Cinnamaldehyde, A Bioactive Compound from the Leaves of Cinnamomum osmophloeum Kaneh, Ameliorates Dextran Sulfate Sodium-Induced Colitis in Mice by Inhibiting the NLRP3 Inflammasome.

Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) comprises a group of idiopathic intestinal disorders, including ulcerative colitis and Crohn's disease, significantly impacting the quality of life for affected individuals. The effective management of these conditions remains a persistent challenge. The NOD-like receptor family pyrin domain-containing 3 (NLRP3) inflammasome, a complex molecular structure, regulates the production of pro-inflammatory cytokines such as interleukin-1ß. Abnormal activation of the NLRP3 inflammasome plays a pivotal role in the development of IBD, making it a compelling target for therapeutic intervention. Our research revealed that cinnamaldehyde (CA), a major bioactive compound found in the leaves of Cinnamomum osmophloeum kaneh, demonstrated a remarkable ability to alleviate colitis induced by dextran sulfate sodium (DSS) in a mouse model. This effect was attributed to CA's ability to downregulate the activation of the NLRP3 inflammasome and reduce the expression of pro-inflammatory mediators in the colon. In the mechanism study, we observed that CA inhibited the NLRP3 inflammasome in macrophages, at least partially, by enhancing the autophagic response, without reducing mitochondrial damage. These findings collectively suggest that CA holds significant potential as a therapeutic agent for enhancing the management of IBD, offering a promising avenue for further research and development.

Application and effectiveness of artificial intelligence for the border management of imported frozen fish in Taiwan.

In Taiwan, the number of applications for inspecting imported food has grown annually and noncompliant products must be accurately detected in these border sampling inspections. Previously, border management has used an automated border inspection system (import food inspection (IFI) system) to select batches via a random sampling method to manage the risk levels of various food products complying with regulatory inspection procedures. Several countries have implemented artificial intelligence (AI) technology to improve domestic governmental processes, social service, and public feedback. AI technologies are applied in border inspection by the Taiwan Food and Drug Administration (TFDA). Risk management of border inspections is conducted using the Border Prediction Intelligent (BPI) system. The risk levels are analyzed on based on the noncompliance records of imported food, the country of origin, and international food safety alerts. The subjects of this study were frozen fish products, which have been under surveillance by the BPI system. The purpose of this study was to investigate the relevance between the noncompliant trend of frozen fish products using the adoption of the BPI system and the results of postmarket sampling inspections. The border inspection and postmarket sampling data were divided into two groups: IFI and BPI groups (corresponding to before and after the adoption of the BPI system, respectively). The Chi-square test was employed to analyze the noncompliant differences in products between before and after the BPI system adoption. Despite the number of noncompliance batches being statistically insignificant after the adoption of the BPI system, the noncompliance rate of frozen fish products at the border increased from 3.0% to 4.7%. Meanwhile, the noncompliance rate in the postmarket decreased from 2.1% to 1.9%. The results indicate that the BPI system improves the effectiveness of interception of noncompliant products at the border, thereby preventing the entrance of noncompliant products to the postmarket. The variables were further classified and organized according to the scope of this study and product characteristics. Furthermore, ordinal logistic regression (OLR) was employed to determine the correlations among border, postmarket, and major influencing factors. Based on the analysis of major influencing factors, small fish and fish internal organ products exhibited significantly high risk for fish body type and product type, respectively. The BPI system effectively utilizes the large amount of data accumulated from border inspections over the years. Additionally, real-time information on bilateral data obtained from the border and postmarket should be bidirectionally shared for effectively intercepting noncompliance products and used for improving the border management efficiency.

Transglutaminase Cross-Linked and Lysozyme-Incorporated Antimicrobial Tilapia Collagen Edible Films: Development and Characterization.

To improve the mechanical properties and confer antimicrobial activity, transglutaminase (TGase) was used as a cross-linking agent and lysozyme (LYS) was incorporated as an antimicrobial agent to prepare novel active tilapia collagen (TC) films. While the difference in visual appearance was not obvious, the LYS incorporation increased the opacity of TC films. The water vapor permeability of all TGase cross-linked TC films was significantly (p < 0.05) lower than that of the control film (prepared without TGase and LYS). In addition, while the tensile strength and Young's modulus of all TGase cross-linked TC films were significantly (p < 0.05) higher than those of the control film, elongation at break of all TGase cross-linked TC films was significantly (p < 0.05) lower than that of the control film. LYS incorporated TC films showed antimicrobial activity against E. coli, Staphylococcus aureus, Enterococcus faecium, Bacillus subtilis and Pseudomonas fluorescens. Collectively, TC films with improved physiochemical properties and antimicrobial activity have a good potential to serve as active food packaging materials.

Molecular Weight Affected Antioxidant, Hypoglycemic and Hypotensive Activities of Cold Water Extract from Pleurotus citrinopileatus.

Cold water extract of P. citrinopileatus (CWEPC) was fractioned into 4 fractions, PC-I (<1 kDa), PC-II (1-3.5 kDa), PC-III (3.5-10 kDa), and PC-IV (>10 kDa), by ultrafiltration. The antioxidant activities, the inhibition of pancreatic α-amylase, intestinal α-glucosidase, and hypertension-linked angiotensin converting enzyme (ACE), as well as the contents of polysaccharides, protein, and phenolic compounds of 4 fractions were determined. The results showed that lower MW fractions exerted a higher antioxidant activity, which was correlated to phenolic contents. The high molecular fraction (PC-IV) exhibited significantly higher inhibitory activity on α-amylase, α-glucosidase, and ACE compared to CWEPC and the other 3 lower MW fractions (<10 kDa), which was more related to protein contents. The inhibition capability of CWEPC and PC-IV on α-amylase activity was 1/13.4 to 1/2.7 relative to that of acarbose, respectively. Kinetic data revealed that PC-IV fraction followed a noncompetitive inhibition pattern on α-glucosidase activity. The study demonstrated that various MW fractions and types of components contribute to different biological functions of P. citrinopileatus and it is protein constituents but not peptides responsible for the hypoglycemic potential of CWEPC.

Extraction temperature affects the activities of antioxidation, carbohydrate-digestion enzymes, and angiotensin-converting enzyme of Pleurotus citrinopileatus extract.

Extraction temperature can potentially affect the chemical compositions and bioactivities of the extracts obtained. The objective of this study was to investigate the effect of extraction temperature on the distribution of bioactive compounds and the bioactivities of Pleurotus citrinopileatus. The antioxidant activities (2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl and 2,2'-azino-bis(3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonic acid)+ scavenging capabilities) and the inhibitory capabilities on pancreatic α-amylase, intestinal α-glucosidase, and hypertension-linked angiotensin-converting enzyme of hot water P. citrinopileatus extract and cold water P. citrinopileatus extract were determined. The results showed that the antioxidant capabilities and inhibitory effects on α-amylase, α-glucosidase, and angiotensin-converting enzyme of cold water P. citrinopileatus extract were significantly higher than those of hot water P. citrinopileatus extract. The cold water P. citrinopileatus extracted was further precipitated with 100% ammonium sulfate to obtain a polysaccharide fraction or with 75% ethanol to obtain a protein fraction. The inhibitory activities of the protein fraction of the cold water P. citrinopileatus extract on α-amylase, α-glucosidase, and angiotensin-converting enzyme were significantly higher than those of the polysaccharide fraction. In conclusion, the protein fraction of the cold water P. citrinopileatus extract could be responsible for its bioactivities.

In vitro hypoglycemic effects of hot water extract from Auricularia polytricha (wood ear mushroom).

Viscous dietary fibers were shown to alleviate postprandial blood glucose. Auricularia polytricha (wood ear mushroom, WEM) contains rich amount fibers and water extract WEM was highly viscous. This study aimed to investigate whether WEM extract exhibited hypoglycemic effect in vitro. The effects of WEM extract on glucose adsorption, glucose diffusion, starch digestion and α-amylase activity were examined and compared to those of two high soluble fibers, psyllium and oat fiber and one insoluble fiber, cellulose. Our results showed that WEM extract and psyllium possessed similar ability to adsorb glucose which may thus decrease the level of dialysis glucose. The decrease of dialysis rate is dose-dependent. WEM extract can also suppress the activity of α-amylase which may thus inhibit the digestion of polysaccharides. Since WEM extract exhibited the ability to adsorb glucose and to suppress the activity of α-amylase; it might contribute a beneficial effect on postprandial levels of blood sugar.

Residues Arg114 and Arg337 are critical for the proper function of Escherichia coli gamma-glutamyltranspeptidase.

To evaluate the importance of conserved Arg114 and Arg337 residues of Escherichia coli gamma-glutamyltranspeptidase (EcGGT), Lys, Leu, or Asp-substituted mutants were constructed by site-directed mutagenesis. The wild-type and mutant enzymes were overexpressed in the recombinant E. coli M15 and purified by nickel-chelate chromatography to near homogeneity. With the exception of R114K, all the other mutants significantly lost GGT activity, confirming the importance of these two residues in EcGGT. Kinetic analysis of R114L, R114D, R337K, and R337L revealed a significant increase in K(m) with a minor change in k(cat), leading to more than an 8-fold decrease in k(cat)/K(m) values. Mutations of Arg337 impaired the capability of autocatalytic processing of the enzyme. In vitro maturation experiments revealed that EcGGT precursor mutants, pro-R337K and pro-R337L, could precede a time-dependent autocatalytic process to generate the small and large subunits, while no autocatalytic processing was observed in pro-R337D. Computer modeling showed that the critical bonding distance of Gln390 O-Thr391 HG1 and Gln390 C-Thr391 OG1 are significantly increased in Arg337 replacements, implying that these distance changes might be responsible for the lack of enzyme maturation.

Expression optimization and biochemical characterization of a recombinant gamma-glutamyltranspeptidase from Escherichia coli novablue.

A truncated Escherichia coli Novablue gamma-glutamyltranspeptidase (EcGGT) gene lacking the first 48-bp coding sequence for part of the signal sequence was amplified by polymerase chain reaction and cloned into expression vector pQE-30 to generate pQE-EcGGT. The maximum production of His(6)-tagged enzyme by E. coli M15 (pQE-EcGGT) was achieved with 0.1 mM IPTG induction for 12 h at 20 degrees C. The overexpressed enzyme was purified to homogeneity by nickel-chelate chromatography to a specific transpeptidase activity of 4.25 U/mg protein and a final yield of 83%. The molecular masses of the subunits of the purified enzyme were estimated to be 41 and 21 kDa respectively by SDS-PAGE, indicating EcGGT still undergoes the post-translational cleavage even in the truncation of signal sequence. The optimum temperature and pH for the recombinant enzyme were 40 degrees C and 9, respectively. The apparent K (m) and V (max) values for gamma-glutamyl-p-nitroanilide as gamma-glutamyl donor in the transpeptidation reaction were 37.9 microM and 53.7 x 10(-3) mM min(-1), respectively. The synthesis of L -theanine was performed in a reaction mixture containing 10 mM L -Gln, 40 mM ethylamine, and 1.04 U His(6)-tagged EcGGT/ml, pH 10, and a conversion rate of 45% was obtained.

Antioxidative and in vitro hepatoprotective activity of Bupleurum kaoi leaf infusion.

The roots of Bupleurus spp. have been used in traditional Chinese herbal medicine for curing liver diseases. Although bioactive saikosaponins have been detected in the leaves as well as in the roots, the aerial parts of the plants are discarded as waste. In the present study, a leaf infusion of B. kaoi Liu, Chao et Chuang, an indigenous Bupleurus species in Taiwan, was prepared and the antioxidant properties and in vitro hepatoprotective activity were demonstrated. The results show that the leaf infusion exerted DPPH free radical scavenging activity, inhibitory capacity on superoxide anion formation and superoxide anion scavenging activity. The hepatotoxicity of acetaminophen (APAP) and carbon tetrachloride (CCl4) on the rat liver cells were also decreased by the leaf infusion.

Overexpression of a recombinant gamma-glutamyltranspeptidase from Escherichia coli Novablue.

A truncated Escherichia coli Novablue gamma-glutamyltranspeptidase (EcGGT) gene, lacking the first 48-bp coding sequence for part of the signal sequence, was amplified by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and cloned into expression vector pQE-30 to generate pQE-EcGGT. The maximum production of His6-tagged enzyme by E. coli M15 (pQE-EcGGT) was achieved with 0.1 mM IPTG induction for 12 h at 20 degrees C. The overexpressed enzyme was purified to homogeneity by nickel-chelate chromatography to a specific transpeptidase activity of 4.25 U/mg protein and a final yield of 83%. The molecular masses of the subunits of the purified enzyme were determined to be 41 and 21 kDa respectively by SDS-PAGE, indicating the precursor EcGGT still undergoes the post-translational processing even in the truncation of signal sequence. His6-tagged EcGGT migrated relative to the molecular mass of approximately 120 kDa and its heterodimeric structure was confirmed by a native-PAGE gel.

Structural investigation of edible zein films/coatings and directly determining their thickness by FT-Raman spectroscopy.

Near-infrared Fourier transform Raman (FT-Raman) spectroscopy was employed to study the molecular structure of edible zein films/coatings, which were fabricated directly from zein protein. The secondary structure of zein protein was mainly in alpha-helix and remained unaltered during film formation as evidenced by the vibrational modes of amide I at 1656 cm(-1) and amide III at 1274 cm(-1). Raman results indicated that hydrophobic interaction played an important role in the formation of zein film and disulfide bonding might be responsible for the structural stability of zein protein during film formation. To enhance its antimicrobial property, an antimicrobial zein film was manufactured by incorporating zein protein with benzoic acid whose structure was then characterized by FT-Raman. It showed that physical entrapment or hydrophobic interaction was crucial to the incorporation of benzoic acid with zein protein, and the secondary structure of the antimicrobial film was still maintained in alpha-helical form. In addition, FT-Raman exhibits its preference in directly determining the thickness of zein films/coatings. By correlating the Raman intensity ratio of nu(1003) to nu(84) (I(1003/84)) versus the thickness of zein film, a linear relationship with high coefficient (R(2) = 0.9927) was obtained, which was then used pragmatically to determine the thickness of zein coatings on apple. It showed that the FT-Raman result (thickness = 0.27 +/- 0.01 mm) was consistent with that of classical micrometric measurement (thickness = 0.28 +/- 0.02 mm). Consequently, FT-Raman provides a direct, simple, and reagent-free method to characterize the structure and the thickness of zein films/coatings.

Ultrasound-assisted extraction methodology as a tool to improve the antioxidant properties of herbal drug Xiao-chia-hu-tang.

Xiao-chai-hu-tang (XCHT) is an important Chinese herbal prescription for curing many types of liver diseases. The contents of bioactive constituents (saikosaponins a, c and d, baicalin, baicalein, and glycyrrhizic acid), and antioxidant properties of XCHT extracts prepared with ultrasound-assisted (US) extraction in combination with ethanol (up to 95%) as extraction modifier were studied. The results showed that the US extraction significantly increased the bioactive constituents concentrations and antioxidant properties of XCHT extracts when compared with the XCHT prepared with traditional boiling-water extraction. Among the XCHT extracts made with US extraction, the sample prepared with 95% ethanol showed the highest bioactive constituent concentrations and the best antioxidant functionalities. The results suggest that US extraction of XCHT is feasible to replace the traditional time-consuming and low efficiency preparation procedure in the future modernized and commercialized manufacture of this highly valuable Chinese herbal medicine.

Structural analysis of triacylglycerols and edible oils by near-infrared Fourier transform Raman spectroscopy.

Fourier transform Raman spectroscopy was employed for structural analysis of triacylglycerols and edible oils. Raman spectra sensitively reflected structural changes in oils. Even slight structural fluctuation between triacylglycerols and free fatty acids led to obvious differences in Raman bands as shown by C-O-C stretching from 800 to 1000 cm(-1) and the band at 1742 cm(-1). Structural difference in geometric isomers was easily distinguished as proved by C = C stretching at 1655 cm(-1) (cis) shifting to 1668 cm(-1) (trans) and by =C-H in-plane bending at 1266 cm(-1) in cis disappearing in the trans isomer. Raman intensity at 1266, 1302, and 1655 cm(-1) changed concomitantly with the change of double-bond content in oils. It showed that FT-Raman was capable of precisly reflecting the content of double bonds in oils. A linear correlation with high consistency between the Raman intensity ratio (v1655/v1444) and the iodine value was obtained for commercial oils. Based on the results, FT-Raman spectroscopy proved itself a simple and rapid technique for oil analysis since each measurement could be directly completed in 3 min without any sample modifications.

Antioxidative and antimutagenic activities of healthy herbal drinks from Chinese medicinal herbs.

Twenty-nine Chinese medicinal herbs and three healthy herbal drinks made of those herbs in a food processing pilot plant were tested for their antioxidative, free radical scavenging, mutagenic and antimutagenic activities. Water extracts of herbs (with few exceptions) and herbal drinks showed free radical scavenging activity. All water extracts of herbs and herbal drinks showed no mutagenicity toward Salmonella typhimurium tester strains TA98 and TA100 used in the Ames mutagenic tests. In the antimutagenic tests, the mutagenic activity of 4-nitroquinoline N-oxide (NQNO) toward S. typhimurium TA98 was markedly inhibited by water extracts of herbs and herbal drinks. Based on the results, it is suggested that the herbal drinks manufactured in pilot-plant scale are safe and can be served as health-promoting drinks for the public.

FT-Raman spectroscopic investigation of lens proteins of tilapia treated with dietary vitamin E.

FT-Raman spectroscopy was employed to explore the structural changes of lens proteins in Tilapia lenses affected by dietary vitamin E supplementation. The microenvironment of major lens constituents including thiol compounds, tyrosine, and tryptophan exhibited significant change upon vitamin E treatment, while the protein secondary structure was unaltered and remained as an antiparallel beta-pleated sheet. These structures in the cortex were more susceptible to vitamin E treatment than in the nucleus. Protein sulfhydryls in the cortex were predominantly in the reduced form, while in the nucleus both the oxidized and reduced forms coexisted as evidenced by the vibrational mode of SH (2580 cm(-1)) and SS (507 cm(-1)), respectively. Both tyrosine and tryptophan were more accessible to water or more exposed in the cortex than in the nucleus. The symmetrically inverse response of vitamin E, between Raman intensity of 1090 cm(-1) and the glutathione level, was consistent with a close relationship of GSH and vitamin E in defending the lens from external insults.

Antimutagenicity of supercritical CO2 extracts of Terminalia catappa leaves and cytotoxicity of the extracts to human hepatoma cells.

Natural antimutagens may prevent cancer and are therefore of great interest to oncologists and the public at large. Phytochemicals are potent antimutagen candidates. When the Ames test was applied to examine the antimutagenic potency of supercritical carbon dioxide (SC-CO(2)) extracts of Terminalia catappa leaves at a dose of 0.5 mg/plate, toxicity and mutagenicity were not detected. The antimutagenic activity of SC-CO(2) extracts increased with decreases of temperature (60, 50, and 40 degrees C) and pressure (4000, 3000, and 2000 psi) used for extraction. The most potent antimutagenicity was observed in extracts obtained at 40 degrees C and 2000 psi. At a dose of 0.5 mg of extract/plate, approximately 80% of the mutagenicity of benzo[a]pyrene (B[a]P, with S-9) and 46% of the mutagenicity of N-methyl-N '-nitroguanidine (MNNG, without S-9) were inhibited. Media supplemented with SC-CO(2) extracts at a range of 0-500 microg/mL were used to cultivate human hepatoma (Huh 7) and normal liver (Chang liver) cells. The viability of the cells was assayed by measuring cellular acid phosphatase activity. A dose-dependent growth inhibition of both types of cells was observed. The SC-CO(2) extracts were more cytotoxic to Huh 7 cells than to Chang liver cells. The observation that SC-CO(2) extracts of T. catappa leaves did not induce mutagenicity at the doses tested while exhibiting potent antimutagenicity and were more cytotoxic to human hepatoma cells than to normal liver cells is of merit and warrants further investigation.

Squalene content and antioxidant activity of Terminalia catappa leaves and seeds.

Squalene was identified by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry and high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) spiking analyses in the supercritical CO(2) extracts of freeze-dried abscisic leaves of Terminalia catappa L. When the freeze-dried abscisic, senescent, mature, and immature leaves and seeds were subjected to supercritical CO(2) extraction at 40 degrees C and 3000 psi and HPLC quantitation, squalene contents were 12.29, 2.42, 1.75, 0.9, and 0% in the extracts and corresponding to 1499, 451, 210, 65, and 0 microg/g in the freeze-dried sample, respectively. When the extracts were applied for antioxidative characterization by supplementation in an iron/ascorbate system with linoleic acid and in a pork fat storage system for inhibition of conjugated diene hydroperoxide (CDHP) formation or in a free radical scavenging system with 1,1-diphenyl-2-picryl-hydrazyl (DPPH), the extracts of leaves exhibited potent antioxidative and DPPH scavenging activities and increased with an increase of leaf maturity. However, the seed extracts only exhibited potent inhibition of CDHP formation and very low DPPH scavenging activity.

Inhibition of Surface Molds on Cheese by Polyethylene Film Containing the Antimycotic Imazalil.

Imazalil, an antimycotic agent, was incorporated into low density polyethylene (LDPE) film and the resulting films tested for ability to inhibit Penicillium sp., and Aspergillus toxicarius growth by measuring the rate of carbon dioxide (CO2) production in sealed jars containing either inoculated potato dextrose agar (PDA) or Cheddar cheese. Inhibition of surface mold growth on cheese was also determined in open systems. An imazalil concentration of 2000 mg/kg LDPE film delayed A. toxicarius growth on PDA while LDPE film containing 1000 mg/kg imazalil markedly delayed Penicillium sp. growth. Furthermore, LDPE film containing 1000 mg/kg imazalil inhibited both molds growing on Cheddar cheese. These data suggest that incorporation of an antimycotic agent such as imazalil into food contact packaging films would inhibit surface mold growth.