Efficient Utilization of Tea Resources through Encapsulation: Dual Perspectives from Core Material to Wall Material.

With the high production and consumption of tea around the world, efficient utilization of tea byproducts (tea pruning, tea residues after production, and drinking) is the focus of improving the economy of the tea industry. This review comprehensively discusses the efficient utilization of tea resources by encapsulation from the dual perspectives of core material and wall material. The core material is mainly tea polyphenols, followed by tea oils. The encapsulation system for tea polyphenols includes microcapsules, nanoparticles, emulsions, gels, conjugates, metal-organic frameworks, liposomes, and nanofibers. In addition, it is also diversified for the encapsulation of tea oils. Tea resources as wall materials refer to tea saponins, tea polyphenols, tea proteins, and tea polysaccharides. The application of the tea-based delivery system widely involves functionally fortified food, meat preservation, film, medical treatment, wastewater treatment, and plant protection. In the future, the coencapsulation of tea resources as core materials and other functional ingredients, the precise targeting of these tea resources, and the wide application of tea resources in wall materials need to be focused on. In conclusion, the described technofunctional properties and future research challenges in this review should be followed.

Mn(II)-Mediated Self-Assembly of Tea Polysaccharide Nanoparticles and Their Functional Role in Mice with Type 2 Diabetes.

Tea polysaccharide (TPS) is a bioactive compound that has attracted increasing attention for its health effect on regulating the metabolism of glucose and lipid. Moreover, due to their good biocompatibility and biodegradability, TPS-based nanoparticles have emerged as effective nanocarriers for the delivery of bioactive molecules. In this study, we developed a TPS-based biocarrier system for the orally targeted administration of Mn(II) ions and investigated their antidiabetic effects in C57BL/6 mice with HFD/streptozotocin (STZ)-induced T2DM. Mn(II)-loaded TPS-based nanoparticles (MTNPs) were synthesized, in which negatively charged functional groups in protein and uronic acid in TPS conjugates would act as binding sites for Mn(II) ions, which is responsible for the cross-linking reaction of MTNP. The resulting MTNP had a spherical shape and a mean particle size of around 30 nm with a Mn(II) ion content of 2.24 ± 0.13 mg/g. In T2DM mice, we discovered that MTNP treatment significantly lowered blood glucose levels and improved glucose intolerance. Furthermore, the impact of MTNP on the recovery of FINS, the homeostatic index of insulin resistance (HOMA-IR), and the homeostatic index of ß-cell (HOMA ß-cell) levels was significantly larger (p < 0.05) than TPS alone, demonstrating that Mn(II) ions can enhance TPS's ability to repair HFD/STZ-induced ß-cell damage. Mn(II) ions in MTNP not only acted as cofactors to increase the exocytosis of insulin secretory cells by upregulating the expression of Ca(II)/calmodulin-dependent protein kinase II (CaMK II) but also promoted TPS's lipid-lowering effect in T2DM mice by inhibiting glucogenesis and regulating the lipid metabolism. Our findings suggest that Mn(II) ions can be used not only as cross-linkers in the formation of nanoparticulated TPS but also as cofactors in improving the functional role of TPS in regulating the glucose and lipid metabolism, which will provide insights into the development of TPS-based drug delivery systems for the prevention of type 2 diabetes.

Development of pH-driven zein/tea saponin composite nanoparticles for encapsulation and oral delivery of curcumin.

The purpose of this paper was to overcome the challenges of curcumin by zein/tea saponin composite nanoparticles (Z/TSNPs) without any organic reagents and high-energy equipment. The spherical Z/TSNPs exhibited good physical stability, the conditions of which included pH at 5.0-8.0, heating at 80 ℃, ionic strength within 100 mM, and storage at 25 ℃ for 30 days. Meanwhile, Z/TSNPs showed excellent redispersibility. Z/TSNPs were used to encapsulate and deliver curcumin (Cur-Z/TSNPs), showing encapsulation efficiency and loading capacity of 83.73% and 22.33%, respectively. Cur-Z/TSNPs exhibited good chemical stability during storage, and the effect of light on Cur-Z/TSNPs was smaller than that of free curcumin. Furthermore, Cur-Z/TSNPs improved the solubilization and bioaccessibility of curcumin about 290 and 5 times, respectively. Besides, the encapsulation changed the crystalline state of curcumin to amorphous, and the pH-driven mechanism was probably related to hydrogen bonding, hydrophobic and electrostatic interactions.

Preparation and characterization of metal-tea polysaccharide complexes and their inhibition on α-glucosidase.

The preparation method and the sources of metal elements may affect the activity of the metal-polysaccharide complex. In this study, four Fe-tea polysaccharide complexes were prepared and three tea polysaccharides (TPSs) from different seasons were extracted. Moreover, the binding mode of TPSs with internal and external metallic elements as well as their inhibitory effect on α-glucosidase was explored. The results revealed that the binding mode (-C-O-Fe and -C-Fe) of the Fe-TPS complex prepared at pH 5.0 was closer to TPS with internal metallic elements. The TPS with the least amount of internal metallic elements (61.72 mg/g) exhibited a high inhibitory activity on α-glucosidase (37.90%). The inhibitory activity of Fe-TPS on α-glucosidase was lower than that without Fe. But the quenching effect and the inhibition type of TPSs on α-glucosidase were not affected by metallic elements. Therefore, the metallic elements have the potential to reduce the hypoglycemic activity of TPS. PRACTICAL APPLICATIONS: In this paper, TPS was extracted from crude tea in different seasons, and the effects of metallic elements in TPS on hypoglycemic activity, physicochemical properties, and structure of TPS were discussed. TPS metal complexes were prepared by adding Fe3+ or removing metallic elements, and the differences of internal metallic elements in TPS were discussed. It is of great academic significance to use tea pruned leaves and crude tea as potential resources to develop polysaccharide hypoglycemic products and to reveal the relationship between TPS metal ions and their structure and activity. In addition, it has guiding value for consumers to choose tea-producing regions and growers to choose chemical fertilizer.

A comparison of the effects of Chinese non-pharmaceutical therapies for pain control in knee osteoarthritis: A protocol for a systematic review and network meta-analysis.

BACKGROUND: Knee osteoarthritis (KOA) is a chronic degenerative joint disease, leading to pain and functional limitation in the elderly. The non-pharmaceutical therapy is recommended firstly by different guidelines for KOA management strategies. In China, there are various forms of non-pharmaceutical treatments for KOA, which are considered beneficial in relieving KOA pain. However, there is no consensus on which is the optimal non-pharmaceutical regimens. Thus, present network meta-analysis aims to assess the comparative efficacy of available Chinese non-pharmaceutical therapies, especially in pain management. METHODS: PubMed, EMBASE, Cochrane library, Web of Science, China national knowledge infrastructure, VIP, Wan Fang will be systematically searched their inception to April 2020. Randomized controlled trials that compared the effect of non-pharmaceutical therapies on pain control in KOA will be included, including traditional acupuncture, electroacupuncture, warming needle, fired needle, acupuncture followed by moxibustion, moxibustion and massage. The primary outcome was the knee pain levels, and secondary outcome was the comprehensive indicators. Risk of bias assessment of the included studies will be performed according to the Cochrane risk of bias tool. The pairwise and network meta-analysis will be performed by STATA 14.0 and GeMTC softwares. RESULTS: This study is ongoing and will be submitted to a peer-reviewed journal for publication. CONCLUSION: This study will provide a comprehensive evidence on the effects of Chinese non-pharmaceutical therapies for pain control in KOA. PROSPERO REGISTRATION NUMBER: CRD42018106575.

Effect of purity of tea polysaccharides on its antioxidant and hypoglycemic activities.

The effects of purity of tea polysaccharides (TPS) on its five antioxidant activities and hypoglycemic activities in vitro were studied. The results showed that the higher the purity of TPS, the lower the antioxidant capacity. The purity of FTPSI is the highest (sugar content 80.72%), but its antioxidant activities were lower than those of Fujian tea polysaccharides (FTPS) and FTPSII. The antioxidant activity of tea polysaccharide is related to its protein and polyphenol content (Pearson r > .90). The protective effect of Zhejiang tea polysaccharides and FTPS on human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVEC) was better than that of its purified fractions. The inhibition rates of FTPSII (5 and 2 mg/ml) on α-glucosidase (32.76%) and α-amylase (-11.93%) were higher than those of FTPS and FTPSII. Purification does not change the basic structure of TPS. This study has certain reference value for the study of the antioxidant activities of TPS. Meanwhile, TPS can be used as a potential resource with hypoglycemic function. PRACTICAL APPLICATIONS: A large number of studies have shown that TPS have antioxidant activity. However, several studies considered that the antioxidant activity of TPS mainly comes from the residues of tea polyphenols. Therefore, the in vitro and cell antioxidant activities of TPS were studied in this paper. We believe that both glycoprotein and tea polyphenol are antioxidants of tea, and tea polysaccharide perform preferable effect on hypoglycemic. HUVEC cell model and four in vitro antioxidant test methods were used to study the antioxidant activities of TPS, and two enzyme inhibition activities were used to study the hypoglycemic effect of TPS, in order to provide a theoretical basis for the study of biological activity of TPS.

Selective, highly efficient extraction of Cr(III), Pb(II) and Fe(III) from complex water environment with a tea residue derived porous gel adsorbent.

A novel macroporous (~150 µm) double network hydrogel (TR/PAA) was prepared from tea residue and acrylic acid, and its performance was systematically evaluated. The static adsorption experiments showed that gel exhibited high selectivity and adsorption capacity, ultrafast kinetics (~10 min) for Cr(III), Pb(II) and Fe(III). The adsorption behavior showed heterogeneous and chemisorption process adsorption capacities of 206.19, 253.16, and 94.88 mg g-1 for Cr(III), Pb(II) and Fe(III), respectively. In pluralistic systems, TR/PAA showed the adsorption order of Fe(III) > Cr(III) > Pb(II). Mechanism studies confirm that nitrogen and oxygen-containing functional groups play a major role in the adsorption process. In the fixed-bed column experiments, the treatment volume of simulated wastewater reached 1400 bed volumes (BV) (21.6 L), producing only 7 BV (323 mL) eluent. This work provides a new avenue for the combination of TR/PAA reuse and heavy metal removal, which is expected to be applied in actual wastewater treatment.

Modulation of Gut Microbiota by Fucoxanthin During Alleviation of Obesity in High-Fat Diet-Fed Mice.

Fucoxanthin (Fx), an allenic carotenoid from brown seaweeds or diatoms, has been demonstrated to prevent obesity. Gut dysbiosis and inflammation are two counted important incidence reasons of obesity and related diseases. In this paper, a mouse model induced by high-fat diet (HFD) was used to reveal the role of Fx in modulating intestinal homeostasis and treating obesity. In addition, 16S rRNA sequencing results inferred that Fx alleviated HFD-induced gut microbiota dysbiosis by significantly inhibiting the growth of obesity-/inflammation-related Lachnospiraceae and Erysipelotrichaceae while promoting the growth of Lactobacillus/Lactococcus, Bifidobacterium, and some butyrate-producing bacteria. The correlation analysis showed that some gut microbiota taxa were strongly correlated with obesity phenotypes and the inflammation level. In conclusion, dietary Fx has the potential to alleviate the development of obesity and related symptoms through mediating the composition of gut microbiota as demonstrated in mice. This study provides scientific evidence for the potential effects of Fx on obesity treatment.

Formation, characterization, and application of chitosan/pectin-stabilized multilayer emulsions as astaxanthin delivery systems.

Multilayer emulsions were formed by sequential electrostatic deposition of anionic (pectin) and cationic (chitosan) biopolymers onto anionic saponin-coated lipid droplets. These emulsions were then tested for their ability to encapsulate and protect a hydrophobic nutraceutical (astaxanthin). The impact of chitosan and pectin concentration, pH, and ionic strength on the formation and stability of the multilayer emulsions was examined. Multilayer emulsions containing small uniform particles were produced using 2.5% lipid droplets, 0.05% chitosan, and 0.0125% pectin. The physical stability of the astaxanthin-loaded emulsions after exposure to heating, pH, and NaCl was determined. The multilayer-coatings improved the chemical stability of the encapsulated astaxanthin, as well as the aggregation stability of the lipid droplets at elevated ionic strengths and temperatures. Astaxanthin degradation during storage was 3- to 4-fold slower in multilayer emulsions than conventional ones. The multilayer emulsions developed in this study may be useful for encapsulating, protecting, and delivering hydrophobic carotenoids, which may aid in the development of more efficacious functional foods, supplements, and medical foods.

Effects of metal ions in tea polysaccharides on their in vitro antioxidant activity and hypoglycemic activity.

Total tea polysaccharides (TTPS) were extracted from two kinds of pruning leaves of tea plant and fractionated into neutral tea polysaccharides (TPSI) and acidic tea polysaccharides (TPSII) by anion exchange resin D315. Some physicochemical properties, including structure, monosaccharide composition, and molecular weight distribution, as well as the 4 in vitro antioxidant activities and inhibitory effects on α-glucosidase of above polysaccharides before and after removing metal ions were investigated. By comparing TTPS and TPSII, we found that they exhibited different antioxidant activities and inhibitory actions against α-glucosidase after their metal ions were removed. However, the in vitro antioxidant activities and inhibitory effects on α-glucosidase of TPSI were substantially improved. The study can be a certain reference for tea and soil selection. At the same time, we suggested that pruning leaves of tea plant could be treated as a potential resource for the development of polysaccharide antioxidants and hypoglycemic products.

Pharmacological treatment for memory disorder in multiple sclerosis.

BACKGROUND: This is an update of the Cochrane review "Pharmacologic treatment for memory disorder in multiple sclerosis" (first published in The Cochrane Library 2011, Issue 10).Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a chronic immune-mediated, inflammatory, demyelinating, neurodegenerative disorder of the central nervous system (CNS) and can cause both neurological and neuropsychological disability. Both demyelination and axonal and neuronal loss are believed to contribute to MS-related cognitive impairment. Memory disorder is one of the most frequent cognitive dysfunctions and presents a considerable burden to people with MS and to society due to the negative impact on function. A number of pharmacological agents have been evaluated in many existing randomised controlled trials for their efficacy on memory disorder in people with MS but the results were not consistent. OBJECTIVES: To assess the absolute and comparative efficacy, tolerability and safety of pharmacological treatments for memory disorder in adults with MS. SEARCH METHODS: We searched the Cochrane Multiple Sclerosis and Rare Diseases of the Central Nervous System Group Trials Register (24 July 2013), PsycINFO (January 1980 to 26 June 2013) and CBMdisc (1978 to 24 June 2013), and checked reference lists of identified articles, searched some relevant journals manually, registers of clinical trials and published abstracts of conference proceedings. SELECTION CRITERIA: All double-blind, randomised controlled parallel trials on pharmacological treatment versus placebo or one or more pharmacological treatments in adults with MS who had at least mild memory impairment (at 0.5 standard deviations below age- and sex-based normative data on a validated memory scale). We placed no restrictions regarding dose, route of administration and frequency; however, we only included trials with an administration duration of 12 weeks or greater. DATA COLLECTION AND ANALYSIS: Two review authors independently assessed trial quality and extracted data. We discussed disagreements and resolved them by consensus among review authors. We contacted principal investigators of included studies for additional data or confirmation. MAIN RESULTS: We included seven randomised controlled trials (RCTs) involving 625 people mostly with relapsing-remitting, secondary-progressive and primary-progressive MS, evaluating the absolute efficacy of donepezil, ginkgo biloba, memantine and rivastigmine versus placebo in improving memory performance with diverse assessment scales. Overall, clinical and methodological heterogeneities existed across these studies. Moreover, most of them had methodological limitations on non-specific selections of targeted sample, non-matched variables at baseline or incomplete outcome data (high attrition bias). Only the two studies on donepezil had clinical and methodological homogeneity and relatively low risks for bias. One RCT evaluating estriol versus placebo is currently ongoing.We could not carry out a meta-analysis due to the heterogeneities across studies and the high attrition bias. A subgroup analysis for donepezil versus placebo showed no treatment effects on total recall on the Selective Reminding Test (mean difference (MD) 1.68; 95% confidence interval (CI) -2.21 to 5.58), total correct scores on the 10/36 Spatial Recall Test (MD -0.93; 95% CI -3.18 to 1.32), the Symbol Digit Modalities Test (MD -1.27; 95% CI -3.15 to 0.61) and the Paced Auditory Serial Addition Test (2+3 sec) (MD 2.23; 95% CI -1.87 to 6.33). Concerning safety, the main adverse events were: diarrhoea (risk ratio (RR) 3.88; 95% CI 1.66 to 9.05), nausea (RR 1.71; 95% CI 0.93 to 3.18) and abnormal dreams (RR 2.91; 95% CI 1.38 to 6.14). However, the results in both studies were subjected to a serious imprecision resulting from the small sample sizes and the low power of test (lower than 80%), which contributed to a moderate quality of the evidence. No serious adverse events were attributed to the treatments in all experimental groups. AUTHORS' CONCLUSIONS: We found no convincing evidence to support the efficacy of pharmacological symptomatic treatment for MS-associated memory disorder because most of available RCTs had a limited quality. Whether pharmacological treatment is effective for memory disorder in patients with MS remains inconclusive. However, there is moderate-quality evidence that donepezil 10 mg daily was not effective in improving memory in MS patients with mild memory impairment, but had a good tolerability. Adverse events such as nausea, diarrhoea and abnormal dreams were not frequent but were associated with treatment. Ginkgo biloba, memantine and rivastigmine were safe and well tolerated and no serious adverse effects were reported. Future large-scale RCTs with higher methodological quality are needed.

FT-IR methodology for quality control of arabinogalactan protein (AGP) extracted from green tea (Camellia sinensis ).

A rapid methodology of quality control was developed for arabinogalactan proteins (AGP) extracted and purified from green tea. Using the vectorial angle method and IR spectrum analysis, the 1200-800 cm(-1) region in second-derivative IR spectra was determined as the key fingerprinting region of green tea AGP, with the 1090-900 cm(-1) region reflecting their conservative and common characteristics. In fact, the key monosaccharides, galactose (Gal) and arabinose (Ara), were shown to have intense peaks at about 1075 and 1045 cm(-1), respectively, and uronic acids at about 1018 cm(-1) in second-derivative IR spectra. The variable region was identified to be at about 1134-1094 and 900-819 cm(-1) and was probably due to compositional and structural differences between AGPs. The constructed methodology was tested on green tea AGP extracted by three treatments and purified to apparent homogeneity as water-extracted Camellia sinensis AGP (CSW-AGP), pectinase-extracted C. sinensis AGP (CSP-AGP), and trypsin-extracted C. sinensis AGP (CST-AGP) with an Ara/Gal ratio of 1.37, 1.57, and 1.82, respectively. Regarding in vitro antioxidant activity, the AGPs (CSW-AGP and CST-AGP) with higher similarity (closer cos theta values calculated for second-derivative IR spectra) exhibited a similar ability of chelating ferrous ions and had a similar capability for scavenging hydroxyl radicals. In conclusion, the combination of second-derivative IR spectrum analysis and the vectorial angle method has allowed a successful characterization of green tea AGPs and was shown to be suitable for their compositional and activity discrimination and rapid quality evaluation.

Affinity purification of trypsin inhibitor with anti-Aspergillus flavus activity from cultivated and wild soybean.

Trypsin inhibitors (TI) from wild-type soybean (Glycine soya) (WBTI) and domesticated soybean (Glycine max) (SBTI) were purified using prepared chitosan resin-trypsin as filler on the affinity chromatography column. The SBTI/WBTI purification fold by affinity chromatography was 718- and 279-fold, with the activity recovery of 62% and 59%, respectively. It was found that SBTI and WBTI exerted a strong inhibition of Aspergillus. flavus growth, with IC(50) of 1.6 and 1.0 micromol/l. This growth inhibition was possibly the result of the inhibition on alpha-amylase activity of A. flavus by both the SBTI and WBTI. This was further supported by the fact that in the presence of SBTI and WBTI at 9.0 and 6.0 microg/g (peanut) on peanuts inhibited the germination and growth of A. flavus. Accordingly, characterization of the mode of action of SBTI and WBTI could constitute a first step leading to resistance to A. flavus invasion.

Effects of soluble tea polysaccharides on hyperglycemia in alloxan-diabetic mice.

The effects of tea water extracts (TWE), crude tea polysaccharides (CTP), and a tea polysaccharide fraction (TPF) were tested on hyperglycemic diabetic mice. Results indicated that TWE, CTP, and TPF could significantly decrease fasting blood glucose (FBG) and glucosylated serum protein (GSP) in alloxan-induced diabetic mice compared to the control group. In vitro antioxidant activities of TWE, CTP, and TPF for scavenging hydroxyl radicals and superoxide radicals decreased with the degree of purification and were lowest for TPF. High-performance gel permeation chromatography (HPGPC) and component analysis revealed the molecular mass distribution and constituents of TWE, CTP, and TPF, indicating that a 100-120 kDa fraction contained the hypoglycemic activity. This fraction was essentially composed of polysaccharides (approximately 90%) with substantial amounts of arabinogalactan proteins. The second-derivative IR spectra of TWE, CTP, and TPF with peak intensity around 1075 and 1045 cm(-1), which characterize galactopyranose in the backbone and arabinofuranose units in side branches, respectively, further substantiated the importance of the arabinogalactan proteins. Taken together, the results indicate that a soluble tea polysaccharide is the major hypoglycemic factor in tea and that this polysaccharide may be developed to a potential natural hypoglycemic functional ingredient.

Effects of spraying rare earths on contents of rare Earth elements and effective components in tea.

Rare earth (RE) fertilizer is widely applied in China to increase the yield and the quality of crops including tea. However, the effects of spraying RE fertilizer on the contents of rare earth elements (REE) and effective components in tea are unknown. The results from basin and field experiments show that the values of the REE concentrations in new shoots of tea plants and the concentration of REE in the soil (REE/REEs) either from control basins or from treatment basins were smaller than those in other parts of tea plant and similar between control and treatment. The longer the interval between spraying RE fertilizer and picking the shoots of tea plants, the less the effects from spraying. About 80% summation operator REE (the sum of the concentrations of 15 REE) in tea, whether it came from spraying or not, was insoluble in the infusion. About 10% the soluble REE of summation operator REE in tea infusion was bound to polysaccharide, and the amount of REE bound polysaccharide decreased over time. At least a 25 day safety interval is needed between spraying and picking if the microelement fertilizer is used, in order to enhance tea output and to ensure tea safety.

Components and activity of polysaccharides from coarse tea.

Coarse tea contained a high content of polysaccharide complex. Composed of polysaccharide and protein, the polysaccharide complex from tea (TPS) belonged to glycoprotein with the molecular weight () of (10.7-11.0) x 10(4). When mice (7 weeks old, C57BL/8) were injected with TPS, the levels of blood glucose (BG) in normal mice and model mice with high BG were decreased significantly by averages of 13.54 and 22.18%, respectively. The antibody concentration (OD(413 nm)) in the mice injected with 2.4 mg/mL TPS was increased evidently by 44.93% (p < 0.01). TPS treatment was beneficial not only for the subsequent production of interleukin (IL) 2 in spleen cells of adjuvant arthritis (AA) rats but also because it prohibited the body from producing too much IL-1 in AA rats. Treatment of diabetes with coarse tea in both China and Japan may be related to TPS and the content of TPS in coarse tea.