Maize near-isogenic lines with enhanced flavonoids alleviated dextran sodium sulfate-induced murine colitis via modulation of the gut microbiota.

The rising incidence of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) has necessitated the search for safe and effective novel therapeutic strategies. Dietary flavonoids exhibited antioxidant, antiproliferative, and anticarcinogenic activities in several model systems with proven abilities to reduce inflammation and oxidative stress, thus they could be promising therapeutic agents for IBD prevention/treatment. However, understanding the role of a specific class of compounds in foods that promote health is difficult because of the chemically complex food matrices. This study aimed to utilize four maize near-isogenic lines to determine the anti-colitis effects of specific classes of flavonoids, anthocyanins and/or phlobaphenes, in a whole-food matrix. Results showed that the intake of anthocyanin and phlobaphene-enriched maize diets effectively alleviated dextran sodium sulfate (DSS)-induced colitis in mice via reducing the intestinal permeability and restoring the barrier function. Anthocyanin diets were more effective in maintaining the crypt structure and muc2 protein levels and reducing inflammation. Bacterial communities of mice consuming diets enriched with anthocyanins and phlobaphenes were more similar to the healthy control compared to the DSS control group, suggesting the role of flavonoids in modulating the gut microbiota to retrieve intestinal homeostasis. Microbiota depletion rendered these compounds ineffective against colitis. Lower serum concentrations of several phenolic acids were detected in the microbiota-depleted mice, indicating that gut microbiota plays a role in flavonoid metabolism and bioavailability.

Binaphthyl-Proline Hybrid Chiral Ligands: Modular Design, Synthesis, and Enantioswitching in Cu(II)-Catalyzed Enantioselective Henry Reactions.

Chiral O-N-N tridentate ligands were designed from proline and BINOL. Their design strategy and performance were evaluated using a copper(II)-catalyzed asymmetric Henry reaction as a model. The desired ß-nitroalcohols were obtained in up to 94% ee's. Preliminary results suggested that the stereofacial selection of the reactions was mainly controlled by the chiral diamine moiety derived from proline, and matching of the central and axial chiralities was essential for the high stereoselectivity of the reaction. Enantioswitching was observed when an appropriate substituent was introduced to the binaphthyl group. Si-selections were found in reactions using 2a without 3-substituents as chiral ligand, and Re-selections were found with the same high enantioselectivities when 2i bearing the 3-trifluoromethyl group was used as the chiral ligand.

Cranberry Juice Polyphenols Inhibited the Formation of Advanced Glycation End Products in Collagens, Inhibited Advanced Glycation End Product-Induced Collagen Crosslinking, and Cleaved the Formed Crosslinks.

Collagens in the human skin are susceptible to glycation due to their long half-life of about 15 years, accumulating advanced glycation end products (AGEs). The formation of AGEs and the subsequent AGE-induced collagen crosslinking are major factors for skin aging. The objective of this study was to determine the capacity of cranberry juice polyphenols (CJPs) and their fractions to inhibit collagen glycation and to break AGE-induced crosslinks in collagens. Concentrated cranberry juice was extracted to obtain the CJP, which was further fractionated into an ethyl acetate fraction, water fraction, 30% methanol (MeOH) fraction, 60% MeOH fraction, MeOH fraction, and acetone fraction. CJPs and their fractions contained different ratios of anthocyanins, procyanidins, and flavonols. All the fractions significantly inhibited collagen glycation assessed with the collagen-methylglyoxal (MGO) or collagen-dehydroascorbic acid (DHAA) assays. The ethyl acetate fraction and 60% MeOH had the lowest IC50 values in the collagen-MGO and collagen-DHAA assays. The methanol fraction (IC50 = 0.52 µg/mL) and acetone fraction (IC50 = 0.019 mg/mL) had the lowest IC50 values in the inhibition and breakage of AGE-induced collagen crosslinking, respectively. The ethyl acetate fraction significantly scavenged the highest amount of MGO and DHAA after incubation compared to the other fractions. Results suggested that procyanidins were the most effective antiglycation agent in both collagen glycation assays, followed by flavonols and anthocyanins. High-performance liquid chromatography-electrospray ionization─tandem mass spectrometry showed that the reactions of DHAA with quercetin or epicatechin formed several adducts with unreported proposed structures. This study suggested that CJPs may be used as active ingredients in cosmetics to prevent skin collagen glycation and crosslinking and to break the formed crosslinks.

Study on the optimal antagonistic effect of a bacterial complex against Monilinia fructicola in peach.

Peach brown rot caused by Monilinia fructicola is one of the most economically destructive diseases of peach (Prunus persica L.) in some orchards of China. Biocontrol is a significant strategy that exhibits strong levels of control and ecologically sound concepts in disease management. The purpose of this study was to investigate the combined suppressive effects of three endophytic bacterial strains (xj-14, xj-15, and xj-16) and two soil rhizosphere bacterial strains (xj-A and xj-C) that were shown to have strong inhibitory activity toward M. fructicola in our previous study. The optimal strains and the optimized combination of strains were determined. The combination of strains xj-15 and xj-C inhibited M. fructicola more intensively for a longer period of time. Following the application of 1 × 109 CFU/mL bacterial complex to the fruits, leaves, and shoots of peach trees infected with M. fructicola, the rate of inhibition reached 73.80%, 83.33%, and 90.43%, respectively. A pot experiment using lettuce (Lactuca sativa) showed that inoculation with the bacterial complex significantly increased the growth of seedlings. In this study, some compound bacteria were more effective than those in previous study in suppressing disease and promoting growth, which have the potential to be further applied in the field.

Characterization of Maize Near-Isogenic Lines With Enhanced Flavonoid Expression to Be Used as Tools in Diet-Health Complexity.

Increasing incidence of chronic diseases in the 21st century has emphasized the importance of developing crops with enhanced nutritional value. Plant-based diets are associated with reduced incidence of many chronic diseases. The growing population and increased food demand have prioritized the development of high-yielding commercial crop varieties at the expense of natural flavors as well as health-benefiting compounds including polyphenols. Flavonoids are a large subfamily of polyphenols abundant in the plant kingdom with known health-promoting effects, making them a promising trait to be re-introduced into elite lines. Given the vast array of flavonoids and the complexity of plant food metabolome interactions, it is difficult to identify with certainty the specific class(es) of flavonoids in the food matrix that are anti-inflammatory. To address this, we have developed four maize near-isogenic lines (NILs); a line that lacked both anthocyanins and phlobaphenes, a second NIL containing phlobaphenes, a third line had anthocyanins, and a fourth line that contained both anthocyanins and phlobaphenes. The phytochemical profiles and the antioxidant potential of the NILs were characterized. The accumulation of anthocyanins and phlobaphenes contributed significantly to antioxidant capacity compared to maize lines that lacked one or both of the compounds (p < 0.05). Pilot study showed that intake of flavonoid-rich maize diets were able to alleviate experimental colitis in mice. These NILs offer novel materials combining anthocyanins and phlobaphenes and can be used as powerful tools to investigate the disease-preventive effects of specific flavonoid compound in diet/feeding experiments.

Reinforcement Learning-Based Data Forwarding in Underwater Wireless Sensor Networks with Passive Mobility.

Data forwarding for underwater wireless sensor networks has drawn large attention in the past decade. Due to the harsh underwater environments for communication, a major challenge of Underwater Wireless Sensor Networks (UWSNs) is the timeliness. Furthermore, underwater sensor nodes are energy constrained, so network lifetime is another obstruction. Additionally, the passive mobility of underwater sensors causes dynamical topology change of underwater networks. It is significant to consider the timeliness and energy consumption of data forwarding in UWSNs, along with the passive mobility of sensor nodes. In this paper, we first formulate the problem of data forwarding, by jointly considering timeliness and energy consumption under a passive mobility model for underwater wireless sensor networks. We then propose a reinforcement learning-based method for the problem. We finally evaluate the performance of the proposed method through simulations. Simulation results demonstrate the validity of the proposed method. Our method outperforms the benchmark protocols in both timeliness and energy efficiency. More specifically, our method gains 83.35% more value of information and saves up to 75.21% energy compared with a classic lifetime-extended routing protocol (QELAR).

Bacillus Methylotrophicus Has Potential Applications Against Monilinia Fructicola.

Biocontrol is a cost-effective and environmentally friendly technique used in agricultural production. We isolated and screened a bacterial strain from the soils of a peach orchard with high yield. Using biochemical and physiological analysis as well as phylogenetic sequencing data, we identified a strain of Bacillus methylotrophicus, strain XJ-C. The results of our screening trials showed that XJ-C was able to suppress M. fructicola at an inhibition rate of 81.57%. Following the application of a 1×109 CFU/mL XJ-C strain suspension to the fruits, leaves, and shoots of peach trees infected with M. fructicola, the inhibition rate reached 64.31%, 97.34%, and 64.28%, respectively. Using OM and SEM, we observed that, under the inhibition of strain XJ-C, M. fructicola mycelium and spores were abnormally shaped. Under TEM, cell walls were transparent, organelles had disappeared, and the intracellular vacuole was deformed. Thus, XJ-C has the potential to be used in biocontrol.