Membrane permeabilizers enhance biofortification of Brassica microgreens by interspecific transfer of metabolites from tea (Camellia sinensis).

Interspecific metabolite transfer (ISMT) is a novel approach for plants biofortification. In this study, the effect of tea (Camellia sinensis; Cs), with or without membrane permeabilizers EDTA and Tween, as a donor plant on broccoli, cauliflower and kale sprouts was investigated. As a result, caffeine- and catechin-enriched broccoli, cauliflower and kale microgreens were produced. Kale sprouts were most permeable for catechins from Cs, while cauliflower was most permeable for caffeine. Cs + EDTA significantly increased vitamin C in broccoli and kale. Among the tested enzymes activity, pancreatic lipase was the most affected by the treatment with broccoli and cauliflower biofortified with Cs or Cs combined with permeabilizers. Broccoli sprouts biofortified with Cs most significantly inhibited α-amylase, while those biofortified with Cs combined with permeabilizers most significantly inhibited α-glucosidase. Results point to ISMT combined with membrane permeabilizers as a promising and eco-friendly biofortification strategy to improve the biopotential of Brassica microgreens.

Novel green production of natural-like vanilla extract from curcuminoids.

The demand for natural vanilla extract, and vanillin in particular, by far exceeds the current production, as both the cultivation of vanilla beans and the extraction of vanillin are laborious. For this purpose, most vanillin used today is produced synthetically, contrary to the general trend toward bio-based products. The present study deals with the synthesis of nature-based vanillin, starting with the more accessible rhizomes of the plant Curcuma longa. Besides vanillin, vanillic acid and p-hydroxybenzaldehyde are synthesized that way, which are also found in the natural vanilla bean. The extraction of the curcuminoids and, finally, their conversion to the flavors are performed using visible light and food-grade chemicals only. A binary mixture of ethanol and triacetin, as well as a surfactant-free microemulsion consisting of water, ethanol, and triacetin, are investigated in this context. The results exceed the literature values for Soxhlet extraction of vanilla beans by a factor > 7.

Changes in polyphenolic compounds and antioxidant activities of seed-used pumpkin during hydrothermal treatment.

An environmentally friendly physical processing method, hydrothermal treatment (HT), was used to increase the content of specific compounds and antioxidant activities of seed-used pumpkin byproducts. The influence of hydrothermal temperature (80 °C-160 °C) and time (30-150 min) on changes in polyphenols and antioxidation was evaluated. The results revealed that the maximum free polyphenol content (140 °C for 120 min) was 3.96-fold higher than the untreated samples. Elevated temperature and long duration changed phenolic acid contents. For example, p-coumaric acid, rutin and chlorogenic acid exhibited a decreasing trend, and p-hydroxybenzoic acid, quercetin and cinnamic acid showed an increasing trend. Compared to controls, HT was significantly associated with increased antioxidant activities. To comprehensively reveal the influence of hydrothermal temperature and time on changes in polyphenolic content, back propagation artificial neural network (BP-ANN) models with accurate prediction ability were developed, and the results exhibited well-fitted and strong approximation ability (R2 > 0.95 and RMSE < 2 %) and stability.

Ethnopharmacology of Rubus idaeus Linnaeus: A critical review on ethnobotany, processing methods, phytochemicals, pharmacology and quality control.

ETHNOPHARMACOLOGICAL RELEVANCE: Rubus idaeus Linnaeus (RI) is a Chinese herbal medicine that has been widely used in China for a long time to reinforce the kidney, nourish the liver, improve vision, and arrest polyuria. AIM OF THE STUDY: This work aims to evaluate the recent progress of the chemical composition, pharmacological activity, pharmacokinetics, metabolism, and quality control and of Rubus idaeus, which focuses on the insufficiency of existing research and will shed light on future studies of Rubus idaeus. METHODS: Literatures about "Rubus idaeus","Red raspberry" and "Fupenzi"are retrieved by browsing the database, such as Web of Science (http://www.webofknowledge.com/wos), Pubmed (https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/), CNKI (http://www.cnki.net/), and Wanfang Data (http://www.wanfangdata.com.cn). In addition, related textbooks and digital documents are interrogated to provide a holistic and critical review of the topic. The period of the literature covered from 1981 to 2022. RESULTS: Approximately 194 compounds have been isolated from Rubus idaeus, which is rich in phenols, terpenoids, alkaloids, steroids, and fatty acids. Numerous investigations have demonstrated that Rubus idaeus exhibits many pharmacological activities, including hypoglycemic and hypolipidemic, anti-Alzheimer effect, anti-osteoporosis, hepatoprotective, anti-cancer, neuroprotective, anti-bacteria and skin care, etc. However, it is worth noting that most of the research is not associated with the conventional effect, such as reducing urination and treating opacity of the cornea. CONCLUSION: The effectiveness of Rubus idaeus has been proved by its long-term clinical application. The research on the pharmacological activity of Rubus idaeus has flourished. In many pharmacological experiments, only the high-dose group can achieve the corresponding efficacy, so the efficacy of Rubus idaeus needs to be further interrogated. Meanwhile, the relationship between pharmacological activity and specific compounds of Rubus idaeus has not been clarified yet. Last but not least, studies involving toxicology and pharmacokinetics are very limited. Knowledge of bioavailability and toxicological behavior of Rubus idaeus can help understand the herb's pharmacodynamic and safety profile.

A network pharmacology-based study on the quality control markers of antithrombotic herbs: Using Salvia miltiorrhiza - Ligusticum chuanxiong as an example.

ETHNOPHARMACOLOGICAL RELEVANCE: Salvia miltiorrhiza (Danshen, DS), the dried root and rhizome of Salvia miltiorrhiza Bunge and Ligusticum chuanxiong (Chuanxiong, CX), the dried rhizomes of Ligusticum striatum DC are effective in invigorating blood circulation and eliminating stasis which is highly related with cardiovascular disease (CVD). AIM OF STUDY: The identification of activity-based chemical markers is very important, but the complex mechanism of "multi-component, multi-target, and multi-effect" within traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) poses a great challenge to this work. In this study, we combined network pharmacological prediction with experimental validation of the DS and CX to explore an effective method for discovering quality control (QC) of antithrombotic herbs by clarifying the intermediate layer "module/cluster" between the whole complex system and a single component. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Based on structural similarity analysis of compound and the thrombosis network published before, we firstly modularized two layers called chemical cluster (CC) network and functional module (FM) network respectively and linked them into one bilayer modularized compound target (BMCT) network. "Two-step" calculation was applied on identifying the significant compounds as the potential QC markers from CC. The in vitro inhibitory activity of selected QC marker compounds on thrombin was evaluated to partially verify their pharmacological activities. HPLC was used to determine contents. RESULTS: According to the network-based analysis, nine compounds with great importance in the BMCT network were identified as QC markers of DS-CX, including tanshinone I, tanshinone IIA, cryptotanshinone, salvianolic acid B, ferulic acid, salvianolic acid A, rosmarinic acid, chlorogenic acid, and coniferyl ferulate. Enzyme inhibitory test partially verified the activity of tanshinone I and tanshinone IIA. Chemical profiling indicated that the nine marker compounds are the main components in the herbal pair. CONCLUSIONS: This study identified activity-based QC markers of DS-CX herbal pair and provided a new methodology that can be used in the QC of other herbs, herbal pairs, or formulas.

Immunometabolism at the service of traditional Chinese medicine.

To enhance therapeutic efficacy and reduce adverse effects, ancient practitioners of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) prescribe combinations of plant species/animal species and minerals designated "TCM formulae" developed based on TCM theory and clinical experience. TCM formulae have been shown to exert curative effects on complex diseases via immune regulation but the underlying mechanisms remain unknown at present. Considerable progress in the field of immunometabolism, referring to alterations in the intracellular metabolism of immune cells that regulate their function, has been made over the past decade. The core context of immunometabolism is regulation of the allocation of metabolic resources supporting host defense and survival, which provides a critical additional dimension and emerging insights into how the immune system and metabolism influence each other during disease progression. This review summarizes research findings on the significant association between the immune function and metabolic remodeling in health and disease as well as the therapeutic modulatory effects of TCM formulae on immunometabolism. Progressive elucidation of the immunometabolic mechanisms involved during the course of TCM treatment continues to aid in the identification of novel potential targets against pathogenicity. In this report, we have provided a comprehensive overview of the benefits of TCM based on regulation of immunometabolism that are potentially applicable for the treatment of modern diseases.

α-Glucosidase inhibitors from brown rice bound phenolics extracts (BRBPE): Identification and mechanism.

Brown rice bound phenolics extracts (BRBPE) have been reported to possess α-glucosidase inhibitory effects, the specific enzyme inhibitors involved in this process were unknown. Here, α-glucosidase inhibitors in BRBPE were screened using bioaffinity ultrafiltration methods, and seven phenolic compounds - three monomers (p-coumaric acid, ferulic acid and methyl ferulate), three dimers (8-5', 5-5' and 8-O-4' diferulic acid) and a trimer (5-5'/8-O-4″ dehydrotriferulic acid) were identified as exact inhibitors, among which 5-5'/8-O-4″ dehydrotriferulic acid and 5-5'diferulic acid exhibited the best inhibitory activity. Enzyme kinetic analysis suggested that the inhibitory mechanism of these seven inhibitors including competitive, noncompetitive, uncompetitive and mixed manner. Molecular docking analysis revealed that the seven inhibitors bind with α-glucosidase mainly by hydrogen bonding interaction, hydrophobic force and ionic bond. Molecular dynamics simulation further explored the structure and molecular property of phenolic-glucosidase complex. This work provided a deep insight into brown rice bound phenolics acting as potent α-glucosidase inhibitors.

Structural elucidation, distribution and antioxidant activity of bound phenolics from whole grain brown rice.

Chemical profiles, distribution, and antioxidant activity of bound phenolics from brown rice were investigated. Four new dehydrodiferulic acid dimers (DFA) along with eighteen known phenolics were isolated from brown rice bound phenolic extracts and their structures were determined by multiple spectroscopic methods. Among them, ferulic acid and 8-5' DFA were the most abundant monomeric and dimeric bound phenolics in brown rice, rice bran and polished rice. In whole brown rice, polished rice contributed more than 50% of three phenolic monomers and six phenolic dimers, while rice bran contributed more than half of the other thirteen phenolics including eight monomers, four dimers, and one trimer. All the isolated compounds exhibited oxygen radical absorbance capacity. Thomasidioic acid, caffeic acid, methyl caffeate, and 8-5' DC DFA displayed potent peroxyl radical scavenging capacity, and the last three compounds also showed moderate cellular antioxidant activity.

Main bioactive phenolic compounds in marine algae and their mechanisms of action supporting potential health benefits.

Given the growing tendency of consumers to choose products with natural ingredients, food industries have directed scientific research in this direction. In this regard, algae are an attractive option for the research, since they can synthesize a group of secondary metabolites, called phenolic compounds, associated with really promising properties and bioactivities. The objective of this work was to classify the major phenolic compounds, compare the effectiveness of the different extractive techniques used for their extraction, from traditional systems (like heat assisted extraction) to the most advance ones (such as ultrasound, microwave or supercritical fluid extraction); the available methods for identification and quantification; the stability of the enriched extract in phenolic compounds and the main bioactivities described for these secondary metabolites, to offer an overview of the situation to consider if it is possible and/or convenient an orientation of phenolic compounds from algae towards an industrial application.

Allium sativum L. (Garlic) bulb enlargement as influenced by differential combinations of photoperiod and temperature.

Photoperiod and temperature are vital environmental factors that regulate plant developmental processes. However, the roles of these factors in garlic bulb enlargement are unclear. In this report, responses of garlic bulb morphology and physiology to combinations of photoperiod (light/dark: 10/14 h, 12/12 h, 14/10 h) and temperature (light/dark: 25/18 °C, 30/20 °C) were investigated. For garlic cultivar G103, bulb characteristics, phytohormones (IAA, ABA, ZT, tZR, JA), allicin and phenolic acids (p-coumaric and p-hydroxybenzoic) were highest under a photoperiod of 14 h at 30 °C. Maximum GA was observed under 14 h + 30 °C for cv. G2011-5. Maximum caffeic, ferulic and vanillic acids were detected for cv. G2011-5 at 14 h + 30 °C, 12 h + 25 °C and 14 h + 25 °C, respectively. Flavonoids (myricetin, quercetin, kaempferol and apigenin) were not detected in this trial. This is the first report describing the impact of long periods of light duration and higher temperatures on garlic morphology, phytohormones, phenolic acids and allicin content.

Arabica and Conilon coffee flowers: Bioactive compounds and antioxidant capacity under different processes.

This study presents innovative research for comparison of the effect of the different dehydration techniques and methods of extraction on the antioxidant potential and bioactive compounds of Conilon and Arabica coffee flowers. The compounds were analyzed by high performance liquid chromatography and the antioxidant capacity evaluated by the 2,2'-azinobis (3-ethylbenzthiazoline-6-sulfonic acid) (ABTS), 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) and nitric oxide assays. Among the compounds evaluated, trigonelline, gallic acid, chlorogenic acid, and caffeine were identified, with trigonelline and caffeine being those with the highest concentration. The investigated factors significantly influenced the profile of the bioactive compounds identified, and the antioxidant capacity. The 92 °C infusion of freeze-dried Conilon coffee flowers, in general, showed greater antioxidant capacity by ABTS and DPPH assays, as well as total phenolic content. Lyophilization had a positive influence on maintaining the content of phenolic compounds and antioxidant capacity of the samples. Coffee flowers proved to be a potential raw material for making tea-like drinks.

Bioaccessibility and gut metabolism of phenolic compounds of breads added with green coffee infusion and enzymatically bioprocessed.

This study aimed at investigating two strategies to enhance the bioaccessibility of phenolic compounds from whole-wheat breads: enzymatic bioprocessing and addition of green coffee infusion. Although both strategies had a significant effect on increasing the contents of total soluble phenolic compounds in breads, the addition of green coffee infusion was much more relevant (19.1-fold) than enzymatic bioprocessing (1.8-fold). The phenolic compounds present as soluble forms were completely released from all breads' matrix already at the oral phase of digestion. While gastric digestion did not promote the release of insoluble phenolic compounds, intestinal conditions led to a slight release. All bread samples showed maximum phenolic compounds bioaccessibility after 4 h of gut fermentation. Upon the end of in vitro digestion and gut fermentation, the difference between the strategies was that enzymatic bioprocessing accelerated ferulic acid release, while the addition of green coffee infusion increased 10.4-fold the overall phenolic compounds bioaccessibility.

Gynura bicolor DC. (Okinawa spinach): A comprehensive review on nutritional constituents, phytochemical compounds, utilization, health benefits, and toxicological evaluation.

Functional food plants are nature's gift to human beings to help them battle against various ailments for thousands of years. With the global pursuit of improving the quality of life, there is an increasing demand for functional plants in the world's diet. There is a long history of using Gyruna bicolor not only as a vegetable but also as a medicinal herb in East and Southeast Asia. It has been found in G. bicolor that there is a broad spectrum of nutrients and plant bioactives. G. bicolor has been acknowledged by local people as a useful source of medicine for several therapeutic treatments. This paper provides a comprehensive review of G. bicolor from updated research literature. Botanical characteristics, cultivation information, traditional uses, phytochemistry, nutrient values, as well as biological activities are discussed. The storage, processes, proposals for product development, and toxic assessment of G. bicolor are also covered. It is expected that the paper will encourage further research thereby contributing to open avenues for scientific applications of G. bicolor as a valuable plant with multiple health benefits.

New insights into antityrosinase capacity and polyphenols of asparagus during hydrothermal treatments.

An understanding of the antityrosinase capacity and polyphenols changes during hydrothermal treatments was crucial for application of asparagus. Therefore, asparagus extract was treated at a range of 80-160 °C for 30-150 min in a high temperature reactor. The results suggested that tyrosinase inhibition rate of untreated asparagus extract was recorded as 3.26% but significantly increased to 51.22% and 50.80% after heating for 90 min at 140 °C (lnR0 of 7.21) and 160 °C (lnR0 of 8.57), respectively. The generation and degradation of polyphenols followed the pseudo-first-order kinetic model. The coumaric acid content was increased from 35.03 µg/mL to 307.66 µg/mL at lnR0 of 8.16. The degradation of rutin in asparagus extract was far less compared to that of coumaric acid. Compounds formed were determined by UPLC-Q-TOF-MS yielding main fragments at m/z 451 and 601. In conclusion, hydrothermal treatment was a feasible method for increasing the antityrosinase capacity of asparagus.

Nose to brain drug delivery - A promising strategy for active components from herbal medicine for treating cerebral ischemia reperfusion.

Cerebral ischemia reperfusion injury (CIRI), one of the major causes of death from stroke in the world, not only causes tremendous damage to human health, but also brings heavy economic burden to society. Current available treatments for CIRI, including mechanical therapies and drug therapies, are often accompanied by significant side-effects. Therefore, it is necessary to discovery new strategies for treating CIRI. Many studies have confirmed that the herbal medicine has the advantages of abundant resources, good curative effect and little side effects, which can be used as potential drug for treatment of CIRI through multiple targets. It's known that oral administration commonly has low bioavailability, and injection administration is inconvenient and unsafe. Many drugs can't delivery to brain through routine pathways due to the blood-brain-barrier (BBB). Interestingly, increasing evidences have suggested the nasal administration is a potential direct route to transport drug into brain avoiding the BBB and has the characteristics of high bioavailability for treating brain diseases. Therefore, intranasal administration can be treated as an alternative way to treat brain diseases. In the present review, effective methods to treat CIRI by using active ingredients derived from herbal medicine through nose to brain drug delivery (NBDD) are updated and discussed, and some related pharmacological mechanisms have also been emphasized. Our present study would be beneficial for the further drug development of natural agents from herbal medicines via NBDD.

Ohmic heating polyphenolic extracts from vine pruning residue with enhanced biological activity.

Vine Pruning residue was submitted to conventional heating and ohmic heating (OH) for the extraction of bioactive compounds and analyzed for total phenolic content (TPC), polyphenolic profile, antioxidant activity, antimicrobial activity and anticancer activity. The OH extracts were obtained using Low electric field (496.0 V/cm) or Intermediate electric field - IEF (840.0 V/cm). The tests were performed using 45% (v/v) ethanol-water extraction solution at 80 °C at different extraction times (20-90 min). The extract that stood out among the others concerning anticancer potential was the one obtained by OH when used, IEF, where the TPC was significantly higher than in the other extracts which correlated with higher antioxidant, antimicrobial and anti-proliferative activity on different tumor cell lines (HepG2, MDA-MB-231, MCF-7 and Caco2). Vine pruning OH extracts obtained using green solvents by an eco-friendly procedure were revealed as a source of compounds with relevant antioxidant and anticancer activity.

Characterization of bioactive compounds and antioxidant activity of fruit beers.

Total polyphenols and flavonoids content, phenolics profile by HPLC, and antioxidant activity of ten fruit beer produced adding fruits during the fermentation process were analyzed. The fruits were: cherry, raspberry, peach, apricot, grape, plum, orange and apple. Antioxidant activity, total polyphenols and flavonoids content were considerably higher in most of the fruit beers in respect to conventional, no-fruit beers. Cherries beers exhibit the highest values, followed by grape, plum and orange beers. An enrichment was observed in catechin and quercetin content in all fruit beers examined. Myricetin and resveratrol were also detected in most of the fruit beers. Among phenolic acids, an enrichment in chlorogenic, neochlorogenic, p-coumaric and caffeic acids was measured in most of the fruit beers in respect to conventional beers. Our findings show that fruits addition during the fermentation process considerably increased the antioxidant activity of beer and qualitatively and quantitatively improved its phenolics profile.

Ethnopharmacology, phytochemistry, biological activities, and therapeutic applications of Cedrela serrata Royle: A mini review.

ETHNOPHARMACOLOGICAL RELEVANCE: Cedrela serrata Royle (C. serrata) is a medicinal plant not only used for constructions but also an important conventional medicine for the treatment of various diseases such as; diabetes, jaundice, liver diseases, diarrhea, fever, chronic infantile dysentery, intestinal worms, hypertension, skin and blood diseases. AIMS: This review article documents and critically assesses, for the first time; up to date categorized information about C. serrata including its reported pharmacological activities, cultural uses, active compounds, and botanical description. MATERIALS AND METHOD: s: All provided information about C. serrata was collected using the electronic databases (e.g. Google Scholar, Web of Science, Scopus, PubMed, Science Direct and Springer Link), books (e.g. Trees of Pakistan and Herbalism, Phytochemistry, and Ethnopharmacology) and thesis. RESULTS: Qualitative and quantitative phytochemical studies on C. serrata revealed the presence of important chemical constituents such as; flavonoids, phenolic acids, alkaloids, saponins, tannins, and cardiac glycosides. The phytochemicals showed various in vitro activities like antioxidant, anti-infective, antiglycation, cytotoxic activities. Major areas of research conducted on C. serrata are its antioxidant and anti-infective activities. Few historical uses of C. serrata are supported by modern in vitro pharmacological studies such as; antidiarrheal, antidiabetic, and leishmanicidal activity. CONCLUSION: There were convincing evidence in in vitro studies supporting C. serrata antioxidant, anti-infective, anti-diabetic, anti-glycating, and cytotoxic activities. Nevertheless, all reported pharmacological activities were carried out in vitro and a gap in research i.e. preclinical and clinical investigation still exists. The authors emphasize the need for future in-depth research and clinical trials to investigate C. serrata pharmacological activity, clinical efficacy and safety. The potential chemical compounds with suggestive classes may need to be isolated and pharmacological activities must be established for these compounds. The plant has very limited information about pharmacological activities and the data available for supportive cultural uses needs proper validation.

Natural medicines for the treatment of fatigue: Bioactive components, pharmacology, and mechanisms.

It is a common phenomenon that people are in a sub-health condition and facing "unexplained fatigue", which seriously affects their health, work efficiency and quality of life. Meanwhile, fatigue is also a common symptom of many serious diseases such as HIV/AIDS, cancer, and schizophrenia. However, there are still no official recommendations for the treatment of various forms of fatigue. Some traditional natural medicines are often used as health care products, such as ginseng, Cordyceps militaris (L.ex Fr.Link) and Rhodiola rosea L., and these have been reported to have specific anti-fatigue effects with small toxic and side effects and rich pharmacological activities. It may be promising treatment strategy for sub-health. In this review, we first outline the generation of fatigue. Furthermore, we put emphasis on the anti-fatigue mechanism, bioactive components, and clinic trials of natural medicines, which will contribute to the development of potential anti-fatigue agents and open up novel treatments for sub-health.

Chemical Composition and Antioxidant Activity of Monguba (Pachira aquatica) Seeds.

Monguba fruit has a seed with a chestnut-like flavor that can be consumed boiled, fried, and roasted. These nutritious seeds also have been used in popular medicine to treat several diseases. Nevertheless, the nutritional and functional potential of monguba seed is still underexploited. In this sense, we investigated the nutritional and functional components of monguba seeds. These seeds showed high total content of sugars, mainly sucrose, whereas the content of the raffinose family oligosaccharides was low. The mineral assay showed high amount of minerals, namely potassium, calcium, magnesium and zinc, which indicate that monguba seeds can be a new source of these minerals. UHPLC-ESI-MS/MS analysis showed caffeic, ferulic and 4-hydroxybenzoic acids as the main phenolic compounds, mainly in the esterified form, in these seeds. Monguba seed showed high lipid content, in which the main compounds were palmitic acid and γ-tocopherol. The soluble and insoluble phenolic fractions from monguba seeds showed high antioxidant activity measured by the oxygen radical absorption capacity (ORAC) and the trolox equivalent antioxidant capacity (TEAC) assays. Therefore, the monguba seeds have great potential to be explored by food, pharmaceutical and cosmetic industries due to their chemical composition.