Meta-analysis and machine learning reveal the antiobesity effects of melatonin on obese rodents.

Melatonin appears to be a promising supplement for obesity treatment. The antiobesity effects of melatonin on obese rodents are influenced by various factors, including the species, sex, the dosage of melatonin, treatment duration, administration via, daily treatment time, and initial body weight (IBW). Therefore, we conducted a meta-analysis and machine learning study to evaluate the antiobesity effect of melatonin on obese mice or rats from 31 publications. The results showed that melatonin significantly reduced body weight, serum glucose (GLU), triglycerides (TGs), low-density lipoprotein (LDL), and cholesterol (TC) levels in obese mice or rats but increased high-density lipoprotein (HDL) levels. Melatonin showed a slight positive effect on clock-related genes, although the number of studies was limited. Meta-regression analysis and machine learning indicated that the dosage of melatonin was the primary factor influencing body weight, with higher melatonin dosages leading to a stronger weight reduction effect. Together, male obese C57BL/6 mice and Sprague-Dawley rats with an IBW of 100-200 g showed better body weight reduction when supplemented with a dose of 10-30 mg/kg melatonin administered at night via injection for 5-8 weeks.

Improvement of betalains stability extracted from red dragon fruit peel by ultrasound-assisted microencapsulation with maltodextrin.

Natural betalains can be potential food additives because of their antioxidant activities, but they have poor thermal stability. In this study, betalains were extracted from red dragon fruit peel, and then encapsulated with maltodextrin by ultrasound method to increase the physicochemical properties of betalains microcapsules. The encapsulation efficiency of the betalains was above 79%, and the particle size and Zeta potential values were 275.46 nm and -29.01 mV, respectively. Compared to the control sample, onset temperature and DPPH free radical scavenging of betalains microcapsules under the modest ultrasound treatment (200 W, 5 min) was increased by 1.6 °C and 12.24%, respectively. This increase could be due to the ability of ultrasonification to create interactions between maltodextrin and betalains (as evidenced by FT-IR). Therefore, modest ultrasound treatment can be used for microcapsulation to improve the stability of betalains, and then expand the application of betalains in heat processed food field.

Comparison of Different Methods for Extracting the Astaxanthin from Haematococcus pluvialis: Chemical Composition and Biological Activity.

In this study, the impact of different cell disruption techniques (high-pressure micro fluidization (HPMF), ionic liquids (ILs), multi-enzyme (ME), and hydrochloric acid (HCl)) on the chemical composition and biological activity of astaxanthin (AST) obtained from Haematococcus pluvialis was investigated. Results indicated that all cell disruption techniques had a significant effect on AST composition, which were confirmed by TLC and UPC2 analysis. AST recovery from HCl (HCl-AST) and ILs (ILs-AST) cell disruption techniques was dominant by free and monoesters AST, while AST recovery from HPMF (HPMF-AST) and ME (ME-AST) cell disruption techniques was composed of monoesters, diesters, and free AST. Further biological activity analysis displayed that HCl-AST showed the highest ABTS and DPPH activity, while ILs-AST showed better results against the ORAC assay. Additionally, ILs-AST exhibits a stronger anti-proliferation of HepG2 cells in a dose-dependent manner, which was ascribed to AST-induced ROS in to inhibit the proliferative of cancer cells.

Membrane Destruction and DNA Binding of Staphylococcus aureus Cells Induced by Carvacrol and Its Combined Effect with a Pulsed Electric Field.

Carvacrol (5-isopropyl-2-methylphenol, CAR) is an antibacterial ingredient that occurs naturally in the leaves of the plant Origanum vulgare. The antimicrobial mechanism of CAR against Staphylococcus aureus ATCC 43300 was investigated in the study. Analysis of the membrane fatty acids by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) showed that exposure to CAR at low concentrations induced a marked increase in the level of unbranched fatty acids (from 34.90 ± 1.77% to 62.37 ± 4.26%). Moreover, CAR at higher levels severely damaged the integrity and morphologies of the S. aureus cell membrane. The DNA-binding properties of CAR were also investigated using fluorescence, circular dichroism, molecular modeling, and atomic-force microscopy. The results showed that CAR bound to DNA via the minor-groove mode, mildly perturbed the DNA secondary structure, and induced DNA molecules to be aggregated. Furthermore, a combination of CAR with a pulsed-electric field was found to exhibit strong synergistic effects on S. aureus.