assessed for various biological activities. Both dermaseptins were potently effective against a broad spectrum of microorganisms including antibiotic-resistant bacteria and displayed significant potency against gram-positive and gram-negative bacterial biofilms with low toxicity towards mammalian red blood cells. Remarkably, DMS-PS2 was effective against infections in murine skin caused by methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus as a result of an induced wound. The actions of DMS-PS2 were with a membrane permeabilization mode. Overall, the data provided convincing evidence for the development of anti-infectious agents and/or biomaterials as a new therapeutic approach against bacterial infections. STATEMENT OF SIGNIFICANCE: Bacterial adhesion to biomaterials remains a major problem. Antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) are well-known components of the innate immune system that can be applied to overcome biofilm-associated infections. Cationic dermaseptin peptides showed significant broad-spectrum antimicrobial activities and activities against bacterial biofilms of persistent infections in association with weak toxicity for mammalian red blood cells. The membrane permeabilizing ability of DMS-PS2 was confirmed, and importantly, it demonstrated potent efficiency of the treatment of MRSA infected murine skin model. Furthermore, beyond our expectation, DMS-PS2 showed a self-aggregating parameter, indicating a promising potential for the use of immobilized AMPs in clinical applications., which makes it also a promising suggestion for infection-proof biomaterial development.

Heterogeneity of nutrition care procedures in nutrition guidelines for cancer patients.

OBJECTIVES: The aim of this study was to systematically assess the nutrition care procedures in nutrition guidelines for cancer patients and identify gaps limiting evidence-based practise. METHODS: A systematic search of databases and websites was conducted to identify nutrition guidelines for cancer patients. The quality of the eligible guidelines was evaluated by using the Appraisal of Guidelines for Research and Evaluation (AGREE II). The Measurement Scale of Rate of Agreement (MSRA) was used to assess the scientific agreement of formulated recommendations for nutrition care procedures in the guidelines (2017-2019), and evidence supporting these recommendations was extracted and analysed. RESULTS: Seventeen nutrition guidelines for cancer patients were identified. Only European Society for Clinical Nutrition and Metabolism (ESPEN) and Australian guidelines have a total quality score of more than 60%, which is worthy of clinical recommendation. Twelve guidelines (2017-2019) were included to further analyse the heterogeneity and causes of nutrition care procedures, and we found that the content and tools of nutrition screening and assessment, the application of immune nutrients, and the selection of nutritional support pathways were heterogeneous. The main reasons for the heterogeneity of nutrition care procedures were insufficient attention to nutrition risk screening, differences in recommendations for nutrition assessment, immune nutrients and nutritional support, unreasonable citation of screening and assessment evidence, preference of developers, and lack of evidence of high-quality research on energy and nitrogen demand. In addition, the fairness and propensity of the guidelines for the selection of evidence for different cancer patients are also potential reasons for the heterogeneity of nutritional care procedures. CONCLUSIONS: The quality of the nutrition guidelines for cancer patients was highly variable. The nutrition care procedures were heterogeneous among the different guidelines in the last 3 years. Specific improvement of the factors leading to the heterogeneity of nutrition care procedures will be a reasonable and effective way for developers to upgrade the nutrition care procedures in the guidelines for cancer patients.

Current Situation and Reconsideration on the Study of Integrated Chinese and Western Medicine Andrology.

The development of Chinese medicine and Western medicine andrology is based on different social background and academic systems, either Chinese medicine or Western medicine andrology has their limitations, therefore, integration of Chinese and Western medicine (ICWM) andrology is in a great need. After more than 30 years of development, andrology has made great achievements in the construction of specialized academic association, holding academic conferences and publication of academic monographs, and the research progress on this field is mainly in the combination of disease and syndrome, microdifferentiation of symptoms and signs and basic research development. However, the comprehensive theoretic system of ICWM andrology has not yet established, and the related studies are still on the primary stage. In the future studies, great efforts still need to be made to expand the methods for the investigation of ICWM, and make innovations in the field of andrology.