Enhanced Physicochemical Stability of the L-DOPA Extract of Mucuna pruriens Seeds by Adding Phyllanthus emblica.

Levodopa (L-DOPA) is an essential drug for the treatment of Parkinson's disease. Currently, L-DOPA can be produced by chemical synthesis and can also be found naturally in many herbs, especially Mucuna Pruriens (MP). According to clinical research, the MP extract containing L-DOPA for the treatment of Parkinson's disease could reduce side effects more than the synthetic one. Unfortunately, MP extracts can be easily degraded. Changes in physical and chemical properties such as the appearance (color, melt, solid lump) and the reduction of L-DOPA content in the extract were commonly observed. Therefore, it is necessary to develop an extraction procedure to stabilize the extract of L-DOPA. This study attempted to enhance the extraction process by modifying the traditional acidification approach using hydrochloric acid, citric acid, or ascorbic acid. According to the stability test results, using Phyllanthus emblica water (PEW) as a solvent improved the preservative properties more than other solvents. The color of the PEW-MP powder changed slightly after 12 months of accelerated storage, but the amount of L-DOPA remained the highest (73.55%). Moreover, L-DOPA was only detected in MP and PEW-MP, but not PEW alone (the HPTLC chromatogram at Rf 0.48 and the HPLC chromatogram at Rt 6.0 min). The chemical profiles of PEW and L-DOPA observed in the chromatograms indicated that they are independently separated. As a result, they can be applied to a quality control process. Therefore, PEW was proven to be a powerful solvent for L-DOPA herbal extract that could be readily used as a raw material for herbal products.

Standardized Emblica officinalis fruit extract inhibited the activities of α-amylase, α-glucosidase, and dipeptidyl peptidase-4 and displayed antioxidant potential.

BACKGROUND: Emblica officinalis, known as amla in Ayurveda, has been used as a folk medicine to treat numerous pathological conditions, including diabetes. However, the novel extract of E. officinalis fruit extract (amla fruit extract, AFE, Saberry®) containing 100 g kg-1 ß-glucogallin along with hydrolyzable tannins has not yet been extensively studied for its antidiabetic potential. OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to investigate the antidiabetic and antioxidant activities of AFE and its stability during gastric stress as well as its thermostability. METHODS: The effect of AFE on the inhibition of pancreatic α-amylase and salivary α-amylase enzymes was studied using starch and yeast α-glucosidase enzyme using 4-nitrophenyl α-d-glucopyranoside as substrate. Further, 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl radical scavenging and reactive oxygen species inhibition assay was performed against AFE. RESULTS: AFE potently inhibited the activities of α-amylase and α-glucosidase in a concentration-dependent manner with half maximal inhibitory concentration (IC50 ) values of 135.70 µg mL-1 and 106.70 µg mL-1 respectively. Furthermore, it also showed inhibition of α-glucosidase (IC50 562.9 µg mL-1 ) and dipeptidyl peptidase-4 (DPP-4; IC50 3770 µg mL-1 ) enzyme activities. AFE is a potent antioxidant showing a free radical scavenging activity (IC50 2.37 µg mL-1 ) and protecting against cellular reactive oxygen species (IC50 1.77 µg mL-1 ), and the effects elicited could be attributed to its phytoconstituents. CONCLUSION: AFE showed significant gastric acid resistance and was also found to be thermostable against wet heat. Excellent α-amylase, α-glucosidase, and DPP-4 inhibitory activities of AFE, as well as antioxidant activities, strongly recommend its use for the management of type 2 diabetes mellitus. © 2019 The Authors. Journal of The Science of Food and Agriculture published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of Society of Chemical Industry.

Oral intake of lingonberry and amla fruit extract improves skin conditions in healthy female subjects: A randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical trial.

In this study, we examined the effect of ingestion of lingonberry and amla fruit extract (LAE) on several human skin conditions. To conduct a randomized, double-blinded, placebo-controlled study, we randomly divided 99 healthy female subjects into three groups; the first group received a drink containing 25 mg of lingonberry extract and 30 mg of amla fruit extract; the second group received a drink containing double the volume of extracts received by the first group; and the third group received a placebo drink. Each participant drank 50 mL of their assigned drink once daily for 12 weeks. The primary endpoint was skin elasticity, and the secondary endpoints included skin thickness, stratum corneum water content, and degree of wrinkles around the eyes. After 12 weeks of LAE drink intake, skin elasticity showed significant, dose-dependent improvements (P < 0.01). Skin thickness, stratum corneum water content, and the degree of wrinkles also significantly improved (P < 0.001) in a dose-dependent manner. The improvements in skin elasticity and thickness, as well as in the stratum corneum water content and the degree of wrinkles, observed upon oral intake of LAE indicate that LAE may be considered a candidate anti-aging agent for preventing skin weakening.

Development of a functional food (pan bread) using amla fruit powder.

The amla fruit powders were analyzed for ascorbic acid, sugars, pectin, total phenolics (TPC), and total antioxidant activities (TEAC). Fresh amla was found to have 6644.305 mg/100 g ascorbic acid with sun-dried, oven-dried and freeze-dried having 748.427 mg/100 g, 641.364 mg/100 g, 791.233 mg/100 g, respectively. There were no significant differences for the TPC values which ranged from 113.1 for oven-dried (OD), 128.7 for sun-dried (SD), 161.2 mg for freeze-dried (FD) and 1410.5 GAE/g for fresh amla pulp (FA). The TEAC values ranged from 6.6 for OD, 6.8 for FD, 7.6 for SD and 116.4 mM/g for FA. The FD amla fruit powder had the highest total sugars (36.94%, db). The specific loaf volume of bread improved significantly (from 3.54 to 3.79 cc/g) as the level of SD or OD amla powder addition was raised to 0.25% but then decreased at higher level of addition (3.41 cc/g). However, in case of FD amla powder, the bread volume increased up to the addition level of 0.50% (4.09) then decreased slightly (3.95 cc/g) but was still significantly higher the SD and OD amla powders. Similarly, the TPC (from 0.32 to 1.16 mg GAE/g, db), TEAC (0.06-0.14 mM/g, db) and vitamin C (3.80-31.98 mg/100 g, db) contents also improved significantly as the level of amla powders were increased to 1%. The supplemented breads were well-accepted by the consumers. It can be concluded that amla supplemented pan bread with its superior nutritional and sensory qualities can be a possibility to improve consumer nutrition.

Amla fruit powder addition influences objective color and instrumental texture of pan bread.

The effect of sun-dried (SD), oven-dried (OD) and freeze-dried (FD) amla fruit powders on the mixing characteristic, objective color (ICI tristimulus L* a* b* values) and instrumental texture was investigated. The addition of differently dried amla powders did not affect the mixograms significantly. The color characteristics were affected by both the levels of addition as well as by the type of powder (SD, OD and FD) incorporated into the pan bread. The L*, a*, b* values were not significantly different for the crusts of all types of the breads at varying levels. However, incorporation of SD, OD and FD powder lowered L*and b* values significantly for the crumb, making it look lesser white but browner in color. The specific loaf volume of bread made with SD and OD amla fruit powders at lower levels of addition gave compression force values and specific loaf volumes very close to the bread made with 20 ppm of potassium bromate. But higher amounts (1-3%) of amla fruit powder resulted in harder bread texture, lower specific loaf volume and also a coarser crumb grain. Therefore, amla fruit being rich in ascorbic acid seems a good choice an alternative natural dough improver in place of potassium bromate which has been regarded as a potential carcinogen and now banned in many countries of the world.

The effect of Phyllanthus emblica (Amla) fruit supplementation on the rumen microbiota and its correlation with rumen fermentation in dairy cows.

Introduction: Medicinal plants, rich in phytochemicals like phenolic acids, flavonoids, and tannins, offer potential benefits in enhancing productivity, quality, and animal health. Amla fruit (Phyllanthus emblica) is one such plant with promising attributes. This study aimed to investigate the impact of fresh Amla fruit (FAF) supplementation on ruminal microbial composition and its correlation with rumen fermentation in lactating dairy cows. Methods: The study employed a repeated crossover design involving eight ruminally cannulated mid-lactation Holstein dairy cows. Animals received varying levels of fresh Amla fruit supplementation (0, 200, 400, and 600 g/d). Results: When 400 g/d of FAF was added to the diet, there was a significant increase in the relative abundance of Firmicutes (p = 0.02). However, at 200 g/d, the relative abundance of ruminal Bacteroidota was higher than the 0 and 400 g/d FAF supplementation (p < 0.01). LEfSe analysis identified distinct taxa, such as Clostridia vadinBB60 in the 200 g/d group, Oscillospiraceae in the 400 g/d group, and Elusimicrobium in the 600 g/d group. Notably, the random forest species abundance statistics identified Oscillospiraceae V9D2013 as a biomarker related to milk yield. Oscillospiraceae, Bacilli RF39, norank_f Prevotellaceae, and Bifidobacterium were positively correlated with ruminal total VFA and molar proportion of propionate, while Rikenellaceae RC9 gut group and Clostridia vadinBB60 were negatively correlated. Discussion: FAF supplementation affects the abundance of beneficial microbes in a dose-dependent manner, which can improve milk yield, efficiency, rumen health, desirable fatty acids, and animal health.