Effect of black wolfberry anthocyanin and maltitol on the gelation and microstructural properties of curdlan/gellan gum hybrid gels.

BACKGROUND: Laboratory scale experiments have shown that curdlan and gellan gum gelled together as curdlan/gellan gum (CG) hybrid gels showed better gel properties than the individual curdlan and gellan gum. In this study, CG and black wolfberry anthocyanin (BWA), CG and maltitol (ML) hybrid gels were constructed using CG hybrid gel as matrix. The effects of BWA or ML on the gel properties and microstructure of CG hybrid gels were investigated and a confectionery gel was developed. RESULTS: The presence of BWA increased the storage modulus (G') value of CG at 0.1 Hz, whereas ML had little effect on the G' value of CG. The addition of BWA (5 g L-1 ) and ML (0.3 mol L-1 ) increased the melting and gelling temperatures of CG hybrid gels to 42.4 °C and 34.1 °C and 44.2 °C and 33.2 °C, respectively. Meanwhile, the relaxation time T22 in CG-ML and CG-BWA hybrid gels was reduced to 91.96 and 410.27 ms, indicating the strong binding between BWA and CG, ML and CG. The hydrogen bond interaction between BWA or ML and CG was confirmed by the shift in the hydroxyl stretching vibration peak. Moreover, the microstructures of CG-ML and CG-BWA hybrid gels were denser than that of CG. In addition, confectionery gel containing CG-BWA-ML has good chewing properties. CONCLUSION: These results indicated that the incorporation of BWA or ML could improve the structure of CG hybrid gels and assign a sustainability potential for the development of confectionery gels based on CG complex. © 2024 Society of Chemical Industry.

Monovalent Salt and pH-Stimulated Gelation of Scallop (Patinopecten yessoensis) Male Gonad Hydrolysates/κ-Carrageenan.

The gelation of scallop Patinopecten yessoensis male gonad hydrolysates (SMGHs) and κ-carrageenan (KC) subjected to pH (2-8, 3-9) and NaCl/KCl stimuli-response was investigated. SMGHs/KC gels subjected to a NaCl response exhibited an increasing storage modulus G'from 2028.6 to 3418.4 Pa as the pH decreased from pH 8 to 2, with corresponding T23 fluctuating from 966.40 to 365.64 ms. For the KCl-treated group, SMGHs/KC gels showed an even greater G' from 4646.7 to 10996.5 Pa, with T23 fluctuating from 622.2 to 276.98 ms as the pH decreased from 9 to 3. The improved gel strength could be ascribed to the blueshift and redshift of hydroxyl groups and amide I peaks, enhanced enthalpy and peak temperature, and gathered characteristic diffraction peaks from SMGHs, KC, NaCl, and KCl. The CLSM and cryo-SEM images further reflected that SMGHs/KC gels showed more flocculation formation and denser and more homogeneous networks with smaller pore sizes in more acidic domains, especially when subjected to the KCl response. This research gives a theoretical and methodological understanding of the construction of salt- and pH-responsive SMGHs/KC hydrogels as novel functional soft biomaterials applied in food and biological fields.

CASC2 inhibits the growth, migration, and invasion of thyroid cancer cells through sponging miR-18a-5p/FIH1 axis.

Long noncoding RNA (lncRNA) Cancer Susceptibility 2 (CASC2) has been proved to contribute to the development of cancers. However, the mechanism behind the action of CASC2 in thyroid cancer is not quite clear. We demonstrated that CASC2 was downregulated in thyroid cancer. We noted that CASC2 overexpression restrained the growth, migration, and invasion of thyroid cancer cells, whereas CASC2 depletion caused opposite trends. Bioinformatics analysis predicted that hypoxia inducible factor 1 subunit alpha inhibitor (FIH-1) was potentially targeted by miR-18a-5p, which was confirmed by luciferase reporter assay. Upregulation of FIH-1 abrogated the promotive effect of miR-18a-5p on the growth and invasion of thyroid cancer cells. In addition, CASC2 serves as a competing endogenous RNA (ceRNA) and a ''sponge'' for miR-18a-5p, thereby regulating the expression of FIH-1. These data elucidated the CASC2/miR-18a-5p ceRNA network in thyroid cancer pathogenesis.