Modulatory Effects of Co-Fermented Pu-erh Tea with Aqueous Corn Silk Extract on Gut Microbes and Fecal Metabolites in Mice Fed High-Fat Diet.

Pu-erh tea is recognized for its weight loss effects, but its potential association with gut microbiota and metabolites remains unclear. This research explored the alterations in gut flora and metabolite composition upon treatment with a co-fermented Pu-erh tea with an aqueous corn silk extract (CPC) in obese mice by employing integrated 16S ribosomal RNA gene sequencing and untargeted metabolomics processes. For 8 weeks, mice were fed control, high-fat, and high-fat diets which included a 46 mg/mL CPC extract. The CPC extract the alleviated high-fat diet (HFD), it stimulated systemic chronic inflammation, and it reduced the body weight, daily energy consumption, and adipose tissue weight of the mice. It also modified the gut microbiota composition and modulated the Lactobacillus, Bifidobacterium, Allobaculum, Turicibacter, and Rikenella genera. Fecal metabolomics analysis revealed that the CPC extract influenced the caffeine, cysteine, methionine, tryptophan, biotin metabolism pathways, primary bile acid, and steroid biosynthesis. This research revealed that the CPC extract could inhibit HFD-stimulated abnormal weight gain and adipose tissue accumulation in mice, and modulate mice gut microbiota composition and multiple metabolic pathways.

Separation and Purification of Antioxidant Peptide from Fermented Whey Protein by Lactobacillus rhamnosus B2-1.

In this study, a antioxidant activity peptide fraction was separated and purified from metabolites of whey protein fermented by Lactobacillus rhamnosus B2-1. The fermentation sample was separated by macroporous resin D101 and Sephadex G-15. The collected fractions were tested for antioxidant and antitumor activities. In order to test the antioxidant activity of fractions, Hydroxyl (·OH), 2,2'-azino-bis (3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonic acid (ABTS), and Oxygen Radical Absorbance Capacity (ORAC) were used. The final purified peptide B11 showed highest ABTS and ·OH radical scavenging rate by 84.36±1.89% and 62.43±2.64%, respectively, and had an ORAC activity of 1,726.44± 2.76 µM Trolox equivalent/g. Further, the inhibitory effect of B11 on the proliferation of LoVo human colon cancer cells, KB and Cal-27 human oral cancer cells were enhanced with increasing concentrations of B11. B11 contains 51.421% amino acids, with Glu and Asp being the major constituents. In this study, we obtained peptide fraction B11 with antioxidant activity, which is promising for development.

Modulation of gut microbiota and fecal metabolites by corn silk among high-fat diet-induced hypercholesterolemia mice.

Corn silk (CS) is known to reduce cholesterol levels, but its underlying mechanisms remain elusive concerning the gut microbiota and metabolites. The aim of our work was to explore how altered gut microbiota composition and metabolite profile are influenced by CS intervention in mice using integrated 16S ribosomal RNA (rRNA) sequencing and an untargeted metabolomics methodology. The C57BL/6J mice were fed a normal control diet, a high-fat diet (HFD), and HFD supplemented with the aqueous extract of CS (80 mg/mL) for 8 weeks. HFD-induced chronic inflammation damage is alleviated by CS extract intervention and also resulted in a reduction in body weight, daily energy intake as well as serum and hepatic total cholesterol (TC) levels. In addition, CS extract altered gut microbial composition and regulated specific genera viz. Allobaculum, Turicibacter, Romboutsia, Streptococcus, Sporobacter, Christensenella, ClostridiumXVIII, and Rikenella. Using Spearman's correlation analysis, we determined that Turicibacter and Rikenella were negatively correlated with hypercholesterolemia-related parameters. Fecal metabolomics analysis revealed that CS extract influences multiple metabolic pathways like histidine metabolism-related metabolites (urocanic acid, methylimidazole acetaldehyde, and methiodimethylimidazoleacetic acid), sphingolipid metabolism-related metabolites (sphinganine, 3-dehydrosphinganine, sphingosine), and some bile acids biosynthesis-related metabolites including chenodeoxycholic acid (CDCA), lithocholic acid (LCA), ursodeoxycholic acid (UDCA), and glycoursodeoxycholic acid (GUDCA). As a whole, the present study indicates that the modifications in the gut microbiota and subsequent host bile acid metabolism may be a potential mechanism for the antihypercholesterolemic effects of CS extract.

Pro-apoptotic and anti-proliferative effects of corn silk extract on human colon cancer cell lines.

Corn silk is an economically and nutritionally significant natural product as it represents a staple food for a large proportion of the world population. This study investigated the anticancer activity of corn silk extract in human colon cancer cells and human gastric cancer cells. Following treatment with corn silk extract, certain apoptosis-related events were observed, including inhibition of cell proliferation, loss of mitochondrial membrane potential (ΔΨm), release of Ca2+ and release of cytochrome c from the mitochondria into the cytosol. Our results revealed that corn silk extract inhibited the proliferation of cancer cells and increased the level of apoptosis in a concentration-dependent manner. Western blot analysis revealed that corn silk extract upregulated the levels of Bax, cytochrome c, caspase-3 and caspase-9, but downregulated the levels of B-cell lymphoma 2. These results suggest that corn silk extract may induce apoptosis through the mitochondria-mediated pathway.

[Effect of pps and aroGfbr overexpression on L-tryptophan production in Corynebacterium pekinense].

OBJECTIVE: In order to redirect carbon flows into aromatic amino acids biosynthesis pathway and further improve the production of L-tryptophan in Corynebacterium pekinense PD-67, two schemes were implemented. First, the supply of phosphoenolpyruvate (PEP), one of precursors of L-tryptophan biosynthesis, was increased. Second, the feedback inhibition of 3-deoxy-D-arabino-heptulosonate-7-phosphate synthase (DS), a key enzyme in the aromatic amino acids biosynthesis, was relieved and the activity of DS was increased. METHODS: The phosphoenolpyruvate synthase gene (pps) was cloned from C. pekinense PD-67 chromosome by PCR and inserted into expression vector to construct a recombinant plasmid pXPPS; the aroG gene encoding DS isozymes was cloned from Escherichia coli chromosome by PCR and the mutation of Leu175Asp was introduced by site-directed mutagenesis using sequence-overlap extension PCR. The mutated gene named as aroGfbr was cloned to expression vector to construct a recombinant plasmid pXA; and the recombinant plasmid pXAPS co-expressing pps and aroGfbr was constructed. The three recombinant plasmids were transformed into PD-67 to generate the engineering strains PD-67/pXPS, PD-67/pXA and PD-67/pXAPS, respectively. The fermentation characteristics of the three engineering strains were investigated. RESULTS: The expression of pps and aroGfbr was confirmed by enzyme activity assays. The deregulation of feedback inhibition of AroGfbr was confirmed by determining DS activity in the presence of three aromatic amino acids. The overexpression of pps and aroGfbr resulted in an increase of L-tryptophan biosynthesis by 12.1% and 26.8%, respectively, while the co-expression of two genes increased the production of L-tryptophan by 35.9% in the engineering strain PD-67/pXAPS. CONCLUSION: Both of the overexpressions of the pps gene and aroGfbr gene can increase L-tryptophan biosynthesis, while the production was further improved by the co-expression of the two genes.