Effectiveness of Different Analytical Methods for the Characterization of Propolis: A Case of Study in Northern Italy.

: Propolis is used as folk medicine due to its spectrum of alleged biological and pharmaceutical properties and it is a complex matrix not still totally characterized. Two batches of propolis coming from two different environments (plains of Po Valley and the hilly Ligurian-Piedmont Apennines) of Northern Italy were characterized using different analytical methods: Spectrophotometric analysis of phenols, flavones and flavonols, and DPPH radical scavenging activity, HPLC, NMR, HSPME and GC-MS and HPLC-MS Orbitrap. Balsam and moisture content were also considered. No statistical differences were found at the spectrophotometric analysis; balsam content did not vary significantly. The most interesting findings were in the VOCs composition, with the Po Valley samples containing compounds of the resins from leaf buds of Populus nigra L. The hills (Appennines) samples were indeed characterize by the presence of phenolic glycerides already found in mountain environments. HPLC-Q-Exactive-Orbitrap®-MS analysis is crucial in appropriate recognition of evaluate number of metabolites, but also NMR itself could give more detailed information especially when isomeric compounds should be identified. It is necessary a standardized evaluation to protect and valorize this production and more research on propolis characterization using different analytical techniques.

Moringin, A Stable Isothiocyanate from Moringa oleifera, Activates the Somatosensory and Pain Receptor TRPA1 Channel In Vitro.

Moringa oleifera Lam. is a tropical plant widely used in traditional medicines and as a food supplement. It is characterized by the presence of glucosinolates and isothiocyanates; the stable isothiocyanate 4-[(α-l-rhamnosyloxy)benzyl]isothiocyanate (moringin) has been widely studied for its bioactivity as hypoglycemic, antimicrobial, anticancer and in particular for its involvement in nociception and neurogenic pain. Moringa extracts and pure moringin were submitted to in vitro assays with the somatosensory TRPA1 ion channel, proving that moringin is a potent and effective agonist of this receptor involved in nociceptive function and pain states. Moringin do not activate or activates very weakly the vanilloids somatosensory channels TRPV1,2,3 and 4, and the melastatin cooling receptor TRPM8. The comparison of moringin's activity with other known agonists of natural origin is also discussed.

Sub-lethal concentrations of Perilla frutescens essential oils affect phytopathogenic fungal biofilms.

The lack of deep knowledge of plant pathogenic fungal biofilms is reflected in the few existing environmental-friendly options for controlling fungal plant disease. Indeed, chemical fungicides still dominate the market but present-day concerns about their real efficacy, increasing awareness of the risk they pose to human health and the environment, and the incidence of fungicide resistance have all led to the current trend of near zero-market-tolerance for pesticide residues in fruit and vegetables. Here, essential oils (PK and PK-IK) from the edible leaves of two cultivars of Perilla frutescens are proposed as new, effective, non-toxic, eco-friendly pesticide-free options suitable for a preventive or integrative approach for sustainable crop protection and product preservation. PK and PK-IK were extracted and characterized, and their ability to affect the biofilm formation of the phytopathogenic model fungi Colletotrichum musae, Fusarium dimerum and Fusarium oxysporum was studied at non-lethal doses. Both essential oils at 1000 and 2000 mg l-1 showed excellent anti-biofilm performance: i) reducing conidia adhesion up to 80.3 ±â€¯16.2%; ii) inhibiting conidia germination up to 100.0 ±â€¯0.0%; iii) affecting biofilm structural development, with a reduction in dry weight of up to 100.0 ±â€¯0.0% and extracellular polysaccharides and proteins up to 81.4 ±â€¯8.0% and 51.0 ±â€¯6.1% respectively. In all cases PK-IK showed better activity than PK.

Glucosinolates in Sisymbrium officinale (L.) Scop.: Comparative Analysis in Cultivated and Wild Plants and in Vitro Assays with T2Rs Bitter Taste Receptors.

Sisymbrium officinale (L.) Scop., commonly known as "hedge mustard" or "the singer's plant" is a wild plant common in Eurasian regions. Its cultivation is mainly dedicated to herboristic applications and it has only recently been introduced into Italy. The active botanicals in S. officinale are glucosinolates, generally estimated by using UV or high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). Using both techniques, we measured the total glucosinolates from S. officinale in different parts of the plant as roots, leaves, seeds, and flowers. A comparison was made for cultivated and wild samples, and for samples obtained with different pre-treatment and fresh, frozen, and dried storage conditions. Cultivated and wild plants have a comparable amount of total glucosinolates, while drying procedures can reduce the final glucosinolates content. The content in glucoputranjivin, which is the chemical marker for glucosinolates in S. officinale, has been determined using HPLC and a pure reference standard. Glucoputranjivin and two isothiocyanates from S. officinale have been submitted to in vitro assays with the platform of bitter taste receptors of the T2Rs family. The results show that glucoputranjivin is a selective agonist of receptor T2R16.

Isothiocyanates and Glucosinolates from Sisymbrium officinale (L.) Scop. ("the Singers' Plant"): Isolation and in Vitro Assays on the Somatosensory and Pain Receptor TRPA1 Channel.

Sisymbrium officinale (L.) Scop. is a wild common plant of the Brassicaceae family. It is known as "the singers' plant" for its traditional use in treating aphonia and vocal disability. Despite its wide use in herbal preparations, the molecular mechanism of action of S. officinale extracts is not known. The plant is rich in glucosinolates and isothiocyanates, which are supposed to be its active compounds. Some members of this family, in particular allylisothiocyanate, are strong agonists of the transient receptor potential ankyrin 1 (TRPA1) channel, which is involved in the somatosensory perception of pungency as well as in the nociception pathway of inflammatory pain. This study aims to isolate the glucosinolates and isothiocianates from fresh S. officinale to identify the major components and test their activity in in vitro assays with a cloned TRPA1 channel. Samples of cultivated S. officinale have been extracted and the active compounds isolated by column chromatography, HPLC and PTLC. The main components glucoputranjivin, isopropylisothiocyanate and 2-buthylisothiocianate have been tested on TRPA1. The glucosinolates glucoputranjivin and sinigrin turned out to be inactive, while isopropylisothiocyanate and 2-buthylisothiocyanate are potent agonists of TRPA1, with an EC50 in the range of the high potency natural agonists identified so far for this somatosensory channel.

TRPA5, an Ankyrin Subfamily Insect TRP Channel, is Expressed in Antennae of Cydia pomonella (Lepidoptera: Tortricidae) in Multiple Splice Variants.

Transient receptor potential (TRP) channels are an ancient family of cation channels, working as metabotropic triggers, which respond to physical and chemical environmental cues. Perception of chemical signals mediate reproductive behaviors and is therefore an important target for sustainable management tactics against the codling moth Cydia pomonella L. (Lepidoptera: Tortricidae). However, olfactory behavior strongly depends on diel periodicity and correlation of chemical with physical cues, like temperature, and physical cues thus essentially contribute to the generation of behavioral response. From an antennal transcriptome generated by next generation sequencing, we characterized five candidate TRPs in the codling moth. The coding DNA sequence of one of these was extended to full length, and phylogenetic investigation revealed it to be orthologous of the TRPA5 genes, reported in several insect genomes as members of the insect TRPA group with unknown function but closely related to the thermal sensor pyrexia Reverse transcription PCR revealed the existence of five alternate splice forms of CpTRPA5. Identification of a novel TRPA and its splice forms in codling moth antennae open for investigation of their possible sensory roles and implications in behavioral responses related to olfaction.

Phytochemicals from Ruta graveolens Activate TAS2R Bitter Taste Receptors and TRP Channels Involved in Gustation and Nociception.

Ruta graveolens (rue) is a spontaneous plant in the Mediterranean area with a strong aroma and a very intense bitter taste, used in gastronomy and in folk medicine. From the leaves, stems and fruits of rue, we isolated rutin, rutamarin, three furanocoumarins, two quinolinic alkaloids, a dicoumarin and two long chain ketones. Bitter taste and chemesthetic properties have been evaluated by in vitro assays with twenty receptors of the TAS2R family and four TRP ion channels involved in gustation and nociception. Among the alkaloids, skimmianine was active as a specific agonist of T2R14, whereas kokusaginin did not activate any of the tested receptors. The furanocoumarins activates TAS2R10, 14, and 49 with different degrees of selectivity, as well as the TRPA1 somatosensory ion channel. Rutamarin is an agonist of TRPM5 and TRPV1 and a strong antagonist of TRPM8 ion channels.

Sub-lethal concentrations of Muscari comosum bulb extract suppress adhesion and induce detachment of sessile yeast cells.

The formation of yeast biofilm on food industry equipment can lead to serious hygiene problems and economic losses due to food spoilage and equipment impairment. This study explored the ability of a sub-lethal concentration of the bulb extract of Muscari comosum to modulate adhesion of Candida albicans and subsequent biofilm development by this fungus. The HPLC profile of the ethanolic bulb extract showed phenolic constituents, which were found to undergo Folin-Ciocalteu reagent reduction. Prior to the adhesion tests, it was shown that up to 4000 mg l(-1) of natural extract did not adversely affect fungal growth nor did it act as a carbon energy source for C. albicans. Mathematical models predicted that 4000 mg l(-1) and 700 mg l(-1) of bulb extract would cause more than 98% reduction in fungal coverage on abiotic surfaces, without killing the planktonic cells. When added to C. albicans biofilm, the natural extract was shown to induce the dispersion of sessile cells in a dose-dependent manner.

Vanillin Activates Human Bitter Taste Receptors TAS2R14, TAS2R20, and TAS2R39.

Vanilla is widely used in food preparation worldwide for its sensory properties, mainly related to its fragrance, being vanillin the major compound present in the processed vanilla. Vanillin is also known to elicit bitterness as a secondary sensory sensation, but the molecular mechanism of its bitterness has never been reported. Assay buffers of vanillin were tested in vitro on all known 25 human bitter taste receptors TAS2Rs. Three receptors, TAS2R14, TAS2R20, and TAS2R39, were activated, showing that these receptors are mediating the bitterness of vanillin. The result could be useful to improve the overall sensory profile of this broadly used food ingredient, but even more could represent the starting point for further studies to investigate the potential of vanillin in sensory nutrition and other pharmaceutical applications.

Herbs for Voice Database: Developing a Rational Approach to the Study of Herbal Remedies Used in Voice Care.

Herbs have been used for voice care since ancient times and many herbal remedies are still in use in every geographical areas and cultures, both as traditional medicine and as sources of botanicals used in commercial products. Many of these plants are used as extracts and other phytopreparates, and a full phytochemical analysis is sometimes incomplete or lacking. The mechanisms of action of these botanicals include antibacterial, anti-inflammatory, mucolytic, and other general activities; nevertheless, mechanisms that could be specifically referred to voice are often unknown, as well as the corresponding molecular targets and therefore a rational approach in the use of these remedies is hard to be applied by phoniatricians. To address this problem, we collected information on plants used for voice care from several different geographical areas, using both literature data and a pool of contributors from an international network of artistic phoniatrics and vocologists. The plants have been organized in a database (Herbs for Voice Database) and classified according to the natural compounds contained in them, their molecular targets and the pathologies they are recommended for. This first database contains 44 plants, 101 phytocompounds, and 32 recognized molecular targets. The distribution of herbs and phytocompounds according to the botanical families, their known biological activity, traditional uses, and molecular targets were analyzed. In particular, data analysis shows that the somatosensory and pain receptor Transient Receptor Potential Ankyrin 1 ion channel is targeted by a large number of different phytochemicals contained in the herbs for voice, and could therefore be involved in a mechanism of action common to many plants.

Chemoinformatics View on Bitter Taste Receptor Agonists in Food.

Food compounds with a bitter taste have a role in human health, both for their capability to influence food choice and preferences and for their possible systemic effect due to the modulation of extra-oral bitter taste receptors (TAS2Rs). Investigating the interaction of bitter food compounds with TAS2Rs is a key step to unravel their complex effects on health and to pave the way to rationally design new additives for food formulation or drugs. Here, we propose a collection of food bitter compounds, for which in vitro activity data against TAS2Rs are available. The patterns of TAS2R subtype-specific agonists were analyzed using scaffold decomposition and chemical space analysis, providing a detailed characterization of the associations between food bitter tastants and TAS2Rs.

Sisymbrium Officinale (the Singers' Plant) as an Ingredient: Analysis of Somatosensory Active Volatile Isothiocyanates in Model Food and Drinks.

Sisymbrium officinale (L.) Scop. (hedge mustard) is a wild common plant of the Brassicaceae family. It is known as "the singers' plant" for its traditional use in treating aphonia and vocal disability. The plant is rich in glucosinolates and isothiocyanates; the latter has been demonstrated to be a strong agonist in vitro of the Transient Receptor Potential Ankirine 1 (TRPA1) channel, which is involved in the somatosensory perception of pungency as well as in the nociception pathway of inflammatory pain. Volatile ITCs are released by the enzymatic or chemical hydrolysis of GLSs (glucosinolates) during sample crushing and/or by the mastication of fresh plant tissues when the plant is used as an ingredient. Some functional food and drink model preparations have been realised: honey enriched with seeds and flowers, infusions, cold drink (voice drink), artisanal beer, and a fermented tea (kombucha). Using SPME-GCMS chromatography, we analysed samples of the plant and of the food preparations adopting conditions that simulate the release of isothiocyanates (ITCs) during oral assumption. Two active compounds, iso-propylisothiocyanate and 2-butylisothiocyanate, have been assayed. The concentration of ITCs varies according to temperature, pH, grinding conditions, and different plant organs used. Kombucha-type fermentation seems to eliminate the ITCs, whereas they are retained in beer. The ITCs' concentration is higher when entire seeds and flowers are used.

Taste-guided identification of high potency TRPA1 agonists from Perilla frutescens.

Perilla frutescens is a food plant widely used in Asian cuisine. This plant was investigated for its interesting taste and somatosensory properties. Perillaldehyde and perillaketone are among the components of the aromatic extracts from P. Frutescens. These compounds were shown here to activate the cloned TRPA1 channel when expressed in an heterologous cell system and are therefore suggested to be responsible for the chemesthetic properties of this plant.

Taste-active compounds in a traditional Italian food: 'lampascioni'.

Nature is a rich source of taste-active compounds, in particular of plant origin, many of which have unusual tastes. Many of these are found in traditional food, where spontaneous plants are used as ingredients. Some taste-active compounds were identified in the bulbs of Muscari comosum, a spontaneous plant belonging to the family of the Liliaceae, very common in the Mediterranean area, and used in traditional gastronomy (called 'lampascioni' in South Italy). The bulbs were extracted with a series of solvents of different polarity. The different fractions were submitted to a preliminary sensory evaluation, and the most interesting ones, characterized by a strong bitter taste and some chemestetic properties, were submitted to further purification and structural analysis. From the ethereal extract, several 3-benzyl-4-chromanones and one stilbene derivative were isolated. Pure compounds were examined for their taste activity by means of sensory evaluation, and proved to be responsible for the characteristic taste of this food. Some of these compounds have been synthesized de novo to confirm their structure.

Effect of Moringa oleifera Leaf Powder on Postprandial Blood Glucose Response: In Vivo Study on Saharawi People Living in Refugee Camps.

The hypoglycemic effect in humans of Moringa oleifera (MO) leaf powder has, to date, been poorly investigated. We assessed the chemical composition of MO leaf powder produced at Saharawi refugee camps, its in vitro ability to inhibit α-amylase activity, and its sensory acceptability in food. We then evaluated its effect on postprandial glucose response by randomly administering, on 2 different days, a traditional meal supplemented with 20 g of MO leaf powder (MOR20), or not (control meal, CNT), to 17 Saharawi diabetics and 10 healthy subjects. Capillary glycaemia was measured immediately before the meal and then at 30 min intervals for 3 h. In the diabetic subjects the postprandial glucose response peaked earlier with MOR20 compared to CNT and with lower increments at 90, 120, and 150 min. The mean glycemic meal response with MOR20 was lower than with CNT. The healthy subjects showed no differences. Thus, MO leaf powder could be a hypoglycemic herbal drug. However, given the poor taste acceptability of the 20 g MO meal, lower doses should be evaluated. Moreover, the hypoglycemic effects of MO leaf powder should also be demonstrated by trials evaluating its long-term effects on glycaemia.

Extracts and compounds active on TRP ion channels from Waldheimia glabra, a ritual medicinal plant from Himalaya.

BACKGROUND: Waldheimia glabra (Decne.) Regel is a wild plant from the Himalayan Mountains, commonly known as Smooth Ground Daisy. This plant is traditionally used by local populations in religious rituals (incense) or in traditional herbal medicine to treat skin diseases, headache, joint pain and fever. In literature few data are available on the investigation of this aromatic plant. PURPOSE: The present work aims at deepening knowledge about the chemical composition of W. glabra extracts and incense, as well as its activity on TRP ion channels. METHODS: Extracts and incense of W. glabra were analyzed by using HS-SPME GC/MS, GC/MS and NMR analysis. Tests on the activity of W. glabra extracts and isolated compounds (+)-ludartin 1 and B-ring-homo-tonghaosu 2 on TRP channels were also performed. RESULTS: Some extracts and pure compounds from W. glabra showed an interesting activity in terms of efficacy and potency on rat TRPA1, an ion channel involved in several sensory mechanisms, including pungency, environmental irritation and pain perception. Activity is discussed and compared with that of other known TRPA1 natural agonists with different chemical structures. All compounds showed only a negligible inhibition activity on rat TRPM8 ion channel. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings demonstrate that W. glabra is involved in the receptor activation mechanism and therefore represents a new natural product potentially useful in pharmaceutical and agrifood research.

Bitter or not? BitterPredict, a tool for predicting taste from chemical structure.

Bitter taste is an innately aversive taste modality that is considered to protect animals from consuming toxic compounds. Yet, bitterness is not always noxious and some bitter compounds have beneficial effects on health. Hundreds of bitter compounds were reported (and are accessible via the BitterDB http://bitterdb.agri.huji.ac.il/dbbitter.php ), but numerous additional bitter molecules are still unknown. The dramatic chemical diversity of bitterants makes bitterness prediction a difficult task. Here we present a machine learning classifier, BitterPredict, which predicts whether a compound is bitter or not, based on its chemical structure. BitterDB was used as the positive set, and non-bitter molecules were gathered from literature to create the negative set. Adaptive Boosting (AdaBoost), based on decision trees machine-learning algorithm was applied to molecules that were represented using physicochemical and ADME/Tox descriptors. BitterPredict correctly classifies over 80% of the compounds in the hold-out test set, and 70-90% of the compounds in three independent external sets and in sensory test validation, providing a quick and reliable tool for classifying large sets of compounds into bitter and non-bitter groups. BitterPredict suggests that about 40% of random molecules, and a large portion (66%) of clinical and experimental drugs, and of natural products (77%) are bitter.

From small sweeteners to sweet proteins: anatomy of the binding sites of the human T1R2_T1R3 receptor.

The sweet taste receptor, a heterodimeric G protein coupled receptor (GPCR) protein, formed by the T1R2 and T1R3 subunits, recognizes several sweet compounds including carbohydrates, amino acids, peptides, proteins, and synthetic sweeteners. Its similarity with the metabotropic glutamate mGluR1 receptor allowed us to build homology models. All possible dimers formed by combinations of the human T1R2 and T1R3 subunits, modeled on the A (closed) or B (open) chains of the extracellular ligand binding domain of the mGluR1 template, yield four ligand binding sites for low-molecular-weight sweeteners. These sites were probed by docking a set of molecules representative of all classes of sweet compounds and calculating the free energy of ligand binding. These sites are not easily accessible to sweet proteins, but docking experiments in silico showed that sweet proteins can bind to a secondary site without entering the deep cleft. Our models account for many experimental observations on the tastes of sweeteners, including sweetness synergy, and can help to design new sweeteners.

General pseudoreceptor model for sweet compounds: a semiquantitative prediction of binding affinity for sweet-tasting molecules.

The chemical structures of sweet compounds are very different, ranging from sugars to amino acids and peptides or other compounds such as saccharin. The biological mechanism underlying the generation of sweet taste is still unknown, although in the past few years much research has provided evidence for the existence of a true chemoreception process, mediated by receptor proteins on the taste buds. In particular, the initial step of the process involves the reversible binding of the sweet compounds to their receptor(s). In this work, we have investigated this binding via a pseudoreceptor model, which has been developed using a training set of 24 compounds belonging to different families including sugars, peptides, and other intensive sweeteners. This model provided a correlation coefficient (r(2)) of 0.985 between the calculated and the experimental free energies of binding, which are related to the molar relative sweetness, for the training set and is able to predict semiquantitatively free energies of ligand binding for an independent set of five test ligand molecules within 0.3-2.1 kcal mol(-1) of the experimental values.