Pterostilbene Enhances Thermogenesis and Mitochondrial Biogenesis by Activating the SIRT1/PGC-1α/SIRT3 Pathway to Prevent Western Diet-Induced Obesity.

SCOPE: Sirtuin 1/peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gamma co-activator 1 alpha (SIRT1/PGC-1α) pathway activation is known to promote thermogenesis and mitochondrial biogenesis. Pterostilbene (PSB) and pinostilbene (PIN), the methylated analogs of resveratrol, are potential candidates to enhance thermogenesis and mitochondrial biogenesis. METHOD AND RESULTS: A model of Western diet-induced obesity in mice is designed. Either PSB or PIN is supplemented in the diet for 16 weeks. Both samples can significantly reduce body weight gain but only PSB can decrease inguinal adipose tissue weight. Besides, both samples can promote lipolysis but only PSB supplementation activates the SIRT1/PGC-1α/SIRT3 pathway to enhance mitochondrial biogenesis and thermogenesis in the inguinal adipose tissue. In addition, although both samples exert a modulatory effect on gut microbiota but significant increments in fecal isobutyric acid, valeric acid, and isovaleric acid are only observed in the PSB group, functioning as gut microbial metabolites. CONCLUSION: Overall, these findings suggest PSB and PIN as potential candidates for the improvement of obesity and gut microbiota dysbiosis. With its higher stability, PSB exerts a greater effect than PIN by promoting thermogenesis and mitochondrial biogenesis via SIRT1 activation.

The therapeutic potential of curcumin and its related substances in turmeric: From raw material selection to application strategies.

Turmeric (Curcuma longa L.) is a medicinal plant used extensively in Chinese and Indian traditional medicine as a home remedy for various diseases. It has been used for medical purposes for centuries. Today, turmeric has become one of the most popular medicinal herbs, spices, and functional supplements worldwide. Curcuminoids are linear diary-lheptanoids from the rhizomes that include curcumin and two related compounds: demethoxycurcumin and bisdemethoxycurcumin, which are the active components of the C. longa plant, play a crucial role in numerous functions. This review summarises the composition of turmeric and the properties of curcumin regarding its antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, anti-diabetic, anti-colorectal cancer, and other physiological activity. In addition, the dilemma of the application of curcumin due to its low water solubility and bioavailability was discussed. Finally, this article provides three novel application strategies based on previous studies: using curcumin analogues and related substances, gut microbiota regulation, and using curcumin-loaded exosome vesicles and turmeric-derived exosome-like vesicles to overcome application limitations.

Analysis and reduction of heterocyclic amines and cholesterol oxidation products in chicken by controlling flavorings and roasting condition.

Roasting of chicken generates many toxic compounds such as heterocyclic amines (HAs) and cholesterol oxidation products (COPs). The objectives of this study were to evaluate analysis of HAs and COPs in raw, boiled and roasted chicken by QuEChERS coupled with UPLC-MS/MS and GC-MS, respectively, and study their formation as affected by different flavorings (red pepper, black pepper, rosemary and soy sauce) and roasting methods (fan oven and superheated steam oven). Results showed that the average recovery respectively ranged from 54.1 to 109.3% and 65.1 to 116.6% for 20 HAs and from 87.9 to 102.8% and 87.5 to 101.3% for 7 COPs in the skin and meat portions of boiled chicken breast, while the coefficient of variation (CV) of the intra-day and inter-day variability for HAs respectively ranged from 5.27 to 12.09% and 4.23 to 12.68% in chicken skin, as well as 7.34-18.32% and 6.13-15.54% in chicken meat. For COPs, the CV of the intra-day and inter-day variability respectively ranged from 0.82 to 4.14% and 1.80 to 6.30% in chicken skin, as well as 1.40-9.04% and 3.02-9.81% in chicken meat. A total of 8 HAs were formed in roasted chicken, with a higher level of total HAs being shown in the skin portion of roasted chicken flavored with soy sauce and cooked in a fan oven. Also, for both roasting methods, the skin portion contained a higher level of total HAs than the meat portion, but a reversed trend was shown for total COPs with the exception of black pepper flavoring. Furthermore, in roasted chicken with 4 different flavorings, all of which showed no significant correlation (p > 0.05) between formation of HAs and COPs in the skin portion, while in the meat portion, only rosemary showed significant correlation (p < 0.05). By taking both skin and meat into account, the incorporation of rosemary flavoring into chicken during roasting was the most effective in inhibiting the formation of total HAs and COPs, while soy sauce flavoring was the least effective.

Evaluation of analysis of cholesterol oxidation products and heterocyclic amines in duck and their formation as affected by roasting methods.

Roast duck, a popular meat commodity in Asian countries especially Taiwan and China, can produce many types of toxic compounds such as cholesterol oxidation products (COPs) and heterocyclic amines (HAs). The objectives of this study were to evaluate analysis of COPs and HAs in duck by GC-MS and UPLC-MS/MS respectively, and study their formation as affected by roasting methods including traditional oven, fan oven and superheated steam oven. Results showed that both high precision and accuracy was attained by using the QuEChERS method with reduced separation time of 14 min for 7 COPs and 4.5 min for 21 HAs by GC-MS and UPLC-MS/MS, respectively. The duck meat roasted in both superheated steam oven and traditional oven generated significantly higher levels of total COPs than fan oven, while for total HAs, both traditional oven and fan oven produced significantly higher levels than superheated steam oven. Compared to roast duck skin, a much higher level of total COPs was shown in roast duck meat, while a reversed tendency was shown for total HAs. Furthermore, the correlation between formation of COPs and HAs in roast duck skin showed no significant correlation (p > 0.05) for traditional oven, fan oven and superheated steam oven, while in roast duck meat, only traditional oven showed significant correlation (p < 0.05). However, by taking both duck skin and meat into account, superheated steam oven produced the lowest level of total HAs, while fan oven generated the lowest level of total COPs. Thus, the developed method can form a basis for determination of COPs and HAs in duck as well as by choosing an appropriate roasting method their formation can be minimized.