Gut Microbiome of Indonesian Adults Associated with Obesity and Type 2 Diabetes: A Cross-Sectional Study in an Asian City, Yogyakarta.

Indonesia is a developing country facing the national problem of the growing obesity and diabetes in its population due to recent drastic dietary and lifestyle changes. To understand the link between the gut microbiome, diet, and health of Indonesian people, fecal microbiomes and metabolomes of 75 Indonesian adults in Yogyakarta City, including obese people (n = 21), type 2 diabetes (T2D) patients (n = 25), and the controls (n = 29) were characterized together with their dietary and medical records. Variations of microbiomes showed a triangular distribution in the principal component analysis, driven by three dominant bacterial genera, namely Bacteroides, Prevotella, and Romboutsia. The Romboutsia-driven microbiome, characterized by low bacterial diversity and high primary bile acids, was associated with fat-driven obesity. The Bacteroides-driven microbiome, which counteracted Prevotella but was associated with Ruminococcaceae concomitantly increased with high-carbohydrate diets, showed positive correlation with T2D indices but negative correlation with body mass index. Notably, Bacteroides fragilis was increased in T2D patients with a decrease in fecal conjugated bile acids, particularly tauroursodeoxycholic acid (TUDCA), a farnesoid X receptor (FXR) antagonist with anti-diabetic activity, while these features disappeared in patients administered metformin. These results indicate that the gut microbiome status of Indonesian adults is differently associated with obesity and T2D under their varied dietary habits.

Antiallergic Activity of the Wild Mushrooms of Nepal and the Pure Compound Hispidin.

In the present study, ethanol extracts of 90 wild mushroom samples from Nepal, and the pure compound hispidin, were screened for their ability to inhibit ß-hexosaminidase release (BHR) from rat basophilic leukemia-2H3 cells. Simultaneously, the toxicity of the extracts toward the cells was also determined, using the 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT) assay. Samples belonging to the groups Hymenochaetales and Polyporales showed promising anti-allergic activity, with Phellinus adamantinus and Ganoderma lingzhi 3 allowing a mere 19.4% and 16.7% BHR, respectively, without any cell cytotoxicity. Moreover, the 50% inhibitory concentration (IC50) values for Inonotus clemensiae and P. adamantinus were determined to be 51.24 and 50.65 µg/mL, respectively; whereas hispidin, the major bioactive compound in I. clemensiae showed an IC50 value of 82.47 µg/mL. These findings are crucial in underscoring the medicinal value of the wild mushrooms of Nepal, as a source of strong antiallergic agents.

Antioxidative activities of 62 wild mushrooms from Nepal and the phenolic profile of some selected species.

Mushrooms have garnered immense popularity for their nutritional as well as medicinal values. The therapeutic potential of mushrooms in Nepal, a country well known for its biodiversity and natural medicinal resources, remains largely unstudied. Therefore, this study attempts to unveil the antioxidative properties of Nepalese wild mushrooms. Sixty-two wild mushroom samples were collected from several forests in different parts of Nepal. Ethanol and water extracts of the dried samples were tested for their antioxidative activities using total phenolic content (TPC), oxygen radical absorbance capacity (ORAC) assay, 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH), 2,2'-azino-bis(3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonic acid) (ABTS), and reducing power (RP) assays. Ethanol extracts of samples belonging to the order Hymenochaetales showed significantly high activity in all the assays. Inonotus clemensiae had an exceptionally high TPC of 643.2 mg gallic acid equivalent (GAE)/g extract and also exhibited the lowest EC50 values in DPPH (0.081 mg/mL), ABTS (0.409 mg/mL), and EC0.5 value in reducing power (RP; 0.031 mg/mL) assays. High-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) analysis of the top ten samples with the highest TPC was done to identify the phenolic compounds in the extracts, followed by liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS) analysis for some unknown compounds. These findings highlight the very strong antioxidative activity of Nepalese mushrooms, and paves the way for further research to explore their economic potential.

Kibizu concentrated liquid suppresses the accumulation of lipid droplets in 3T3-L1 cells.

Adipocyte size is closely related to the occurrence of diabetes, metabolic syndrome, and insulin resistance. Thus, researchers are searching for active substances that function to reduce adipocyte size. In the present study, we focused on sugar cane vinegar, Kibizu, and evaluated the function of Kibizu to reduce adipocyte size by using an in vitro model system, because people in Amami Oshima famous for longevity regularly consume Kibizu. Results showed that Kibizu treatment significantly reduced the size and number of lipid droplets in 3T3-L1 cells, relative to treatment with Kurozu, another traditional vinegar. Results of an extraction experiment suggest that the active components in Kibizu are lipophilic and hydrophobic. In addition, an in vivo experiment on rats treated with Kibizu showed that the active components were contained in large vein blood. Results of an additional in vivo experiment suggest that metabolites generated by Kibizu-treated rats are primarily contained or modified specifically in the large vein blood.

Wild Mushrooms in Nepal: Some Potential Candidates as Antioxidant and ACE-Inhibition Sources.

Twenty-nine mushrooms collected in the mountainous areas of Nepal were analyzed for antioxidant activity by different methods, including Folin-Ciocalteu, ORAC, ABTS, and DPPH assays. Intracellular H2O2-scavenging activity was also performed on HaCaT cells. The results showed that phenolic compounds are the main antioxidant of the mushrooms. Among studied samples, Inonotus andersonii, and Phellinus gilvus exhibited very high antioxidant activity with the phenolic contents up to 310.8 and 258.7 mg GAE/g extracts, respectively. The H2O2-scavenging assay on cells also revealed the potential of these mushrooms in the prevention of oxidative stress. In term of ACE-inhibition, results showed that Phlebia tremellosa would be a novel and promising candidate for antihypertensive studies. This mushroom exhibited even higher in vitro ACE-inhibition activity than Ganoderma lingzhi, with the IC50 values of the two mushrooms being 32 µ g/mL and 2 µ g/mL, respectively. This is the first time biological activities of mushrooms collected in Nepal were reported. Information from this study should be a valuable reference for future studies on antioxidant and ACE-inhibitory activities of mushrooms.

Identification of distinctive volatile compounds in fish sauce.

To make clear the distinctive odorants of fish sauce, addition tests were carried out with respect to deodorized fish sauce samples. Volatiles from the headspace gas of nontreated fish sauce and deodorized fish sauce were characterized by gas chromatography-olfactometry and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. Four compounds contributing to the distinctive odor of fish sauce were 2-methylpropanal, 2-methylbutanal, 2-ethylpyridine, and dimethyl trisulfide. Addition tests (quantitative descriptive analysis) with respect to the four odorants showed that contributors to the fishy aroma were 2-ethylpyridine and dimethyl trisulfide and that all four odorants contributed to the sweaty aroma. Furthermore, the fecal note of fish sauce was essential with 2-ethylpyridine and dimethyl trisulfide, and the rancid note was essential with all four odorants.