The Evaluation of the Phytochemical Profiles and Antioxidant and α-Glucosidase Inhibitory Activities of Four Herbal Teas Originating from China: A Comparative Analysis of Aqueous and Ethanol Infusions.

Recent research has demonstrated the positive impact of herbal tea consumption on postprandial blood glucose regulation. This study conducts a comparative analysis of aqueous and ethanol extractions on four herbal teas (Mallotus, Cyclocarya, Rubus, and Vine) to assess their phytochemical profiles and functional attributes. Phytochemical contents, antioxidant activities, α-glucosidase inhibitory activities, and chemical compositions are investigated via colorimetric analyses and UPLC-Q-Orbitrap HRMS/MS, respectively. Results indicate that Vine, among the teas studied, exhibits the most pronounced glucose-regulating effects under both extraction methods. While ethanol extractions yield higher phytochemical content overall, the compositions vary. Conversely, aqueous extracts demonstrate unexpectedly potent antioxidant activities and comparable α-glucosidase inhibitory activities to ethanol extracts. Phytochemical contents correlate positively with antioxidant activities and α-glucosidase inhibitory activities. However, antioxidant activities exhibit a weak positive correlation with α-glucosidase inhibitory activities. These findings provide evidence that aqueous extracts from herbal teas contain valuable phytochemical compositions beneficial for antioxidants and individuals with hyperglycemia, suggesting their potential as functional ingredients to enhance the nutritional value of herbal food products.

Ultrasonic extraction of Moringa oleifera seeds polysaccharides: Optimization, purification, and anti-inflammatory activities.

Natural polysaccharides exhibit numerous beneficial properties, such as antioxidant, antitumor, hypoglycemic, and hypolipidemic activities. Moringa oleifera seeds are of high dietary and therapeutic value which drew a lot of attention. However, the regulation effect on anti-inflammatory activity of polysaccharides remains to be studied. Herein, novel bioactive polysaccharides (MOSP-1) were extracted from Moringa oleifera seeds, and the anti-inflammatory properties of MOSP-1 were uncovered. Ultrasound-assisted extraction (UAE) was used to prepare the polysaccharides with optimized conditions (70 °C, 43 min, and liquid-solid-ratio 15 mL/g). Then, DEAE-Sepharose Fast Flow columns were applied to isolate and purify MOSP-1. Rhamnose, arabinose, galactose, and glucose were identified as the monosaccharide constituents of MOSP-1, with a molecular weight of 5.697 kDa. Their proportion in molarity was 1:0.183:0.108:0.860 and 8 types of glycosidic linkages were discovered. Bioactive assays showed that MOSP-1 possessed scavenging activities against DPPH and ABTS radicals, confirming its potential antioxidation efficacy. In vitro experiments revealed that MOSP-1 could reduce the expression of inflammation-related cytokines, inhibit the activation of ERK, JNK, and p38 (the MAPK signaling pathway), and enhance phagocytic functions. This study indicates that polysaccharides (MOSP-1) from Moringa oleifera seeds with anti-inflammatory properties may be used for functional food and pharmaceutical product development.

Induction of SGK1 via glucocorticoid-influenced clinical outcome of triple-negative breast cancer patients.

PURPOSE: Triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) is a highly heterogeneous and aggressive breast malignancy. Glucocorticoid (GC)-glucocorticoid receptor (GR) pathway plays a pivotal role in the cellular responses to various stresses including chemotherapy. Serum- and glucocorticoid-induced kinase-1 (SGK1) is known as an important downstream effector molecule in the GR signaling pathway, we attempted to explore its clinicopathological and functional significance in TNBC in which GR is expressed. METHODS: We first immunolocalized GR and SGK1 and correlated the results with clinicopathological variables and clinical outcome in 131 TNBC patients. We also evaluated the effects of SGK1 on the cell proliferation and migration in TNBC cell lines with administration of dexamethasone (DEX) to further clarify the significance of SGK1. RESULTS: The status of SGK1 in carcinoma cells was significantly associated with adverse clinical outcome in TNBC patients examined and was significantly associated with lymph node metastasis, pathological stage, and lymphatic invasion of the patients. In particular, SGK1 immunoreactivity was significantly associated with an increased risk of recurrence in GR-positive TNBC patients. Subsequent in vitro studies also demonstrated that DEX promoted TNBC cell migration and the silencing of gene expression did inhibit the cell proliferation and migration of TNBC cells under DEX treatment. CONCLUSIONS: To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study to explore an association between SGK1 and clinicopathological variables and clinical outcome of TNBC patients. SGK1 status was significantly positively correlated with adverse clinical outcome of TNBC patients and promoted carcinoma cell proliferation and migration of carcinoma cells.

Recent Advances in Pickering Double Emulsions and Potential Applications in Functional Foods: A Perspective Paper.

Double emulsions are complex emulsion systems with a wide range of applications across different fields, such as pharmaceutics, food and beverage, materials sciences, personal care, and dietary supplements. Conventionally, surfactants are required for the stabilization of double emulsions. However, due to the emerging need for more robust emulsion systems and the growing trends for biocompatible and biodegradable materials, Pickering double emulsions have attracted increasing interest. In comparison to double emulsions stabilized solely by surfactants, Pickering double emulsions possess enhanced stability due to the irreversible adsorption of colloidal particles at the oil/water interface, while adopting desired environmental-friendly properties. Such advantages have made Pickering double emulsions rigid templates for the preparation of various hierarchical structures and as potential encapsulation systems for the delivery of bioactive compounds. This article aims to provide an evaluation of the recent advances in Pickering double emulsions, with a special focus on the colloidal particles employed and the corresponding stabilization strategies. Emphasis is then devoted to the applications of Pickering double emulsions, from encapsulation and co-encapsulation of a wide range of active compounds to templates for the fabrication of hierarchical structures. The tailorable properties and the proposed applications of such hierarchical structures are also discussed. It is hoped that this perspective paper will serve as a useful reference on Pickering double emulsions and will provide insights toward future studies in the fabrication and applications of Pickering double emulsions.

Magnetic nanometer combined with microwave: Novel rapid thawing promotes phenolics release in frozen-storage lychee.

Magnetic nanometer combined with microwave thawing (MN-MT) could become a novel solution to challenges uneven and overheating of microwave thawing (MT), while retaining high thawing efficiency, compared to conventional water immersion thawing (WT). In this study, MN-MT was applied to thaw fruit (lychee as an example) for the first time, and was evaluated by comparison with WT, MT and water immersion combined with microwave thawing (WI-MT). Results showed that MN-MT could significantly shorten the thawing time of frozen lychee by 80.67%, 25.86% and 18.83% compared to WT, MT and WI-MT, respectively. Compared to WT, MN-MT was the only thawing treatment which significantly enhanced the release of quercetin-3-O-rutinose-7-O-α-l-rhamnoside, according to HPLC-DAD. Meanwhile, thermal-sensitive procyanidin B2, phenylpropionic acid and protocatechuic acid were found to be protected from degradations only by MN-MT based on UPLC-ESI-QTOF-MS/MS results. In summary, MN-MT is a potential novel treatment for rapid thawing and quality maintenance of frozen fruits.

Wetting of aluminium and carbon interface during preparation of Al-Ti-C grain refiner under ultrasonic field.

In the preparation of an Al-Ti-C grain refiner under an ultrasonic field, the mechanism of the wetting behaviour between Al and C was systematically investigated. The results demonstrated that the wetting behaviour was mainly dependent on the wetting of the Al melt on graphite under the ultrasonic field (physical wetting) and the formation and mass transfer of TiC (reactive wetting). The diffusion of Ti atoms and their adsorption around the graphite could contribute to the wetting of Al-C. TiC particles were formed under the high temperature caused by the cavitation effect, and they detached from the interface due to the sound pressure, which resulted in consistently sufficient contact on the wetting interface. Moreover, the wetting and spreading behaviour of the Al melt on graphite under an ultrasonic field were numerically simulated, strongly manifesting that the ultrasonic field could facilitate the wetting of the Al-C interface.

Identification and validation of m6A RNA methylation regulators with clinical prognostic value in Papillary thyroid cancer.

BACKGROUND: Papillary thyroid cancer (PTC) is a type of malignant tumor with excellent prognosis, accounting for more than 80% of thyroid cancer. Recently, numerous studies illustrated the importance of N 6-methyladenosine (m6A) RNA modification to tumorigenesis, but it has never been reported in PTC. METHODS: We downloaded data from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) and analyzed RNA expression, single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) and copy number variations (CNVs) of 19 m6A RNA methylation regulators in PTC. Then we used nonnegative matrix factorization (NMF) to cluster patients into two m6A subtypes and compared them in overall survival (OS) and disease-free survival (DFS). The Weighted correlation network analysis (WGCNA) and univariate Cox proportional hazard model (CoxPH) were used to select genes for the construction of a m6A-related signature. The accuracy and prognostic value of this signature were validated by using receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves, K-M (Kaplan-Meier) survival analysis, univariant and multivariant analyses. RESULTS: CNVs and differential expression of m6A regulators were observed in PTC patients. Especially IGF2BP2 (Insulin-like growth factor 2 mRNA binding protein 2), which was most significantly overexpressed in tumor tissue. We chose 4 genes in the m6A-related module from WGCNA: IGF2BP2, STT3A, MTHFD1 and GSTM4, and used them to construct a m6A-related signature. The prognostic value of this signature was validated, and risk scores provided by the signature was the independent prognostic factor for PTC. A nomogram was also provided for clinical usage. CONCLUSIONS: We performed a comprehensive evaluation of the m6A RNA modification landscape of PTC and explored its underlying mechanisms. Our m6A-related signature was of great significance in predicting the DFS of patients with PTC. And IGF2BP2 was a gene worthy for further analysis as its strong correlation with DFS and clinical phenotypes of PTC.

Solvent-Free Secondary Growth of Highly b-Oriented MFI Zeolite Films from Anhydrous Synthetic Powder.

Up to date, zeolite films have been mainly fabricated by in situ crystallization, secondary growth in a solution/hydrogel, or occasionally by vapor phase transformation of dry gel. Here we demonstrate for the first time a solvent-free secondary growth method for b-oriented silica MFI zeolite films using the synthetic powder from ground anhydrous raw solids in the presence of NH4F. Typically, precisely b-oriented MFI zeolite films are synthesized from seed layers of highly b-oriented MFI zeolite crystals in the synthetic powder of 1SiO2:0.035TPABr:0.05NH4F at 175 °C for 6 h. If needed, b-oriented MFI zeolite multilayer films can be acquired by changing the synthesis time or the amount of NH4F in the synthetic powder. Compared with the traditional hydrothermal synthesis, the approach developed here may provide a new avenue for fabricating high quality zeolite films/membranes.

Combinatorial anticancer effects of curcumin and sorafenib towards thyroid cancer cells via PI3K/Akt and ERK pathways.

The objective of this study was to examine the in vitro combinatorial anticancer effects of curcumin and sorafenib towards thyroid cancer cells FTC133 using a MTT cytotoxicity assay, and to test whether the mechanism involves induction of apoptosis. The present results demonstrated that curcumin at 15-25 µM dose-dependently suppressed the proliferation of FTC133. Combined treatment (curcumin (25 µM) and sorafenib (2 µM)) resulted in a reduction in cell colony formation and significantly decreased the invasion and migration of FTC133 cells compared with that treated with individual drugs. Western blot showed that the levels of p-ERK and p-Akt proteins were significantly reduced (p < 0.01) in the medicine-treated FTC133 cells. The curcumin was found to dose-dependently inhibit the apoptosis of FTC133 cells possibly via PI3K/Akt and ERK pathways. There is a synergetic antitumour effect between curcumin and sorafenib.